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  • 1.  Newspaper Ad

    Posted 09-01-2022 08:44 AM
    Question for the Group's Legal team;
    What is the reason for the newspaper Ad?
    Is it to notify the owner that their unit is going on sale? Or is it to maximize the exposure of the auction to sell the unit to the highest bidder?
    The reason I am asking is that, some the delinquent unit owners are responsive and I was able to talk to them on the phone regarding their delinquency and the fact that their unit will be auctioned. They are not missing or non-responsive. Since they are aware of the situation and acknowledged that their unit is going for sale in an auction, do I still need to print the Ads?

    Mill

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    Mill
    D&W Self Storage
    Houston TX
    (346) 396-1122
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  • 2.  RE: Newspaper Ad

    Posted 09-02-2022 08:14 AM
    Hello Milad,

    Thanks for asking this important question. The main reason for posting this ad in the newspaper is for complying with legal state rules before you auction any unit. 

    Currently, we at the TSSA are working on removing this rule from the books. Doing a newspaper ad costs everyone money out of pocket. Please continue to support the TSSA as we start lobbying in 2023 to abolish newspaper ad requirements.

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    Raheem Amer
    President
    Mini Mall Storage
    McKinney TX
    (630) 660-2637
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  • 3.  RE: Newspaper Ad

    Posted 09-09-2022 01:32 PM
    Edited by Ginny Sutton 09-09-2022 01:35 PM

    Milad,

    Raheem answered your question well, but I just wanted to add this:

    The original intent of the newspaper ad as it was explained to me when I was hired 25 years ago was to notify tenants and give them a chance to pay/redeem their stored property. But that statute was originally created back in 1983, before this association was even founded in 1986. Things are very different almost 40 years later.

    So many local newspapers have folded because of shrinking subscription rates and declining advertising sales.  Even the largest newspapers struggle because of the very real shift to online sources for news. We know that tenants are extremely unlikely to see a notice in a printed newspaper but (at this point today) publication is still required by statute if you are having a lien auction to clear out units so you can rent them to a paying customer.

    The newspaper lobby has been powerful in the past and our private industry is being asked to prop up the newspaper industry by running and paying for ads that effectively do nothing for the tenant or facility owner and rarely even attract bidders, which would really be the only reason to run ads now--to attract bidders to the auction to lessen the tenant's debt. This is no longer an effective method and it is clearly just a way for the newspaper publishers to hold onto a revenue source. The shift to online auctions as well as the use of free online publications to attract bidders/buyers for garage sales, estate sales and auctions and yes--self-storage lien auctions--is obvious to everyone, including tenants. We hope to make it obvious to legislators.

    Advocating for the elimination of mandatory (and essentially useless) newspaper advertising is our top priority for the coming legislative session. We hope you and all other members support that effort and act when we ask you to reach out to your state representative and senator in 2023.



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    Ginny Sutton
    Executive Director
    Texas Self Storage Association, Inc.
    Round Rock TX
    (512) 374-9089
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