I have a 50,000 SQ Ft Facility in my 3 mile Demographics. I have niticed that they are having storage aucitons every 1.5 to 2 months. They have 15 to 20 units advertised every time. I have talked with all of my other owners in my area and they all claim they have a very low default rate. I know this is a loaded question but what is a typical amount that a facility of that size should expect to lien sale. It sure seemed shady when I attended the last auction. The auctioneer either owns or is located right next to the storage facility. They were very vocal about advertising their future auctions already. The auction junkies where all commenting on how different this auction was and that the stuff just did not look normal. I think that the auctioneer is placing his own junk in some of the units and then selling it off as a storage auction. Maybe the owner gets one or two of their own business related units auctioned off in the mix but it seems weired that they are having so many auctions. Is there a way to find out if they are doing some shady work. IE call and request the lien sheet with the names of the unit owners and then try and look them up? Just wondering. It seems like some shady business going on there. Any ideas or seen this done before?

Not sure where you are from, but here we must publish a legal notice in the paper with the names of the tenants being auctioned. If this is the case in your area that might be a place to start.

I agree that it does sound fishy, not really sure if it is illegal? That would be a good question for Jeffery.

My .02c (not really worth that, but...) as a private property I can do what I want (within the law) so if I want to hold a private auction and sell some storage units I could, but I would not mask it, or mix it with an actual Lien sale.
I have been approached by people to do that, but they always want to do it in conjunction with a Lien sale and I don't want to do that.

Anyway - keep us informed as to what you find out - I would be interested.

__________________
Wayne
All American Self Storage
Palmdale, CA.
webmaster@all-americanselfstorage.com

We send out about 20 lien letters each month, about 45 days before the actual sale. We also send the notice to the newspaper at the same time...with the 20 or so names. A week before the auction we usually have 8 or so units left for auction, and by the time the auction happens, we usually end up auctioning about 3 units.

So just because they are advertising 20 units in the paper, that doesn't mean they are selling that many.

Also, we have a "build-up unit" where we put all the stuff people leave behind in the hallways or behind a building. If someone is moving out and can't fit the last few items in their truck and don't want to make a second trip, they can put items in the build-up unit too, as long as it isn't trash or old mattresses. Usually get a lot of computer tables, bookcases, lamps, etc.

Then when we have the auction, we also sell the contents of the build-up unit. Makes a little extra money for the facility, and we don't have to pay to dispose of the stuff people leave behind.

davelile,

Have you had an opportunity to attend some of the auctions? treat your manager out to lunch and spend a day in the office. they will probably feel appreciated and thru the course of the day divulge a lot of information to you that can help you assess what is really going on.

-Bobby