Anyone own a self storage facility?

[red-beard]

Yeah, but they Paid more for the sofa than $10, and still think it is worth what they paid.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

you could advertise in divorce lawyer offices. I'm sure plenty of stuff has to be stored when one person has to leave the main residence.

[dtw]

Not my gig but I'd be involved. And yes, my storage needs would be solved.

Quote de dtw

The deadbeats are not a significant issue. Two units have been locked up in two years. Both paid up before forfeiting property.



Shaun, many customers are already on direct debit.



Circumstances and demographics make this really attractive. Am trying to look from all angles though.

Yeah, that's how I thought it worked, or at least should.



Sounds like a gold mine alright, and just think of how much personal parts storage you'll have!

[dmcummins]

Originally Posted by TerryH

Time to open the freezer. Have seen a few stories on investigation tv shows where this exact scenerio existed. Why pay so much more in rent than the freezer is worth? Fifteen years worth and never met him? It must be full of body parts or cash.

Is a storage rental considered private property or can your dad snoop to his hearts content?

Dad's the type that as long as the guy keeps paying, its none of his buisness what he puts in there.

[dmcummins]

Dad also has had very little trouble with deadbeats. One guy quit paying after renting for10 yrs or so and we opened the unit up and it was full of 69-70 mustang parts. Big block heads, transmissions, ect. Many NOS parts. The first Item I sold on ebay was a shacker air cleaner and scoop, got $2000.

Usually it just junk though. Dad knows a junk guy that he generally just calls and the deal is the guy has to take everything and clean up. But he takes the choice stuff first.

Im not sure how long he has to wait before he can take the stuff, but here it is not like renting an apartment. He has several of these on 12 acres so he usually just puts his lock on a unit and gives them a chance to pay.

[jhynesrockmtn]

Our company was renting a unit in Seattle that I cleaned out more than a year ago. They had people living in some of them, not sure it's legal. Plus they weren't heated. Shurgard Storage was a client a few years ago when I was doing staffing and consulting. They had a profitable model but all kinds of accounting, IT and reporting issues. Basically had not grown the support infrastructure as the business grew and were over there head with their international subs. Sold out before the SEC came down hard on them.

[vash]

i read a newspaper awhile back that said the units here in the neighborhood are at 99% capacity. for awhile you couldnt find a storage unit or a safety deposit box...i think it relaxed a bit.

my wife and i wanted to do this also. land is big bucks here.

[masraum]

Funny, I was just thinking about this about 3 days ago. I'm not in a position to get into it right now, but it seemed like a good option.

[Vipergrün]

I have never understood storage facilities. If you need to store it, you probably don't need it. Unless it's being used as overflow between moves or something.

BTW, that freezer is a red flag. Your dad may want to consult with an attorney to cover his butt. May be nothing at all, or may be another Dahmer.....

[TheMentat]

My dad has owns one that he developed a few years ago. It was developed in phases, with space for three. The trick is to remember that it is not a good idea to cram as much storage as possible on the site, cost be damned. There are some back of the envelope calculations to figure out that your "equilibrium" occupancy is...

Figure out what the average length of stay is (say 12 months). That means that 1/12th of your occupants move out every month.

That means that if you average 50 move-ins per month, you will be at equilibrium when you have 50 move-outs per month, which is 1/12th of 600 total units.

[joemama]

I also think these centers would be gold mines.

I've heard that the people in Minnesota hold onto all of thier crap... it's true these storage centers are everywhere here.

There is a new chain of them in town. They are brand new, very, very nice and worth the extra money to store stuff there. I know, I just got married and I have two spaces rented... $200 a month (and that's at a special rate).

I would stongly encourage you to look into one in your area (or close to your area). The ones recently opened in Minnesota are all multi-level, climate controlled and carpeted.

http://www.thelockup.com/

I'm very impressed with them.

Joe Mama

[Porsche_monkey]

I think the storage, trailer, and truck rental guys have a good gig. (i.e. U-Haul)

You move? They sell you everything you need, even storage space if you need it.

My friend used to pay $400 per month when he downsized. $4,800 per year. He had a new two car garage built and for $14,000 they built a basement. Paid back in three years. And all his stuff is accessible now.

[911Rob]

They are definately profitable; however the biggest cost factor is the Real Estate! Location is not generally a challenge with these types of facilities, as long as good access is provided for trucks and loading/unloading stuff.

I have a buddy here in BC thats in the storage business and he runs a couple storage yards. He used to be involved in several businesses, then got into this and stopped all others. Now he has his whole family working the business. He calls himself "Big Steel Box"; those in BC would likely know the company.

The real estate/ location is likely one of the more expensive things; so you buy some land on the outskirts of town and build a beautiful multi-million dollar storage facility; then some years later the land becomes more valuable, as the natural process of development occurs and you're stuck with the current use. Therefore, building or installing something that can be "Moved" is a smart idea. Once the land value rises, you can move the facility out to the out skirts again and put the land to a better use. Seems smart to me? That's what my buddy is doing.

I've noticed many have residences built above or behind the offices? Probably a good idea for the manager to live on site?

My two cents fwiw,
Cheers

[911Rob]

Oh, and I think Highway exposure to your sign/location is another must.

[jbryant]

I have had one for 3 years. http://www.rappstorage.com/
They work...

I wish I had outside storage though, parking for RV, etc. That would be what I would look for next time.
This one is 3 years old and at 80% and I don't advertise, work it at all...it was an investment with a friend and he has his office there and deals with the customers. Most of it is automated though.
PM me and I can give you all the details on them, etc.

Jim

[rcooled]

My father-in-law owns a couple of storage facilities and he claims they're like a license to print money. They're almost always full and with all the folks bailing on their mortgages & moving to smaller condos, apts., etc, storage needs will most likely increase in the near future. One thing to consider might be a controlled-temperature unit for things such as wine. A lot of collectors don't have adequate facilities for proper storage at home.

He started building another facility recently and a big national chain came in and bought the whole works before it was even finished for a handsome profit.

[fireant911]

First, I apologize to the thread starter because I have no useful information to share; however, I do have a funny story concerning these storage buildings... Back in the late 80's while I was in the Navy and stationed in Charleston, SC, I had some friends (shipmates) who actually lived in one of these. I had heard stories for the longest time and I went to see this for myself. I could not believe what these guys had done. Seriously, and I am not embellishing this one iota, they had built a two story apartment inside their rental storage unit. The lower floor was the lounging area with the couch and television (you could not stand up on the first floor) whereas the second floor was the sleeping quarters (it contained their beds). Their 'shore power' (you Navy veterans will be familar with this term) came from the outside receptacle at the storage facility with a totally unsafe number of things plugged in. These creative and thrifty guys watched the dumpsters and construction sites for used materials. The owner said that she did not want to know what was going on... just in case these guys got caught. She did slip them a gate key so that they could enter and exit after hours. I wish that I would have taken a picture because words just do not do justice to what these guys had built.

[Craig 930 RS]

Pretty slick when you can fit an operating meth lab in a 10 x 12 unit.
Happened in the unit near mine -

[Craig 930 RS]

His rent is $80 a month, and the locker is better than a shelter, he said.

``I didn't want to get sick no more,'' he said, claiming a skin infection had been working its way through the homeless shelter where he previously stayed. ``Then they want to steal your shoes.''

http://www.lacrossetribune.com/articles/2008/01/05/newsupdate/08storage.txt

[Hugh R]

I know at least one company that builds the storage building in a way that it can be relatively easily converted to office space when the area gets built out. $/sq.ft. are very high. No tenants rights.