And I heard, "Now you will have very good luck!"
The seller was present during the home inspection and met me at the door.
She was a widow, 84 years old, South East Asian, with limited English, and 4' 9" tall. She greeted me with a smile and a two-hand shake. Unable to take care of the house, she was selling and going back to her birth country.
During the inspection I was searching for the sump pump. It was located under a 6" high wood platform on which sat the washing machine and dryer!
Under one side of that platform was a flat, pull-out stepping stool, probably for the short resident to be able to load and manage the machine.
So I pulled it out to see if I could at least get a look underneath at the sump pump cover and pit.
I could not see the cover, but I did see a rolled up wad of cash.
It was pretty big! It had obviously been there a while, covered in spider webs, and dirt, and a brown mold. It smelled bad.
So I put it in my pocket and went about the rest of the inspection on the lower level.
When I went upstairs the seller was sitting at the kitchen table, along with her daughter, the listing agent, and two people with clipboards who were interviewing the seller.
Excusing myself, I interrupted and handed her the roll of money, saying that I had found it under the washing machine.
The people sitting at the table looked at me like I had a horn stuck out of my forehead.
She lit up like a firefly! Unrolling the money (I don't know how much was there) she peeled off a dollar bill and handed it to me.
Declining the gift I gave her a little shoulder hug. But she got immediately animated and began emphatically handing me the dollar bill. She said, "Now you will have very good luck!"
Taking it I thanked her with another shoulder hug.
Later the listing agent corralled me in the living room to say, "That was unbelievable. Did anyone see you find that money?"
"Yes, I did."
I'm thinking of keeping it in my wallet and getting some very good luck out of it!
My recommendation: finders keepers only works if you do not know who owns what you find! If you think you know who might own your find, it is theirs! The finders keepers rule doesn't kick in! It's too bad that people would consider my action to be "unbelievable." And besides, I had no choice but to give the wad to the seller. A Scout is trustworthy.
Jay Markanich Real Estate Inspections, LLC 
Based in Bristow, serving all of Northern Virginia.
Office (703) 330-6388 Cell (703) 585-7560
Good morning Scout, I mean Jay. You did the right thing and I think it was appropriate.
I would have absolutely given the money back as well. It belonged to the owner of the house! Good for you!
Well, Sheila, Scouts do take the oath.
Kat - then you would have very good luck too!
Good morning Jay. Those who were surprised probably would have lined their pockets! Enjoy your day!
Perhaps, Wayne. If nobody sees you it never happened!
Jay Markanich What a great story and one that everyone present will not soon forget. It speaks volumes on your character. Great post!
That being true S&N, it's too bad that doing such a simple thing is not the norm.
Thanks for the uplifting story. If only everyone started treating each other like this, life would be better for us all.
It IS too bad that people would consider your action to be "unbelievable." As you said, that's the way things are supposed to be... if it's not yours, don't touch it!
I just wanted to put up something positive Stephen. So much of what we hear these days is not so.
Fred - I wasn't trying to point at me, just that I found it interesting the reaction by all those people. The people in the kitchen really couldn't believe that I would give her a roll of cash!
Awww what a cute story....wonder if she had forgotten where she hid her "extra bucks." Like looking n an purse and finding money you forgot ....and we would expect nothing less than the Good Scout to tell her about her good fortune !
S&D - I imagined that perhaps it fell from some pants while loading the washer and bounced under the platform, only to be pushed way inside when the step was pushed back in. Who knows!? But it had been there a long while!