Location: Maryland, USA
I purchased a new house a couple months ago, and it came with a shed in the back yard. Not on a permanent foundation (cinderblocks) but written into my sale contract as included with the house. I use it to store lawn & outdoor items and need the storage space.
Today, I got a notice from a local shed moving company that they had been instructed to repossess the shed as the prior tenant of my house (I bought it from her mother) was renting it and never made any payments after having it delivered in 2021.
I spoke to the repo man, who noted that he had been on my property while I was gone (in my back yard behind a tall gate & privacy fence), and wanted to reach out as he suspected the house had changed hands. Ignoring the fact he trespassed, he was pretty reasonable and agreed not to come again without notice/permission. He agreed with my assessment that the shed, which is pretty beat up, isn’t likely something the rental company could/would resell.
My realtor reached out to the seller, who claimed no knowledge of her daughter’s non-payment on the shed.
I reached out to the company who originally rented the shed, who noted the prior tenant’s account was delinquent, and offered me the options of either assuming her rental payments or paying for the shed in full to avoid it being collected. Obviously I’m not interested in buying a beat up shed I thought I already owned.
How should I proceed from here? Who legally owns this shed? Is this the sort of thing that would be covered under my title insurance, or is the shed not considered part of the “real property” I bought?