Not everyone who uses storage units can keep up with what is theirs. As a result, some customers who fail to meet their financial obligations to vendors lose their items forever.
Self-storage providers have the right to auction off items stored within their premises if the tenant fails to pay their debt within a specified period of time and after notifications have been sent to the tenant. As business owners, the law gives self-storage providers a lien or legal right to the items stored in their units when the tenant does not pay what is owed for a certain period of time. When the facility executes its bond, it will hold a public auction to sell the items stored within a unit.
There are processes involved in these storage auctions and they may differ from provider to provider, but they are all fairly simple to follow. On the auction site, participants must register first. Facilities typically require buyers to sign a larger contract in order to participate in the bid. Other facilities also use bidder numbers.
To participate in the tender, buyers must be at least 18 years of age. Sometimes buyer deposits may be required, but are refundable. Deposit is advertised and will be refunded once unit has been vacated.
Before the sale begins, the unit is usually opened for inspection. But right now, no participant can preview the items. No one is allowed to enter the unit or touch anything inside the unit because sometimes the tenant can pay off their debt at the last minute.
During the auction process, smoking in the area and carrying firearms is prohibited.
The contents of a storage unit are normally considered as a single lot and are sold as such. However, there may be times when items will be split and sold in two or more separate lots. When this happens, the auctioneer will make an announcement.
The bidding process that is carried out in self storage auctions is of the open type and not of the closed type. The quantity differs because what usually happens is that the bidders decide the quantity to bid based on the type of items stored in the unit. In short, there is no standard selling price for this process.
You should also know that the storage facility itself has the right to bid during the auction. But this is not intended to buy the items in the unit, but only to make an opening offer.
Bid payment is made immediately after the auction and must be in cash. In some cases, bidders can pay early even before the auction closes.
The winning bidder has 24 hours to remove the purchased items from the storage unit. In the case of large units, the content removal time may be extended. The time allowed should be advertised in the auction, but if not, you should find out.