Self Storage Auctions
Self storage facilities have to hold a storage auction or lien sale. This is how the self storage
facility vacates non-paying tenants and attempts to collect on money owed. They must follow the laws
passed in their state, please see our Self Storage Lien Laws
to view current laws for your state.
To protect your self and your items, make sure to always pay your rent on time. Past due storage accounts
can accumulate late fees very fast. Always try to go on automatic billing if possible, this will help
prevent any past due bills related to your storage account. Almost all storage facilities will not accept
partial payments; you usually always have to pay in full. An example of someone falling past due and
showing how fees accumulate and lead to a lien sale is listed below.
- 01/01/2007 January Due Date
$100.00
- 01/10/2007 First Late Fee Assessed
$10.00
- 01/20/2007 Second Late Fee Assessed
$25.00
- 02/01/2007 Next Months Rent
$100.00
- 02/05/2007 Lock is Cut and Items Inventoried
$100.00
- Total Due: $335.00
You can see above that becoming one month past due can really add to your owed rent. The reason they do
not take partial payments is because according to state lien laws it starts the lien process all over
again, which in turn would make the tenant accumulate even more debt.
If you find yourself in a situation where your items may go to a lien sale don’t despair just yet. You
can actually still go to the auction and bid on your items and get them back! You will still owe the
different of the sale to the storage company and that amount will go to collections and hit your
credit report. You could also try to contact the district manager or supervisor of that storage facility
and see if they will work out a payment plan.
As you can tell staying on top of your storage rent is very important. Do not put it off or consider it
not important, or you may find your items being auctioned off to the highest bidder. If you have any
questions you can always contact us.
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