i lent out a large some of money to a friend but money has disappeared and he was not made a payment arrangement with me even though he knows to pay it back, but i have his property ie household items and tools etc that he left at the house i’m renting and he in due course will try and get them back can i legally sell the items to recover some of the debt?
Legalitywise that probably depens on the state and the judge in small claims court. If you need the money now, I would go ahead and sell it. If you don’t need the money right now, hold it for ransom.
No, not without a court order. Sue for the money and when you go to court (small claims under $5,000), tell the court that you want to use the property to satisfy the debt. He won’t show and you win by default.
depending on your jurisdiction — you first have to have the property declared abandoned.
OR: You have to attempt in writing to notify him of your intent to sell and apply payment to amount of debt.
You cannot just do it on your own and declare things even. You have to take legal steps of some sort.
call a lawyer. most are more than willing to offer over the phone consultations pro bono
No, self-service law is not allowed.
You must put a “lien” on the property and then it will be legal for you to keep or sell the items unless the debt is paid.
In your case most likely is a “general lien,” but there are many others kind of liens.
Also you just could sue the guy.