Vacated House - Was this legal?

Hey, SMF, today I was driving through an alley and noticed a dump next to the alley of vacuum cleaners, and fans, mixed with misc junk. I went to the door to knock and ask if I could have the garbage, but when I looked the door had "VACATED" written on it. So I figured I could take the scrap. When I tried two neighbors from a street away came out to tell me that the people had moved out and what I was doing was illegal. They were very nasty about it and said the police are gonna get me.

I don't want to break laws, but this was a pile of garbage, laying about 3 feet from the alley of a vacated house... the vacuum cleaners were full of dirt, as was the rest.

So am I legally able to take this garbage from a vacated house? I know the garbage wasn't necessarily on the street, but nobody owned the house and it was garbage.

Was I in the wrong?

Thanks, guys!

SOMEBODY, the bank or the city owns it.

I would make sure by talking with the property owner first. Just because it says vacated doesn't mean anything, someone owns the house. Maybe the bank owns it, maybe the city owns it but if the stuff is on someones property it's theft. Maybe it was cleaned out and someone is waiting for a scrap man to take the stuff away. Just bad karma to go grab stuff not on the street without talking to someone first.

Point taken. I figured that a bank owns it and they would just be paying someone to throw it out.

The women said the vacuum cleaners had been out there for two years.

Yeah somebody does own it! You do, hey i wouldn't worry about those people next door they probably are just bitter because their neighbors got kicked out and they were probably drinking buddies or something. If they really wanted the stuff they would have taken it with them. This is a cold cold world and if you are going to let petty stuff like that bother you then its going to be tuff to make it. I just made $400 pure profit today and i have a good full time job but im not going to let anything or anyone stop me from making all the money i can make and i want you to do the same.

Take it from someone who does this, cleans out foreclosures all the time, and owns a re investment company.

Inside, or next to a dumpster, is free for the taking, but what your describing, it wasn't in or directly next too. Therefore, I would find out how might own the property. What might appear junk to you, might not be to the owners.

Neighbors like that, are always going to think what you do is illegal. Just ignore them,

Seeking legal advice on a scrappers forum to make your conscience feel better, because you feel guilty performing your duty to society as a scrap man.

Your mincing a gray area, abandoned house, did you ever think that the vacated occupants may have left what your calling trash at the curb for the Salvation Army or Red Cross or other non profit to pick up.

There's to many holes in your story, abandoned house does not give you salvage rights, on the other hand you have neighbors from one streets over telling you your a thief then another telling you the trash has been there 3 years.


As a professional witness your a failure, I see much more of this type of trash on the scrapper forum I'm going to pull my membership.

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but im not going to let anything or anyone stop me from making all the money i can make and i want you to do the same.

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I just wonder if you sleep good at nite??

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I just wonder if you sleep good at nite??

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Most thieves do sleep good at nite. It's not hard to figure out who gives scrappers a bad name on this forum.

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As a professional witness your a failure, I see much more of this type of trash on the scrapper forum I'm going to pull my membership.

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Gustavus, please hang in there with us. Your knowledge and skills are invaluable. I have learned much from your posts and hope to learn more. Thanks.

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Originally Posted by GeorgeB

Take it from someone who does this, cleans out foreclosures all the time, and owns a re investment company. Inside, or next to a dumpster, is free for the taking

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Word of caution...laws differ from state to state and city to city best to know what applies where YOU are. However, common sense, integrity and upstanding character is universal.

If its normally by where the trash is then what is the difference. The EPA if they saw that would fine the bank or owner 100X more than the junk is worth to you. The City if they saw this would fine the owner 100X more than what the junk is worth to you.

Do not ever let this scrap metal rot outside onto laws or anything. When rain water and weather do the deed to the equipment that BS gets in the drinking water. If its abandoned and no owner can be determined then take it you are doing everyone a favor..

My advice being followed is only contingent upon your story adding up to what you say is going down. If you have to break and enter obviously you are a thief. If its in a designated trash area...I mean come on who is laying claim to that? Salvation army aint gonna use a vacuum to solve world hunger broskies.

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Originally Posted by skylinejackjr

Gustavus, please hang in there with us. Your knowledge and skills are invaluable. I have learned much from your posts and hope to learn more. Thanks.

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yes, all 132 of them....

I will not even take an item unless it is out on trash day or has a free sign on it , I have often knocked on doors to make sure , if there in even a slight amount of doubt leave it alone .

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Originally Posted by KZBell

Word of caution...laws differ from state to state and city to city best to know what applies where YOU are. However, common sense, integrity and upstanding character is universal.

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True, and you are correct, but seriously, if it is in the trash, or a dumpster, then it is free game.

