Storage Wars: Texas
Season 2 History (*186) 18:35 Reality
Ever wondered how and why storage units are put on auction on reality show Storage Wars and its various spin-off shows? It’s quite simple in the US because there’s legislation that if a unit renter doesn’t pay the levy for three months, the owner is entitled to sell the unit to recoup their losses. “It’s a wild law because sometimes people forget and they’ve got absolute fortunes stashed away,” says Bubba Smith, one of the buyers from Storage Wars: Texas.
But there are certain rules and regulations that need to be followed by the cast. “No one is allowed near the facility we’re filming at prior to the shoot,” says Bubba. “I’ve had schedules for two months and I’m good friends with most of the facility owners, but they basically blacklist you from the site. You can’t set foot it in.” And there’s no card facilities for payment. “You win the auction, you’ve got to pay with a pile of cash – they (the auction team) don’t let you pay with credit cards or do a bank transfer.”
The producers get a contract from the facility owners who provide a legally binding list of units that have been ignored by the renters, as well as proof that they’ve been contacted and ignored the warnings. “We have had an incident where the locker owner actually arrived at the auction and they went ballistic. They got into a physical brawl with one of the producers and they were desperate not to lose their unit. But the law is the law,” says Bubba, who’s been in the storage unit game for over 20 years. “There’s a rumour that the show gets units appraised first, but they have no idea what’s there – sometimes it’s a profit, more often a loss.”