Lien sale residue

Definition

What is left after selling an unpaid guest's property, which still belongs to that guest.

Why It Matters

An innkeeper may take a lien on the baggage of a guest who has not paid and sell it, and the moment the lien and costs are covered the remainder is the guest's money in the motel's hands. Ohio gives the guest six months to demand it and then requires the innkeeper to deposit it with the county treasurer, with a statement of the claim and the notice. The guest can still reclaim it from the county for three years after the deposit. It sits on no balance sheet, so it does not net out in a price. What a buyer inherits is the room of left property with its clocks already running on intake dates only the seller's records hold.