People only cuss and complain because they THINK you are throwing trash into it. When I used to do it, I tell them that I scrap metal and other useful things that can still be used, and in fact I am taking out of the dumpster. A lot of people are always good with that, but you are correct. Just because VA is like this, doesnt mean say NC or anywhere else is.

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Originally Posted by gustavus

As a professional witness your a failure, I see much more of this type of trash on the scrapper forum I'm going to pull my membership.

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I see it everywhere, in everyday life, not just with scrappers and not only on this forum. Your posts are very helpful and I too am learning a great deal from reading your posts. I would also implore you to stay and help those that are honest and hard working. If not, good luck. BTW-As long as your living on this earth you will never find a perfect person, they don't exist. You may want to do a personal inventory ;) Just saying. Hugzzzzzz.

That is a gray area in my opinion, if the items were set on the curb for the garbage man I would take them, but since it was basically in their yard it leads me to believe that the people were vacated and the landlord threw their belongings out on the lawn. Its possible that the owners will be back to get the items. Its a touchy situation and I would just walk away from it.

real simple rule: when in doubt..don't.

Gus: there are all kinds of people in the world, some honest some not, some mostly honest etc. those people populate this forum, fortunately most here are in the mostly honest to honest catigory, we all know those who arnt by their own words. you cant change human nature. so my suggestion would be to disreguard the disshonest. not the whole membership. by leaving the site because of a few is sort of an insult to the rest of us. you are one of the majority here and a valuable asset to the rest of us, as most here are. as for the few. like the line says "ya can't fix stupid" just my .02

I am sure that no one would have cared if you took the stuff, but I am sure it could be illegal as well. To make sure, you would need to try and contact the bank or city if it is abandoned and see if you can get the stuff. The only problem with this is as you wait someone will take the stuff. Better to be safe than sorry...

"he who is without sin, cast the first stone"......I have taken stuff like that before that I KNEW I shouldn't be taking without asking and I got away with it. But I didn't feel good about MYSELF later. There is no gray area here...you know by where the stuff is whether it's free for the taking or not. This is Philosophy 101. All this debating is useless because we didn't see the stuff or the placement, plus a hundred other variables....and it's late and I'm rambling...sorry.

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Originally Posted by Dumpster Dee

"he who is without sin, cast the first stone"......I have taken stuff like that before that I KNEW I shouldn't be taking without asking and I got away with it. But I didn't feel good about MYSELF later. There is no gray area here...you know by where the stuff is whether it's free for the taking or not. This is Philosophy 101. All this debating is useless because we didn't see the stuff or the placement, plus a hundred other variables....and it's late and I'm rambling...sorry.

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Might be rambling, but you are correct.

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Originally Posted by CageK

Hey, SMF, today I was driving through an alley and noticed a dump next to the alley of vacuum cleaners, and fans, mixed with misc junk. I went to the door to knock and ask if I could have the garbage, but when I looked the door had "VACATED" written on it. So I figured I could take the scrap. When I tried two neighbors from a street away came out to tell me that the people had moved out and what I was doing was illegal. They were very nasty about it and said the police are gonna get me.

I don't want to break laws, but this was a pile of garbage, laying about 3 feet from the alley of a vacated house... the vacuum cleaners were full of dirt, as was the rest.

So am I legally able to take this garbage from a vacated house? I know the garbage wasn't necessarily on the street, but nobody owned the house and it was garbage.

Was I in the wrong?

Thanks, guys!

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When scrap metal is located within private property lines it is illegal to take the metal without permission. Yes, that refrigerator or that vacuum cleaner is 2-3 feet away from the alley.. but without permission you do not know the whole story. There are too many unanswered questions.. Maybe the metal was placed there for another scrapper to pick up.. who knows? That is the problem.. I have seen this before and knocked on the door of the home to find out that they put the scrap there so it was easier for their cousin to load when he gets there in an hour.. Funny thing is.. they were watching me whole time.. people are not stupid..

When the scrap is in the street or in the alley it is FAIR GAME. There are no questions..

Yes, you may have done someone a favor by removing the scrap.. but you have to get that mentality out of your head. Metal is money and a lot of people know it whether you like it or not. What you did was illegal and if you are ever labeled a metal thief by your local police.. well.. good luck scrapping.. Did those neighbors get your license plate?

There is too much metal theft and police are cracking down.. the only way to operate your business is the legitimate way. Sometimes, it is too good to be true and you just have to walk away..

Freedom is much more valuable to me then a 25 dollar load. Just saying..

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Originally Posted by azscrapper

When scrap metal is located within private property lines it is illegal to take the metal without permission. Yes, that refrigerator or that vacuum cleaner is 2-3 feet away from the alley.. but without permission you do not know the whole story. There are too many unanswered questions.. Maybe the metal was placed there for another scrapper to pick up.. who knows? That is the problem.. I have seen this before and knocked on the door of the home to find out that they put the scrap there so it was easier for their cousin to load when he gets there in an hour.. Funny thing is.. they were watching me whole time.. people are not stupid..

