What to Do If You Find Personal Documents or Valuables in a Unit

You never really know exactly what you are going to find in a storage unit during the bidding process. You might have an inkling of what's in the unit thanks to pictures found on the storage auction site, but it's highly likely you'll also find items not included in the pictures. What if those items include personal documents and valuables?

Personal documents and valuables need to be looked at from two perspectives: legal and ethical. How you handle such items is totally up to you as the new legal owner. But there are both ethical and unethical ways to handle them. Let us get into the details.

Your Legal Rights and Responsibilities

Regardless of whether you bid through a storage auction platform or attend auctions in person, you have certain legal rights and responsibilities after winning a storage unit. In terms of your rights, you become the legal owner of all unit contents after winning an auction and paying the storage facility. As the legal owner, you can do whatever you want with the contents of the unit.

With the exception of Arizona and Nevada, we don't know of any states that require auction winners to return or safeguard personal documents and valuables. But winners are generally prohibited from using sensitive information in personal documents to harm others. That information certainly cannot be used to commit a crime. In Arizona and Nevada, auction winners must return protected property to the storage facility, which includes business records, pharmaceuticals, alcohol, and firearms.

In terms of legal responsibilities, they start with emptying the storage unit of all contents as quickly as possible. Bidding on an auction is essentially a commitment to pay for unit contents if you win. So be sure you can actually pay and pick up in a timely manner. And whatever you do, don't blow off a storage unit after winning it. This just creates problems for both Lockerfox and the facility owner.

The Ethical Considerations

Although you are under no legal obligation to preserve or return personal documents and valuables, think about the ethical considerations. Maybe you are looking at things like birth certificates and wedding licenses. You may want to contact the storage facility to see if they'll return them to the tenant. You should NEVER try to contact the tenant directly, always work through the storage facility manager if you'd like to try getting documents back to the tenant.

The safest thing to do in such cases is to shred the documents using a cross-cut shredder. The same is true for other documents, including tax records, medical records, insurance policies, photographs, etc.

In terms of valuables, you might come across things like wedding rings and stock certificates. Under the law, these are tangible assets you now own. You can keep, sell, or donate them as you see fit.

A Quick Word About Bidding

State laws require facility owners to follow a specific set of procedures before sending units to auction. They are required to provide notice to tenants, for example. They are also required to accurately describe unit contents. This is important to you as a bidder.

Storage auction sites and platforms tend to publish photographs of unit contents whenever possible. Study photographs carefully. If you notice an inordinate volume of documents that could ultimately prove sensitive, you might want to avoid bidding on that auction. Stacks of boxes filled with documents could mean hours of shredding if you win.

Storage auction platforms and facility websites are great places to find storage units with valuable contents you can sell online. Unfortunately, some auctions turn up personal documents and valuables requiring delicate treatment. It is part of the storage auction game. If you are new to storage auctions, be prepared. At some point, you're going to run into personal documents and valuables.