Who are you?

My daughter closed on her first home this past Friday morning. She was excited to get back over to her new home and start working on cleaning, painting and other work the home needed. She was walking around the house from the back and came upon a woman in the front yard, digging up several rose bushes. The woman turned to my daughter and said, "Who are you?", to which my daughter replied, "The home owner, and who are you?".

Turns out this was the daughter of the woman who had lived at the home previously and had passed away. The daughter had given these specific roses to her mother sometime in the past and wanted to keep them. Of course, my daughter let her take these bushes, but it begs the question, when do previous owners rights to the property expire?

As soon as the closing was complete on that Friday, all rights to the property transferred to the new owner. The rights to the previous owner and her heirs ceased. The woman who came to get the roses was in effect, trespassing. However, my daughter did the right thing and this woman can now enjoy these special roses and remember her mother. Just should have done this before closing, says Realtor dad.