Storage Auctions:
In the United States, self storage facilities may hold storage auctions or lien sales to vacate a non-paying tenants according to their enforcement rights that are outlined within the lien law of each jurisdiction. Facility owners are required to give public notice of the sale or auction in a printed periodical in most states, while other states are considering allowing public notice of sales to be done in the internet. However, a tenant in a lien sale has the right to pay their outstanding bill until the moment the auction begins and thus reclaim their items; those units would be removed from the auction (which, in some cases, may result in the entire auction being cancelled).
Auction/Sales are open to the public, with most bidders buying for the purpose of reselling for profit. Usually the terms for sales are cash only. Once the auction for the units starts, the lock will be removed, the door to the unit is opened and potential bidders are allowed to view the contents only by looking in from the doorway; they may not step inside, touch, or remove any of the contents prior to the auction. The space is usually sold “as is”. The purchaser of the unit receives everything in it (treasure and trash) and is responsible for removing the contents within a giving time frame, usually a day or two, though a facility may allow a purchaser to subsequently rent the unit, the facility may also charge a cleaning deposit to be refunded once the unit is cleaned and made available to the facility. In some jurisdiction, the storage facility may confiscate controlled items (such as firearms) if they are immediately visible.
In the fall of 2010 two new television programs featuring storage auctions, Storage Wars and Storage Hunters were released. The popularity led to additional shows such as storage Hunters, Storage Wars Texas, Storage Wars New York which helped increase the visibility and interest of storage auctions.
