Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Wisconsin

buying a foreclosed home

My fiance and I have an accepted offer on a house that has been foreclosed. We wrote up the offer ''as is'' meaning everything goes except the personal property. We went back for another showing and things were missing. Things like the fence guarding the pond, flag pole, decrative landscape block and the central vacuum system, tubes and all. The vacuum was bolted down in the basement of the home. What rights do the previous owners have to come in and take what they want after we bought the home ''as is''. And if they have no right what can we do besides notify the cops and realtors?

Thank you,

--name removed--


Asked on 2/05/06, 10:44 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
JAY Nixon nixon law offices

Hazards of Buying a Foreclosed Home

An "accepted offer" has little to do with owning the property until after the closing. Only the current owner has the right to report a theft to the police. A prospective buyer's rights are limited to the written terms of the contract, and his legal remedies are limited to claims against the other parties to the contract. If you have not yet closed and the owner has breached the contract, you have many options including not going through with the closing or a lawsuit for specific performance of every written detail of the contract (Verbal details of the contract are unenforceable in a real estate transaction.) It honestly sounds as though you may be a bit "over your head" at this point, so you should also seek professional representation as soon as possible.

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Answered on 2/05/06, 12:10 pm


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