If you found a hidden safe in your home, what would you do?

That controversial question sent Reddit users straight to the comment section after one new homeowner posted about stumbling upon a safe while renovating.

In the original post on r/RealEstate, new homeowner u/Charming_Hawk9123 explains that they were ripping up carpet and discovered a safe hidden in the floor.

“Just closed on a home. While remodeling we discovered a safe the seller didn’t know about. What to do?” the new homeowner wrote.

The house, previously purchased as a new build in the 1990s, was sold by the only child (a son) of a parent who passed away. The son likely didn’t know about the safe because it was not included on the seller’s disclosure.

The new homeowner posed the following questions to the members of the subreddit:

Do we legally have the right to anything that may be in the safe?

Should we reach out to the son to see if he knows or can guess the combo? (I worry he might want the items inside back)

Is it moral to keep/sell anything in the safe?

How does one go about cracking into a safe?

As one user put it, “Reddit usually goes wild for a safe saga.” It didn’t take long for people to start unleashing their opinions and having a field day in the comment section. Some folks weighed in with legal advice while others pontificated what the ethical move is in this situation.

My 2 cents: Do NOT tell the seller. Hire a professional locksmith to open it. If the items are sentimental, then tell the son what you found. If it’s valuable, finders keepers.

What if it’s heirloom items that you can’t appreciate?? Things of sentimental value? SMH. This is such a selfish post. Whatever is in the safe is not yours.

I always think karma would have something in store for me if I was only thinking of #1 in a situation like this.

Geraldo Rivera here. I have some experience on this topic. Let’s see if we can get the opening made into a live broadcast. Maybe you’ve seen my work.

Legally, sure it’s yours. … Ethically, come on. You know the right thing to do is give the family anything of value—sentimentally or financially. If the house was 100 years old or more and it wasn’t clear who might have put something in the safe, then maybe…

But the guy built the house. What’s in it was his and now belongs to his family that you can easily contact. Don’t be a douche.

My curiosity wouldn’t let me just ignore it. Buy an angle grinder, a lot of spare discs, and some eye/ear protection. Then go to town one weekend that you don’t have anything else to do.

I have a house with a locked wall safe from the 1920’s. The previous owner didn’t know the combo. I called around and finally found a place that could “crack” the safe, but for $6000. So it just sits there, smiling at me.

Morally, you have to take a pic and post it on reddit.

The correct legal course of action here is fairly black and white.

As the new homeowner, anything left on the property is technically yours, and that includes a safe and its contents, according to Ben Michael, attorney at Michael & Associates.

“However, it’s probably a good idea to reach out to the previous homeowners so you can see if any of the contents belong to them—and if they know the code,” Michael says. “You can hire professionals to crack the safe for you, though that can be a little pricey.”

You also may be legally required to make efforts to locate the owner.

“Many, if not all, states have statutes that require a person to return any found money or property when it is possible to identify the owner,” says David Reischer, attorney and CEO of LegalAdvice.com.

In the situation described on Reddit, the previous owner of the home is deceased, but the new homeowner might still have to contact local law enforcement and relinquish control over any money or property inside the safe for a period of time in case the true owner comes to claim it.

“If in the event the rightful owner fails to appear after a certain period of time, most state laws will allow the finder to keep the money,” Reischer says.

We’re all sitting in suspense waiting for the original poster to give us an update. But in the meantime, after reading through some of the responses and learning the legal stipulations for found items, ask yourself: What would you do if you were in the new homeowner’s shoes?

Natalie Way is a senior editor at realtor.com. She writes news and advice stories about real estate, design, and celebrity homes, and produces and co-hosts realtor.com's podcast, House Party. She can be reached at natalie.way@move.com.