Bought foreclosure and property/belongings are still in house - what to do?

[amiejerry]

We bought the property behind our house that was in foreclosure - we bought it "at auction" and we live in NC - the resident of the property is in prison in another state. However, there are still many items in the house that "belong" to him and we are not sure what to do - he should have received notification of the foreclosure and also of the sale of the property. So, we don't know what to do with this stuff - it's everything from furniture to photo albums. Do we need to evict him and call the Sheriff's Dept.? The plan was to (hopefully) sell some of the stuff to make a little money, but we want it all to be legal. Any advice would be greatly apreciated!!

[Mr. Knowitall]

Check with the local police department (using a non-emergency number or visiting in person - not 911) to find out the local protocol for disposition of abandoned property. A local lawyer can also advise you. There's a good chance you'll be told that you gained ownership when your purchased the property and the redemption period expired.

You can try checking Georgia's statutes (including these) to try to determine your rights, but at least on a preliminary review I'm not seeing anything particularly helpful.