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Is this what house flipping is coming to?
You buy a property, move some tenants in, hope to make a profit in a few years, and then, oops that didn’t go so well, so you burn the place down?
That’s the story WTOP and the Carroll County Times are reporting.
A Westminster man was arrested on Tuesday on charges of first-degree arson, first-degree malicious burning, malicious burning fraud and presenting false or misleading information.
The morning of the August fire, the owner’s tenants left to go camping—-though it appeared they’d left breakfast still going on the stove.
A knob on one burner of the propane gas range was found in the on position, and a frying pan was found on the burner with an oily residue inside. Investigators also found evidence of combustible materials that matched burn damage to part of the stove, according to court documents…
Swanhart, the owner of the home, had asked the couple several times if they were going camping that weekend, including as they were leaving that morning, according to court documents. Swanhart reportedly told investigators he left immediately after the couple did, but reports from neighbors and a statement given as part of his insurance claim indicate he was at the house after his tenants left, according to court documents.
Image by Ncpptt media, flickr Creative Commons