Self Storage Past and Present
From the new customers perspective, a storage company seems like it should be nothing more than an empty place to keep some stuff for a few bucks a month. In the beginning days of the storing industry, that would have been a correct assumption, in most cases. However, the storing industry has grown into a large real estate market. The beauty of free enterprise has created stiff competition among the industry and what use to pass as acceptable is no longer up to standard, as the bar has been raised by the magnificent blend of supply and demand and market value.
For example, a storage company of old may have been able to charge 40 bucks for a 5×10 room per month. That was way back when a storage company was a new idea and people were not quite sure what to make of their local facilities yet. As we all grew accustomed to and even relied on having that extra space provided by the store room, the demand grew. With the rising demand, perhaps the local facility expanded with a few new additions or perhaps another investor built his own storing facility. As this happened in every town across the country, and industry began to bud.
The new storage company was able to build the newest technology of building materials and probably afforded themselves a few more bells a whistles that the original competitor had. To keep up, the original facility had to update and renovate. The cycle began.
All these silent moves to out-perform the competitor, along with the natural rise of the economy drove the price of a store room up. Nowadays, a 5×10 unit can rent anywhere from 60 to 250 dollars, depending on the populous and the demand for that unit.
As a new customer to the storing world, what seems like a pretty cut and dry experience can open your eyes to another, better industry than one had hoped for. More goes into a store room than just the empty space that one had originally sought out. At first, a new customer may be shocked to learn the price of a 10×10 unit is well over 100 dollars. He or she will most likely look at the number of doors on the property and quickly guess at how much the place must bring in in rent each month. However, assuming that rough estimation is true is far from reality.
Todays storage company should provide you with some basic security features such as a fenced perimeter with an access controlled gate so that only tenants can enter the premises, video surveillance to keep an eye on the property at all times, an on-site manager who is there at a moments notice, a well-lit property for safety at night and some even have patrolled lots. As a convenience, a reputable store room facility should also offer features to make ones move easier, like drive-up accessible units to easily unload from a truck to the unit, climate controlled options for long term storing or sensitive items, cart and dollies for tenants to use as they move in and out and even packing supplies for sale in the office.
All those security features and amenities add to the overhead cost of running a state of the art storing facility. This does not include property maintenance, taxes, association fees and dues, marketing and advertising, legal fees, payroll, existing mortgages, etc. that the property owner has to pay before a final profit is made.
After a little more thought, a new customer can see, a storage company has to work hard to turn a profit and the property is not just guzzling in hundreds of dollars in rent right onto the bottom line. However, a new store room customer should feel at ease knowing that the industry has a high standard and now offers a more convenient, secure and better way for storing.
Could a very thrifty customer still find a store room that offers nothing more than an aluminum frame of empty space in exchange for a few dollars each month? Yes, there are some dinosaurs still out there, in rural areas where the private enterprise has not demanded that storage company update its service. However, a new customer should weigh in his or her mind the risk he or she is taking by placing items in an unsecured property. Although the space might be cheaper, is it worth even 1 dollar a month if one will not get the items back in usable condition?
A new customer to the storing industry should take his or her time becoming acquainted with the local facilities and then decide what features are important to him or her. Once one has become more educated, he or she can make a better decision about which storage company will best fit within the budget and meet his or her storing needs.
Source : Self Storage Owner
RV Storage
Self Storage Past and Present / Author: royaltyuniverse
