'The landlord has not been here in months, so I assume it was a previous tenant'
"It's a small house divided into two units, with a communal laundry room out back." (Photo subject is a model.)
Dear Quentin,
I'm the reader who fired his cleaner ("Guests tell me I have dust bunnies': My $150-an-hour cleaner has become increasingly negligent. Do I fire her?"). I still feel bad about it. Now, I have another ethical dilemma for you.
I'm staying in an Airbnb $(ABNB)$ in Los Angeles. It's a duplex - a small picturesque house divided into two units, with a communal laundry room. I'm here for August and, a couple of days ago, I found $100 in the washer.
The landlord has not been here in months, so I assume it was a previous tenant. A woman lives upstairs. I'm dreaming of cocktails at Château Marmont! What do I do with the cash? Is this a case of finders keepers?
Airbnb Guest
Related: My dad left when I was 9, reconnected with me in my 50s and now needs money. What do I owe him?
You can email The Moneyist with any financial and ethical questions at qfottrell@marketwatch.com. The Moneyist regrets he cannot reply to questions individually.
When you've done your due diligence, you can start to feel the excitement of owning a freshly laundered $100 bill.
Dear Guest,
Château Marmont can wait.
I remember your cleaning dilemma all too well. I still believe you did the right thing by making sure you hired a cleaning company (or cleaning person) who didn't leave dust bunnies behind. It sounded like your previous cleaner was coasting, in addition to leaving sticky marks under your actual coaster. You gave her a fair shot, and now you must do the same for the original owner of this $100 bill. It may all come out in the wash, but you have to trust others - or at least give them enough opportunity to claim the $100 bill.
Ask the woman upstairs if she lost cash. Tell the landlord the same thing, and ask if he would contact the previous tenant. Don't say how much you found. As much as we like to think that adults will behave responsibly, you run the risk of the tenant/landlord saying, "I lost $100." You will have no choice but to hand it over. A simple, "I found some cash in the washing machine. Did you lose any money?" would do it. If they ask how much, you will have a pretty good idea that they didn't lose it. Most people, though not all, would notice if they mislaid a $100 bill.
Ultimately, this feels less like a question of "finders keepers, losers weepers" and more like a question of how much time and effort and stress is reasonable when you find something that belongs (or belonged) to someone else ("I found a $100 bill, but how much is overkill?"). Do some due diligence to help the original owner claim it. Beyond that, it doesn't seem worth a bells-and-whistles lost-and-found investigation. When you've done that, you can start to feel the excitement of owning a freshly laundered $100 bill.
California, believe it or not, has rules governing lost property, including cash. Under California Civil Code Sections 2080-2080.10, if the owner of the property is unknown or has not claimed it, anyone who finds or takes possession of property worth $100 or more must, within a reasonable time, turn it over to the police department if it was found within a city, or to the county sheriff's department if it was found outside city limits. The finder must also provide an affidavit stating when and where the property was found and describing it in detail.
This seems like an awful lot of fuss and nonsense over a lost $100 in your case. If you eventually turned the cash over to the Los Angeles Police Department, it would be held for 90 days while they try to locate the owner. If no one came forward to claim it, you would likely end up as the owner. Again, that sounds like more trouble than it's worth. There are more pressing issues that await us all. You could keep it if the tenant/landlord doesn't have an answer or, if you feel generous, donate it to charity or - as an act of faith - leave it for the cleaner.
Don't miss: 'I want to meet someone rich. Is that so wrong?' I'm 46, earn $210,000, and own a $700,000 home. I'm tired of dating 'losers.'
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More columns from Quentin Fottrell:
I got two email invitations from friends. Is this a phishing scam - or am I suddenly popular?
'This has been an emotionally difficult time': My brother has cancer and my father is 94. How do I shoulder this responsibility?
'I'm left with a $100 Bûche de Noël for 10 people - and no place to go': My friends canceled Christmas. Should I end the 30-year friendship?
Check out The Moneyist's private Facebook group, where members help answer life's thorniest money issues. Post your questions, or weigh in on the latest Moneyist columns.
-Quentin Fottrell
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