Storage unit auctions beckon to daring bidders

VIRGINIA BEACH

On a recent rainy weekday, 58 people signed up to bid on the contents of four storage units in an auction at the Jack Rabbit Self-Storage on Rosemont Road.

Folks lined up to see E342, the first unit being auctioned.

From the door, bidders shined flashlights on the contents: wooden chairs, stacked Bud Light boxes, and a floor lamp near the entrance.

They weren't allowed to touch but could walk in the unit and look.

More and more people have been showing up at such auctions, which occur when people can't pay the rent for their storage units. Shows such as "Storage Wars" on A&E and "Auction Hunters" on Spike TV have drawn attention to the auctions, where attendees bid on unseen items in hopes of making a profit.

Cindy Gorrell, an auctioneer, said as many as 30 people would show up for auctions last year, Now, close to 70 attend. The most they've ever had was 127.

Michael T. Scanlon Jr., president and CEO of the Self Storage Association, said attendance at storage unit auctions across the country has increased.

He said the TV shows shoot 50 to 100 auctions before they find something of real value or significance in the unit.

But people do find things of value.

One auction attendee, Tom Arthur, has been bidding on storage units as a hobby for about 20 years.

"It's like treasure hunting," he said. "It's a lot of fun."

Two months ago, Arthur bought a Mitsubishi Montero SUV from an auction for $1,600. He put about $2,500 in repairs into the car and sold it for $5,900. The previous owner had driven the car for only four years, he said.

When viewing units, Arthur looks for new items and things he could touch up and resell. The items in unit E378, he said, wouldn't qualify.

"You can tell this is everything the person had. The furniture, the clothes, the trophies, everything they had."

Gorrell said a lot of the units contain household items and clothes, things people have accumulated in their home.

"The most valuable stuff you can find is jewelry, because sometimes people will put it in a jewelry box that will have items of value."

Jack Rabbit, which has 11 locations in Hampton Roads, holds about eight auctions per month.

Roger and Martha Hamblin are resident managers of the Rosemont Road location. They said they don't want to sell people's things but do so if a bill is 70 days late.

They try to contact renters through e-mail, phone calls and certified letters. Names are printed in the newspaper the week before the auction. But sometimes the renters just can't cover their bills. At the Rosemont Road site, available units posted online range from a 5x5x4 for $35 per month to a 12x30 for $207 per month.

"People say they don't have the money to pay the bill, so a lot of them will say to just go ahead and sell it," Martha Hamblin said. "We sell things as a last resort."

Exceptions are the military: They won't sell belongings of somebody fighting a war, Roger Hamblin said.

Gorrell said an increase in auction attendance brings in more money. "The prices go up because there are more bidders."

Jack Rabbit doesn't get a percentage or make money from the auction sale, though. Gorrell said that if an auction fetches more than what a customer owes in rent, the customer gets the extra money.

Bidders usually find out about the auctions from a company mailing list or the newspaper's legal section.

The recent auction began after all the bidders viewed the last of the four units. The opening bid was $20.

The first unit sold for $200. The others sold more cheaply: $180, $90 and $125.

Shortly afterward, Janelle Riccio walked into F775 - the last unit, which she bought - and started going through boxes.

Children's books lay in one. Clothing in another. A keyboard stood to the side.

Riccio and her fiance, Tom Gernheuser, have been attending auctions for five months, because they wanted to do something different. In a busy week, she'll buy 10 units, she said.

There's a lot of work, such has hauling the items out of the units. She's been selling items on Craigslist and at flea markets, and she hopes to eventually have a store.

She never knows exactly what's she's got until she's bought it, Riccio said.

"Every day is like Christmas."

Jennifer Jiggetts, (757) 222-5150, jennifer.jiggetts@pilotonline.com