Previous Owner Says There’s A Locked Metal Box Buried Under The Patio I Built And Is Threatening Legal Action If I Don’t Let Him Dig It Up
Location: Pennsylvania
Bought a house earlier this year. A few days ago the previous owner contacted me out of nowhere and said there is a metal box buried behind the detached garage that belongs to his family.
According to him, his dad buried it there about 20 years ago. He says it has old family documents, some jewelry and other personal stuff inside. He claims he completely forgot about it when the house was sold.
The problem is I had a small stone patio built behind the garage after I bought the place. Based on the location he's describing, the box would now be directly underneath it. Getting to it would mean pulling up part of the patio and digging several feet down.
I told him I'm not comfortable tearing up something I just had built until I know what I'm actually obligated to do. I also don't want to be stuck paying to repair it because of something he forgot to mention during the sale.
Now he's saying the box was never part of the house sale because it's personal property and that keeping him from retrieving it could be considered theft. He also said he'll have an attorney contact me if I refuse access.
Nothing about a buried box was mentioned in the sale documents or disclosures.
Does something intentionally buried on property transfer with the land when the property is sold? And even if the contents are legally his, am I required to let him come onto my property and tear up the patio to retrieve it?
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