Auctions at Self Storage Facilities

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auctionAlthough it is not something that they prefer to do, sometimes self storage facilities find that they need to hold auctions. The things that are placed up for auction are the contents of self storage units that have become delinquent in the payment of their rental fees. The self storage facility staff takes many measures to be sure that the owners of the contents have ample opportunity to pay their fees before their belongings are sold to cover the payment.

The rental fee of a self storage unit is usually due on a monthly basis on or about the same date that the unit was originally rented. For example, if the paper work was completed and the first payment was made on the fifth of March, then the rent for the unit would be due on the fifth day of every month thereafter. All of this information is in the copy of paper work that is given to the customer. To assist the customers in remembering to make their payments on time, the storage facility staff usually sends out reminder notices a few days prior to the due date.

If the due date arrives and no payment has been made, the storage facility staff will send another notice and try to contact the customer by phone to remind them that they have a short grace period in which to make the payment before a late fee will be added. Once the late fee has been added, it is rather standard that the customer is no longer allowed to have access to the contents of the storage unit until everything is paid in full. The customer's key code for the gate to the facility will be deactivated and an additional lock will be placed on the unit. The storage facility manager does this so that they can be assured their payment instead of the customer moving everything out and not paying the bill.

Even after the self storage unit that is delinquent in payments has been locked down, there is still time for the customer to pay the monthly rent and all late fees. This amount of time varies among self storage companies, but it is written down in the paperwork that is given to the customer. At the end of the time period, the contents of the unit will be auctioned off. If there is more than one delinquent unit, the facility staff will choose a date to accommodate the waiting period for all of them to be auctioned on the same date.