Abandoned back hoe

[Wolf mom]

Hey, I have an abandoned(?) broken back hoe (huge) on my property from some guy that was doing work for me.

I can't locate him. It's been sitting there for 4 months. I think it'll take about 3/4 thousand to get it running again.

Is it mine? What can I do, legally. I've searched all AZ statutes and all I can come up with is abandoned vehicles, but this is considered personal property.

Any ideas?

[whiterock]

Get a lawyer.

[Windy in Kansas]

Was the agreed upon work fully completed and paid for?

As said, hire and get the advice of an attorney.

[Wolf mom]

Widny - work was never completed. The guy never came to finish or get paid. Came a couple of times to tinker with the back hoe & that was it. We finished the work ourselves.

[Lerxt]

Perhaps get a salvage title?

[rambler]

A distant neighbor had the (township/ county/ state, I don't remember) park a road grader on his property after some road work. 18 moths later he used the road grader & moved it, I believe he tried to sell it.

At the end of the court trial, he got his name in the paper for stealing govt property, had a fine, etc. Real story, I read it myself, not 'I heard of....'

I would _not_ deal with this lightly, or trust internet advise. You would need a lawyer, and there is a set of rules you must follow to the letter before you can claim the property. I think anything short of a year & you will have real issues...

Most likely your course of legal action is to attempt (properly, to the letter of the law) to locate the owner, and notify him of parking space rent due, and must move in 30 days. Your current claim is not the grader, but a fair parking space rental fee - that is how the laws will view it. After that there is a set amount of time & it becomes your property if the owner does not come forward or does not act. However, you do one little thing not exactly to law on attempting to locate & notify the owner, & you will be in the wrong, the owner could cite you for stealing. If push came to shove.

Just how it is.

It is common for construction workers to leave their stuff parked between jobs. Costs too much to move it, bring it back in 6 months. Not that I exactly agree that is some sort of 'right' they have, but kinda how it is.

--->Paul

[Ken Scharabok]

See a lawyer and don't do anything to it until a judge/court rules it has been abandoned and it belongs to you (the property owner). You don't want to put in a couple of Ks of work and they have him show up to claim it.

Have you tried contacting him, through the classifieds if nothing else?

I suspect it isn't abandoned, but rather low on his priority of things to get around to.

Ken Scharabok

[rambler]

Originally Posted by Wolf mom

Widny - work was never completed. The guy never came to finish or get paid. Came a couple of times to tinker with the back hoe & that was it. We finished the work ourselves.

Ah. You have a host of different & seperate issues, and a court of law will look at each differently. In my simple dirt-farmer opinion, you are a _long_ ways from being able to take possesion of the property. Do not try to 'get even' for other issues by taking the equipment - _if_ push comes to shove, the law will view each item seperately & there are different channels to follow to 'right' each issue. Even if the guy has done 10 things wrong to you, taking his equipment will be viewed as 'stealing' as a seperate issue by the courts.

In short, unless you have a lawyer & follow a set of rules closely it will likely be another 8 months before you can think about 'owning' the equipment.

My simple opinion.

--->Paul

[Siryet]

You might be able to collect storage fees but again Get a Lawyer.

[Ken Scharabok]

It was noted money is due to the guy for work he had already done. If anything, a parking fee would be deducted from it.

[DrippingSprings]

since he was considerate enough to not finish the job and considerate enough to leave it sitting broken down on your property then you should be considerate enough to charge him about 200 a month or more in storage fees. He might decide it is more than it is worth. Seen that happen with cars/trucks people abandon on others property etc.

[fordson major]

if he has already asked to leave it there you would have little recorse trying to charge him storage. he may have a loan with the bank on it which means a lien on the machine. bank veiws taking their stuff rather baddly and you may have to deal with the loan officer at some point. also veiwed rather harshly in the community. because of the extent of damage he may be trying to locate the parts needed to make mobile and this is a very busy time of year. i would not be in a hurry to claim someone elses machine,gets one a very bad rep. we had a hyhoe sit here for six months and never cross my mind that it was mine and it was fine working order.

[crashy]

I like the lawyer idea and try running an ad in the paper. Maybe some one will call with info about him. Is he in jail? or dead?

[Wolf mom]

I have no problem with the guy, and would gladly pay him for the work he did.
He's not lic/registered contractor. He's a guy that owns a back hoe and does odd jobs. All we wanted was a 5 foot hole dug for a pole. He did about 1/2. He knew the machine was not working correctly when he brought it over.

I just want it out of here as it sits right on top of the ridge where we want to level for a building. It has also leaked about 10 gallons of hydraulic fluid all over and I'd like that cleaned up.

I think at least he could contact me. The cell phone number I have is disconnected.

I guess I'm just frustrated looking at it all the time. PS It's a huge John Deere & there's no way we can move it the way it sits without paying to have it moved.

Thanks for all the imput. Guess I'll plant petunias in the bucket, and hope he comes around.

[Grizz]

U need to clean up the oil because u will be responsable if epa comes into the picture

[Ann-NWIowa]

Definitely not yours. However, as previously noted you could charge him a storage fee and clean up fee if you have a toxic spill on your land. By all means get that taken care of asap. Keep written records of any charges you want to make.

Are you in a rural area? If so, ask around as to where he's at. In our county, the sheriff or town p.d. pretty much know who's who, where they are and what they're up to. Tell them why you're asking because there may be a writ of repleven out for the machine. Or ask at the corner cafe, barber shop or local bank. Someone will know. Someone is probably related to him. Very darn few secrets in a rural area.

[creekfreak]

you may be able to post a mechanics lein on it...check your state regulations

[Mrs_stuart]

I would send him a certified letter stating that he had so many days to pick it up or you would consider it abandoned. I would also attach the same letter the the backhoe with duck tape. I would still contact an attorney but at least you have "proof" that you have tried to contact him. This is what i did for private possessions in abandoned apartments...it is an abandonment notice...and that was typed in big bold letters on the top of the letter.

Belinda

[SouthernThunder]

Just out of curiousity, what kind of backhoe is it? See any markings on it? Heck, you may not even want to take possession of it if it's some asian imported thingamajig.