Avoid Legal issues at storage unit and default auctions
When buying storage units at auction or default property, you frequently have little to no idea about the complete contents of your purchase. Due to the nature of the business you will occasionally become the legal owner of illegal materials such as stolen property, drugs, paraphernalia and even counterfeit money! In order to guard your safety and avoid legal issues it will help to follow a few easy steps.
Instructions
1. The first thing you will want to do upon purchasing default property is to go through it on site. If you come across any contraband such as drugs, paraphernalia or counterfeit money contact the police or sheriff immediately. Call the non-emergency number for your local authorities and ask someone to come to the site and collect the items. Be sure to show your receipt of sale to prove that you just took ownership of the items. Keep the bill of sale with you any time you are moving items just in case. If for some reason contraband is concealed in your items and is found by the authorities before you come across it, being able to prove that you had no knowledge of it will save you a lot of trouble.
2. If you come across any firearms it is important to make sure that they have not been stolen or used in a crime. Call the sheriff's department and let them know the serial numbers of each gun. They will run the numbers through their database and let you know if they are stolen. If they are you must turn them in, but if they are not stolen they are yours. Depending upon local state laws you may have to register them before legally reselling them.
3. If you come across electronics, especially car audio equipment or home stereos you may want to check to make sure that they have never been stolen before attempting to resell. An easy and quick way to do this is either through the sheriff's office or a local pawn shop. They will both have access to a database of reported stolen merchandise by serial number. If the items have been stolen you should turn them in to the sheriff's office immediately.
4. In very rare circumstances you may come across evidence of a criminal organization such as drug processing equipment, violent crime evidence, and in one reported case, a counterfeit currency operation. If you suspect that you have found evidence of any of these contact the sheriff's office immediately as well as the operators of the auction house or storage facility and lock the area up until it can be investigated properly.
5. All in all any of these circumstances are extremely rare and not the norm by any means. However, in maintaining a resale or auction business it is a best practice to ensure the legality of any items that you sell.
Tags: come across, been stolen, sheriff office, Avoid Legal, counterfeit money
