Sears quietly paid over 200 shuttered stores

They're dark, they're full of junk, they lose money – and they're finally off the books.

Sears, which filed for bankruptcy on Monday, had been Sears and Kmart rentals that it had already shut down and abandoned, according to the court documents reviewed by The Post.

That's in a nutshell. It's going to be so close to the end of the day that it's going to be 125-year run as one of America's most iconic companies.

Hedge-fund tycoon Eddie Lampert, who gives up his role as chief executive on Monday, is still looking to save 300 or so shades to operate beyond the holidays, out of about 700 that were operating as of Monday. The fate of another 250 or so stores will be determined early next year, sources said.

Meanwhile, Sears has been handing over the keys and alarms to the landlords for 217 already-shuttered properties on Monday.

"That's an astounding number of stores," said a restructuring expert, "who did not want to be identified but who did not have the right number of people.

It has not been clear how long has it been to sheller out, but Sears described it as a "financial and unnecessary burden" in the filing.

Sears spokesman declined to comment.

Adding insult to injury, Sears asked a judge for permission to abandon its unsold inventory, fixtures, furniture and other equipment.

As reported by The Post, the National Waste Management Service has had its concerns when it is ready to close its doors to the end of the year.

The vast majority of the diseases are within the next several years, but some 15 expire after 2046 and 2054.

"Joshua Stein said," These goals were made so bad that they would not try to flip them. " . "

In some cases, Sears explained, the leases would be unattractive to another because of the rents were above market.

The dud rentals mark an ironic end to Sears and Kmart under Lampert, who began his tenure by scooping Kmart out of bankruptcy in 2003 for $ 800 million, then quickly selling 70 Kmart rentals to Sears and Home Depot for $ 900 million.

In 2015, Sears sold more than 200 Sears Stores for $ 2.7 trillion to Seritage Growth Properties, a REIT in which he is the majority shareholder.