See Something Weird? Probably Related to Foreclosure

The effects of foreclosure are becoming more strange by the week. Here’s the lineup of weirdness we’ve had on the Zillow Blog lately:

• Foreclosed homes with pools become a breeding ground for West Nile Virus
• Foreclosure bus tours packed with people looking for a bargain
• Mosquito fish used to battle infestations in pools of foreclosed homes
• Foreclosure victims living in a camper
• Celebrities facing foreclosure, too
• Unpaid parking ticket leads to foreclosure
• Foreclosures hurt pets, too
• Bobcats move into foreclosed home
• Woman bakes “mortgage apple pies” to stave off foreclosure

Here’s another one we can add to the list: Foreclosure victims turn to self-storage centers as last step before losing everything. In last Sunday’s New York Times, the front-page article, “Losing a Home, Then Losing All in Self-Storage,” unveiled the latest side effects of what happens when people foreclose on their homes: they stash everything in self-storage, but cannot make payments on the unit and as a result, their final possessions get auctioned off — sometimes for only a few dollars.

The auction itself is run almost like a game show: the auctioneer opens the door of a unit and interested bidders must assess in a matter of minutes the value of what’s inside. They are not allowed to touch or enter the unit; they can only do a visual once-over to determine its worth. Some units are filled with personal affects such as photo albums and keepsakes, but some can contain entire living rooms, including couches, chairs, televisions and rugs.

Self-storage operators are seeing another side effect: people are actually trying to live in the units. Dubbed “residential unit,” one self-storage operator said he would see one or two residential units a month, but with the foreclosure crisis, he’s seeing as many as 8 or 10 per month.

Observed something strange lately? You might be able to trace it back to foreclosure.