As we all know, the economy in this great country is not what it used to be. More and more people are looking to supplement their income. At the same time TV shows like "Storage Wars" have bought to light the idea of storage unit auctions.
Although they have been around for awhile, storage unit auctions are gaining in popularity. The concept is pretty simple. Someone rents a storage unit and defaults on their monthly rent. The storage unit company holds an auction to clean out the unit and recover the lost rent. People go to the auctions and buy the contents of the unit. Then they sell the items of the unit either online or in a brick and mortar store. Many of the people that attend theses auctions on a regular basis know how and where to sell the items to make a pretty decent profit. The trick is knowing where to find the auctions.
Finding Storage Unit Auctions In Your Area
There are several ways to go about finding these auctions: online, in phone books, and publications. Before you start you may want to invest in a notebook or journal to write down the information you are going to find. Things such as the addresses of the companies, when they are holding auctions, their phone numbers and email addresses.
Online
There are two sites that you can start with, other than Google of course! The first one is WhitePages.com, it is kinda along the lines of a phone book. You type in your city, state, or zip code in one box and what you are looking for into the other. In our case "storage unit" or "storage units." When the results come up, look for the units closest to you and jot down their information in a note book or journal.
If the lists have web addresses, visit them. Look for anything that might tell you when they are having their next auction. See if they have a "Contact Us" page. If they do you can leave them a message asking when the next auction is and your contact information. You should at least be able to find a phone number where you can reach the company or manager of the company.
AuctionZip is another website you can visit to locate auctions in your area. Along with AuctionZip there are other websites that will give you up to date information about local auctions. Some may require a monthly fee. This may be easier if you do not have time to go and locate individual auctions through the other methods in this article.
Phone Book
This should not need any explanation. Grab your local phone book and go through the yellow page under "storage unit" or other suitable term. You may already have an idea of storage facilities in your neighborhood and just need their phone numbers. Once again, a notebook is an excellent way to organize phone numbers and other information you may find out.
When you do get to talk to these companies, either on the phone or through email there are some things you should ask about. You could ask if they would be willing to fax you their auction schedule, sometimes companies will do this. Obviously, when will they be having an auction. Next ask them what are there terms as far as paying for units you may win. Most companies have you pay right then and there with cash. Also, what are their expectations when it comes to cleaning out the unit, usually they give you 24 hours to clear out your winnings. Bottom line is to not be afraid to ask questions, especially if you are new to storage unit auctions.
Publications
If you do not have access to the internet or you do not like computers you can look in publications such as newspapers for local auctions. Storage unit companies will often advertise in newspapers and platforms about when they will be having auctions. It is wise to subscribe to these publications as the information will come to you, instead of you having to go chase it!
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