When the scrap is in the street or in the alley it is FAIR GAME. There are no questions..

Yes, you may have done someone a favor by removing the scrap.. but you have to get that mentality out of your head. Metal is money and a lot of people know it whether you like it or not. What you did was illegal and if you are ever labeled a metal thief by your local police.. well.. good luck scrapping.. Did those neighbors get your license plate?

There is too much metal theft and police are cracking down.. the only way to operate your business is the legitimate way. Sometimes, it is too good to be true and you just have to walk away..

Freedom is much more valuable to me then a 25 dollar load. Just saying..

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Very well stated. Even running a legitimate business working with scrap can be a pain in the ass.

One day coming home from Chilliwhack we pulled into the Husky for a take out lunch when suddenly we were boxed in by three police cars in front of the restaurant. Why well we had the most beautiful load of heavy walled copper pipe used as buss bar in a hydro sub station. The copper came from a large sawmill a buddy was dismantling, I was taking the copper back to his yard for him as a favor.

Someone had stolen some aluminum irrigation pipe and this is what the police figured we had on board, we were detained until the owner of the irrigation pipe could show up to say hey guys this is copper not my pipe.

On other occasions I had visits to my scrap yard from security from both the municipal yards and the railway looking for stolen goods.

Now here is an example of color of right, one neighbor has some junkers parked encroaching onto his neighbors property, in other words the cars were parked illegally on his neighbors property.

The neighbor gave several notices to have the cars removed, the guy ignored these requests. The absentee owner who's property is cluttered with someone else's junk cars phones me from another Province asking me to remove said derelicts.

I said aright by me, all I need is a fax giving me authorization, which was sent that very afternoon. I removed the cars to my yard. A week or two later a cop pulls into my yard asking me if I have such and such cars. The cop arrests me, takes me to lock up, As he is booking me in, I tell him about the authorization, he wants it badly.

I would not give him the original, only a photo copy, gad knows where the original could end up. To serve and protect a big joke.

Cop makes the call to the landowner who tells him yes he asked me to remove the cars, here's were it gets real funny when the cop drives me back home the gate is closed and locked. He looks at me an smiles then says looks like your locked out.

Ha Ha idiot the gate is closed to keep you out , I'm free to come and go as I please.

If I only had a camera for that moment, that picture was worth more than a thousand words.

I always ask in situations like that. I passed up a lawn mower this week that was on the curb right next to the trash cans. Judging by the looks of it and where it was sitting I was about 90% sure it was junk, but, the doubt nagged me to much. I checked back a couple times, left a card with a note etc but got no reply so I had to let it go. I'm not about to risk my reputation on questionable items.

I have to question the cops intelligence, to mistake copper for aluminum.

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I have to question the cops intelligence, to mistake copper for aluminum.

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It is kind of scary, isn't it? They look nothing alike,, hmmm

I allways ask.
Once I has seen a copper hotwater cylinder sitting in someones front yard. So Its his.
A couple of months later it gets shifted a bit, then they fix part of the fence.
A month later its still there. I would have fingured it would be stolen by then.
So a week later I ask a guy whos walking onto the property "whats the story with the copper cylinder"

He gives me a funny look & says "I have replaced my cylinder & thats the old one, I have called the plumber 3 times to remove it & he hasn't so far. So I guess you can have it if you want"

I say "Sweet (NZ$65) I will grab it later on. If its gone you know its me then"

I didn't get it that day & I didn't want to do it the next day as I'd showered & was clean & didn't want to get all sweaty.
So I go back the day after that.

And its gone...............

So, The meaning of this post?

ASK first! & Get it while you can

Not only do I question the cops intelligence, but also their integrity. Just sayin......

just take it

a little late to the party there, lol

I say err on the side of caution, my old partner did 90 days in county for dumpster scoring $20 worth of aluminum out of a factory dumpster..the police thought he was dumping illegally! Factory owner found out about and felt very bad for my partner, they printed a" right to salvage" letter to handle future police encounters. Find the owner of vacant properties..they overwhelmingly like free clean-up offers,or even better get the insurance necessary to do foreclosure clean-ups and get paid to take the trash and good stuff!!! This type of hassle is avoidable with communication!!

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Originally Posted by CMHN

if the items were set on the curb for the garbage man I would take them,

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It's actually illegal to do that in my town. They say, once it's on the curb, it's town property. The owners can't take it back and no one can pick it up - only the town's garbage men can take it. I find that it's a ridiculous rule... But it's there.