Hypothetical Storage Sitution

[Rauswaffen]

Something ran across my mind the other day as I passed one of those storage facilities. Say if someone stored a gun in one of the units (If that even is legal, I don't know), they did not pay the owner of the unit, and after I think it is 30 days, had all of their property in the unit taken by the owner to be kept/sold off.

Now, I am not sure how the process of removing and/or taking possession(ownership) of left over property would work out, so if I am wrong any where in this post let me know.

And now, a hypothetical situation:

Ok, say that in the left property was a gun. Could the owner take the gun for his personal ownership without any legal consequences? Could the owner sell them off?

Now to complicate things, let's pose two separate scenarios:

1. Shit left over, owner takes and keeps for himself a Handgun he found in a unit.
(a)Is that legal?
(b)If subsection (a) above is yes, how would he contain legal ownership of the gun without going through an FFL?
(c)If both subsections above are Yes, I would assume he could sell it off to someone via a FFL. Right?

2. Shit left over, owner takes and keeps a rifle/shotgun for himself or for sale.
(a)Legal?
(b)Could he sell or gift it to someone, since longuns don't have to go through an FFL, would this be legal?

Now given, I do not know the laws regarding this all that well. I would assume the owner of the unit would take ownership of any left over property.

I just enjoy discussing some legal situations that tread the line of legality. So if any one could figure this out for me, or discuss this, I would like to hear it.

[Xringshooter]

IIRC, when you rent/lease one of these storage facilities, you sign an agreement that if you do not pay the rent due, after a period of time (typically several months of non payment), the owners of the storage facility can take over the contents. Again, there are specific legal steps that the owner must due before having the contents deemed abandoned. Many of the facility owners will auction off the contents in a blind auction. They do not open the storage area, they just auction it off to the highest bidder. The bidder takes his chances that there may be something in there that is worth something. Or, the owner, after going through all the legal stuff to declare it abandoned, takes possession of the goods and the goods are then his to do with what he wants. Most of the owners I know around my area just have auctions to try to get back the amount owed them. They don't want to have to deal with trying to sort everything out and then try to sell it to get their money. Most, when they have the auction stipulate that if you win, the stuff in the storage area must be out that day. Many will have a roll back dumpster on the grounds that the winning bidder can toss stuff in at no charge.

I have a friend that regularly goes to these auctions with his wife (she's the eBayer). If they win they go through the stuff and choose what to keep to sell and what to toss. At one auction we had the winning bids on 5 storage areas. One was full of computers and accessories. They contacted the police and determined that nothing was stolen and sold the whole lot to a computer repair/resell business. As they were going through one of the others, their daughter was going through another and came do and told her dad to come to that one. He found 4 rifles and 3 handguns, nothing cheap, the rifles were Remingtons and Winchesters and the handguns were S&W's. Again the police were called, everything clean. Asked about the handguns and all he had to do was take them to a FFL and have them transferred to himself. All the others had some stuff that his wife would sell (ebay, etc.) and the rest of the stuff they tossed. He made out on that auction.

Now, to get to this point (selling off the contents, etc.) isn't a quick process, it doesn't happen just because someone misses a months rent. It takes more like close to a year because the facility owner has specific steps that they must take before it is considered abandoned (try to find the contents owner, start the legal proceedings, etc., etc., etc.).

As to you're questions about the guns. The long arms, nothing has to be done, just like any other private transfer. The handguns, a bit different as the person that takes possession does need to have them transferred at a FFL. The person that takes possession also has the legal documents to prove what has transpired and that he is now the owner of the property, just as the facility owner would have the legal documents showing the property reverted to him as payment of the legal debt (the back rent) owed to him. The FFL logs them in his bound book as being received by X and then X fills out the necessary paperwork, undergoes the PICS and if ok the FFL shows them delivered to X. The FFL (at least I do) also makes a copy of the abandoned property legal documents to attach to the 4473 just in case there are any questions (original owners says they were stolen and wants them back, etc.). Once this is done, the new owner can do anything he wants with them (sell, gift, whatever) as they are legally his.

[Skeptic]

The handguns, a bit different as the person that takes possession does need to have them transferred at a FFL.

Are private sales for non gun dealers not legal in PA?

[Xringshooter]

Private (actually all) sales of handguns within PA must go through a FFL dealer.

The only transfers of handguns that do not need to go through a FFL are transfers between spouses, parent/child, and grandparent/grandchild.

Transfers between siblings have to go through a FFL.

Sales of long arms between private parties in PA do not need any paperwork completed unless the two parties want to and do not need to go through a FFL dealer if the two parties do not want to.

[knighted4]

The sheriff can also do the transfer, if I am not mistaken.

knighted4

ARTICLE l SECTION 21
The right of the citizens to bear arms in defense of themselves and the State shall not be questioned.
What part of this DON'T you understand?

[levib]

Yea, armed with the agreement the owner should be able to have an FFL transfer the gun. You can't put a bunch of guns in a storage rental place and just not have to pay because you're storing guns. Regardless, once you are late on payments they will change the locks--that's one of the reasons they require you give them a copy of your key.

My parents own a storage building and have found they have to be pretty relentless about re-locking delinquent spaces and taking possession of stuff in extremely delinquent spaces to make sure people will actually pay them. Of course, the stuff most people store in those things is total junk. Most doesn't seem worth the $25/mo or whatever to keep around.

[Skeptic]

My parents own a storage building and have found they have to be pretty relentless about re-locking delinquent spaces and taking possession of stuff in extremely delinquent spaces to make sure people will actually pay them. Of course, the stuff most people store in those things is total junk. Most doesn't seem worth the $25/mo or whatever to keep around.

Yeah it rarely is a good investment whenever I look at it.

[Xringshooter]

The sheriff can also do the transfer, if I am not mistaken.

Yes a sheriff can do transfers but I doubt that you will find many (if any) that do it any more. Most will refer you to a FFL.