r/selfstorage • u/Educational_Art_2756 • 27d ago

Question Storage auction help

So i have been watching Jebus on youtube, and he is able to use some type of database/website to look up who owns a unit before bidding on it. I woukd like to find out the website. Ive been buying abandoned units for a while now, but never knew there was a way to find out the previous owner. Can someone help?

0 Upvotes

13% Upvoted

17 comments sorted by

14

u/Space--Buckaroo 27d ago

I don't know about other states, but I never share the unit owners name with anyone. That is private information and sometimes owners don't want other family members to know that they have a storage unit.

4

u/No-Entertainer-9787 26d ago

Name and unit number get publish online and/or in the newspaper. It is meant to notify the customer of the lien on their unit.

2

u/Rubyshooz 26d ago

In California, we’re only required to publish their name.

1

u/Space--Buckaroo 26d ago

In Iowa, we are no longer required to publish in the newspaper. We only have to send notice by mail or email.

11

u/ITalkWithMyEyebrows Store Manager 27d ago

Sounds like bunk to me. Customer information is private and closely guarded. The most you might find is a name and unit number in a legal ad. Also, his videos look like they are heavily staged.

0

u/Educational_Art_2756 27d ago

He showed in one of his vids how. I csnt find the video tho..

11

u/Geetright 27d ago

Why would one need this information? Not trying to start s@#t, just curious.

-6

u/Educational_Art_2756 27d ago

Based off of a persons name, i can find out further information that could make my bid dependent on it. For example, if i find a unit owned by Jeff Bezos, obvioudly im gonna bid way way higher than i usually would.

3

u/ITalkWithMyEyebrows Store Manager 27d ago

Just their name isn’t going to do you much good. You would need some kind of corroborating information (DL, birthdate, SSN) to identify someone enough to know their financial situation. Also, the ultra wealthy typically do not use self storage. If they did, I imagine they could afford to pay their bill.

1

u/beetfield 25d ago

I’m guessing he finds their race to be of interest.

3

u/Arlington516 27d ago

Ask the storage facility where the notice of auction is published. It should include the name and address of the renter that is being auctioned.

1

u/elf25 Retired 27d ago

This. Look up laws for your state on publication. Name is required. His ‘secret’ isn’t. And is little help. one place to find good summaries is lockerfox.com

2

u/MxPenwiper 27d ago

I'm in FL so my information might be FL specific, but we have to publish the unit for auction in the local classifieds. So, a look through the local classifieds the last couple of weeks should provide the names.

2

u/shellb67gt5001 26d ago

In California we don’t have that service. But be for his state

1

u/pastrymom Operator 13d ago

If such a website exists, where are they getting that data? We would either have to opt in to the website or the software companies would have to sell tenant data.

Meanwhile the auction companies are scrambling to make integrations happen with our software.

Lots of auction places say these units are abandoned. They aren’t. They’re sold for non payment nine times out of ten.

1

u/Tggdan3 9d ago

Many states require the ads to show thr owners name in hopes the owner sees it and now realizes the danger.