Over a million storage lockers' contents were auctioned off in 2009 in the US
and various economic conditions indicate that 2010's total will be even higher.
There are over 2 billion square feet of personal storage facilities in the US
and that area grows annually. The number of foreclosures over the past few
years mean that many people who only intended to store things temporarily have
ended up losing their property when they can no longer afford to pay the
monthly or annual fees. Businesses also rent storage facilities and whether due
to a financial downturn, an untimely death or simply forgetting about seasonal
storage, these storage facilities frequently need to hold auctions to recover
some lost income. While we may all feel badly to think of people losing thier
property, it happens. It happens frequently enough that there are people who
concentrate only on this type of auction.
You may think that only unwanted things are stored in these lockers, but the
auction afficionados say that just isn't true. When companies or individuals
decide to rent extra storage it is because they want a safe, secure place to
store property that is worth paying to store. It could be a business's seasonal
inventory or a personal art collection that warrants monthly payments. Large
items like boats, lawn equipment, tools and appliances, even travel trailers
are frequently stored. The kinds of finds that turn up in these storage
facilites is limited only by your imagination. There may be antique wedding
memorabilia, fine fashions and true works of art. You may find heirloom quality
jewelry and furniture of every description. Maybe a grandfather clock - who
knows what people have set aside until "later"?
While it is nothing at all like treasure hunting with a metal detector or
panning for gold by a rushing river stream, it is a way to acquire real
treasures for pennies on the dollar. Not knowing the how, and who and where
details keeps more people from looking into storage auctions. Knowing the
legalities of ownership and what to avoid gives insiders an edge, but this is
information available to anyone who is interested. It requires no special
training, just common sense and a little reading.
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