More Mercury Lies
POTTSTOWN, PA – They did it again. Last Friday and Saturday’s editions of The Mercury ran false headlines.
And as of this writing, there has been no apology to its readers, nor any kind of retraction of their very incorrect reporting.
Last Thursday night a shooting occurred at 272 Walnut Street in Pottstown. 272 Walnut is a multi-use property consisting of a business on the first floor and three apartments. The property is owned by absentee-owner Matter Holdings, LLC, which is registered to Matthew Pullett of Collegeville (who also owns another borough rental property on Penn Street). So, that indicates to us that this is an absentee-owned property since Montgomery County records show that Mr. Pullett does indeed own a single-family home in Collegeville.
Mr. Pullett’s 3rd floor apartment tenant, Aaron Laws, fired several shots at an intruder who broke into the third floor apartment he rents from Mr. Pullett. Mr. Laws is a renter…NOT the homeowner as headlined by The Mercury. Maybe the headline should have read: Renter Speaks Out About Shooting…or maybe Pottstown Intruder Shot by Renter.
We’re also quite surprised that it’s fairly easy (and FREE) to search someone’s name to see if they’ve had any previous run-ins with the law.
So, here’s a bone we’re throwing to all you wanna-be landlords out there who read our site religiously. Here are two sites (did we mention they’re FREE?) where you can pre-check the backgrounds of any potential renter of your absentee rental property:
Pennsylvania’s Magisterial District Courts
Montgomery County Court Services
Just for the record, Mr. Laws has 12 dockets listed under his name on the Magisterial District Courts website. We’re not rocket scientists…but we would not have rented to an individual like Mr. Laws.
Of course, as everyone knows, information from these sites should not be used in place of a criminal history background check, which can only be provided by the Pennsylvania State Police.
But still…if your potential tenant has any law infractions noted on these sites…common sense dictates that YOU DO NOT RENT YOUR PROPERTY TO THAT INDIVIDUAL.
Maybe if more landlords in Pottstown heeded this simple piece of advice, our town would be much better off.
Q: What kind of legal trouble do landlords face from tenants who deal drugs on the property?
A: Drug-dealing tenants can cause landlords all kinds of practical and legal problems:
Anyone who is injured or annoyed by drug dealers — be it other tenants or people in the neighborhood may sue the landlord on the grounds that the property is a public nuisance that seriously threatens public safety or morals.
Local, state or federal authorities may levy stiff fines against the landlord for allowing the illegal activity to continue.
Law enforcement authorities may seek criminal penalties against the landlord for knowingly allowing drug dealing on the rental property.
In extreme cases, the presence of drug dealers may result in the government confiscating the rental property.
A drug dealing environment can make it difficult to find and keep good tenants, and the value of the rental property will plummet.
Q: How can a property owner avoid legal problems from tenants who deal drugs or otherwise break the law?
A: There are several practical steps landlords can take to avoid trouble from tenants and limit their exposure to any lawsuits that are filed:
Screen tenants carefully and choose tenants who are likely to be law-abiding and peaceful citizens. Weed out violent or dangerous individuals to the extent allowable under privacy and anti-discrimination laws that may limit questions about a tenant’s past criminal activity, drug use or mental illness.
Don’t accept cash rental payments.
Do not tolerate tenants’ disruptive behavior. Include an explicit provision in the lease or rental agreement prohibiting drug dealing and other illegal activity and promptly evict tenants who violate the clause.
Be aware of suspicious activity, such as heavy traffic in and out of the rental premises.
Respond to tenant and neighbor complaints about drug dealing on the rental property. Get advice from police immediately upon learning of a problem.
Consult with security experts to do everything reasonable to discover and prevent illegal activity on the rental property.
Move.com