THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, August 22, 1994 TAG: 9408220054
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B01 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PATRICIA HUANG, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Medium: 97 lines
Gloria and Jose Torres were juggling bills again last month, stretching the paycheck as far as it would go. They knew they were late paying their storage bill at Bunny Rabbit Self Storage in Norfolk, but they thought they had a little more time.
But Torres, 42, never thought the business would sell her mother to get their money - well, her mother's ashes anyway.
A mixup in the due date led to the company selling off all the Torres' possessions, including a box containing the ashes.
When Gloria went to pay the bill, she was shocked to discover that all of the family's belongings had been sold the day before.
``I can't believe they did this,'' said Torres, choking on her words. ``I've lost everything. I've lost my mother.''
The Torreses had rented the space for a year and a half, ever since Jose Torres retired from the Navy and the couple moved out of their five-room military housing unit into a trailer park in Chesapeake with their 6-year-old grandson.
Jose Torres found work here and there at various local convenience stores, but still they came up about $300 short of meeting monthly expenses. So they canceled their phone and cable TV service, and decided each month which of the other bills would have to be paid late.
``My husband was out of work for a little bit. . . but we always made the payment by the last due date,'' Gloria Torres said.
They would have paid their bill on time again, she said, except for the mix-up in the due dates. Torres said a certified letter from a representative of the storage firm led them to believe they had more time to come up with the money.
Glancing around her trailer home at the few knickknacks she has left, Torres recounted items that she lost in the auction - family albums and heirlooms, baby pictures of her children and herself, birth certificates, a dining room set, an antique grandfather clock, jewelry, Navy uniforms and mementos - ``Everything,'' she said.
``There were things in there that a million dollars could never replace. I mean, how can you replace my mom?''
Among the personal items she has left are a few plants, porcelain figurines, some books and cookware, and the only photo of her mother that she hadn't put in storage - the only one she has left.
She can't sleep anymore, she said, and constantly recalls items that were packed in the 70 or 80 boxes they had stored away. There were the first love letters between her and her husband, a cast iron plate that her uncle made for her when she was a girl, her wedding dress, a video of her mother's last days, china and statues found during a visit to Mexico.
Most of the property, valued by the couple at about $15,000, wouldn't fit in their trailer, but Gloria Torres said she'd make regular trips to the storage shed, using it like a closet.
``If I ever had a few dollars, I'd go and get something special for my grandson, and sometimes I'd put things away in there for him,'' she said. ``And the other week I was there to get curtains and take out winter clothes.''
The notice from Dick Kelly Real Estate Co., which manages the storage site, warned the couple that their rent of $55 for July was late. If the renters did not pay the amount owed plus a $10 late fee by Aug. 10, the letter said, ``a lien will be placed on the contents. . . and subject to public auction on Wednesday 8-12-94.''
Aug. 12, however, was a Friday.
``I called them on the 8th and told them I would be there to pay the bill on the 11th,'' said Gloria Torres. ``And the woman said, `Fine, as long as you're here before the auction on the 12th.' ''
But when she arrived to pay the bill, she was told that the auction had already been held.
Melissa Johnson, property manager for Dick Kelly Real Estate, said her agency made several attempts to contact the Torreses and pointed out that their rent was six weeks late. She said the error in the date had been corrected in a second letter, which the couple said they never received.
``It's a sad situation to see people's stuff auctioned off, but it's not within our control, it's within theirs,'' said Jean Opsahl, a supervisor for the real estate company. ``The rent is due on the first.''
The Torreses' possessions, including her mother's ashes contained in a small, lacquered black box with the words ``The remains of Nancy Vogel'' emblazoned on the lid, sold for $170, Johnson said. Public auction sales are typically made to flea market operators and thrift store owners, who buy items for resale, she said. They are often unaware of the contents of the boxes.
It is the policy of the real estate agency not to reveal the names of the buyers at its auctions.
``If I could just have one thing back,'' Gloria Torres said, ``it'd be my mother.'' ILLUSTRATION: Staff color photo by JOSEPH JOHN KOTLOWSKI
Gloria Torres, shown with her 6-year-old grandson Travis, has only
one photo left of her mother and father. Others had been put in
storage.
by CNB