A Self-Storage Selloff : Recession: More people are falling behind in their rent on the units. Their property is auctioned, going almost sight unseen to the highest bidder.

As the manager unlocked the door on the storage unit, a cluster of men, women and children peered inside at the belongings stacked from floor to ceiling.

Bar stools, an ironing board, a giant glass water bottle, a white bassinet and stacks of packed cardboard cartons were piled haphazardly.

The bidding began a minute or two later at Freeway Mini Storage in Ventura. When it was over, Donald Smith had bought the contents of the unit--virtually sight unseen, since bidders aren’t allowed to examine the contents of the units--for $70.

The unit was one of 10 auctioned Tuesday because the owners of the belongings had fallen behind in their rent. It’s a scene that’s played out regularly at self-storage facilities around the county.

“You can almost see their lives in the units,” said Charlie Tredeau, manager of Freeway Mini Storage, who speculated that the recession is fueling the number of units auctioned. “We get a lot of people calling with sad stories. They’ve lost their jobs.”

Many would-be buyers, who learn of the auctions through legal notices in the newspaper, plan to resell the items at swap meets, flea markets and yard sales. But some are motivated in part by the mystery of what they might find.

“It’s like a treasure hunt,” said Smith, who began to get a glimpse of what he had bought as he loaded it into a pickup truck after the auction. His haul included auto parts, tools, a metal desk, a flag, a lampshade, Christmas decorations, a table and six chairs and an engine analyzer.

“I’ll make my money,” said Smith, who lives in the San Fernando Valley. “I’ll make a couple of bucks, but you can’t get rich this way. I’ve heard a lot of stories about gold coins and stamps, but I never seem to find anything.”

Smith, a regular at storage-facility auctions, said his biggest find was an 1889 book stand worth $600. He has found drug paraphernalia among some items he has bought at auctions.

California law gives storage companies the power to auction belongings when rent is overdue. But the auction usually doesn’t take place until strenuous efforts have been made to obtain the back rent, according to Bruce Kaufman of Extra Space Management Inc., which conducted the auction Tuesday.

“We do absolutely everything imaginable,” Kaufman said. “We write, call, beg, plead.”

When the rent is five days overdue, the unit is locked so the renter cannot enter, he said. Then notices go out and a lien is filed in 30 days. The auction is held a few weeks later.

Of the 10 units auctioned Tuesday, it appeared that nearly all of the delinquent renters had moved away, judging by the number of certified letters returned. One man finally was reached hours before the auction, but he declined to pay the back rent and retrieve his belongings.

Most of the delinquent renters owed about $200. In all, the back rent totaled $2,616, and the auction garnered only $1,032, with the highest bid for a unit at $200.

“We never make the balance owing,” Kaufman said, adding that he’d rather have renters make some effort to pay up than auction off their belongings.

At Esplanade Mini-Storage in Oxnard, manager Nancy Romero said she tries to give delinquent renters a break because of the hard economic times.

“Some have lost jobs and there’s no work out there,” she said. Even so, she is conducting more auctions. Last year she held only two, and this year she has already had three.

“It’s heart-rending to see a lot of places being sold,” said Sally Baker, manager of Public Storage in Ventura. “But my hands are tied. We have to get rid of the spaces that are sitting there earning no income for anyone.” The monthly rent for her units ranges from $35 to $139.

Although some forfeited belongings are sold by the unit, other storage companies let auctioneers sell items piece by piece.

There is little renters can do once their items have been auctioned. However, bidders are asked to return documents and family photographs to the storage facility so they can be given back to the renters.

Since the bidders cannot examine the contents of boxes before the auction, some strange items have ended up in their hands.

“It’s a grab-bag thing,” said Tredeau as he walked from unit to unit Tuesday. Even urns containing human remains have been sold, he said.

There were no magnificent finds during the hourlong event. It was the usual stuff found in basements: old televisions, stereo units, vacuum cleaners, dishes, mattresses, a bird cage, weights, tires, children’s bicycles and toys, fishing poles, pictures, furniture and clothing.

For Gordon Bensen of Ventura, it was a bust. He had come with his grandson hoping to find a surfboard for the boy.

“He’s been bugging me for one,” Bensen said. The auction yielded two, but neither fit the bill.