Author Topic: Storage lockers, wtf  (Read 17442 times)

Kitsune

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Storage lockers, wtf
« on: June 25, 2015, 07:58:37 AM »
Ok, so: we're renting a storage locker for 2.5 months (hold the facepunches) after moving 170km from our previous apartment to our house in the country; we basically need a place to put out stuff/furniture/stuff inherited from my parents "downsizing" (garden tools, saw bench, excellent quality woodworking gear, etc). This is what a storage locker is for, right? You move out of one place, you store things until you have your new place, and then you move into your new place?

Wrong, apparently.

This storage locker is in the middle of the country (a 15-minute drive from the two nearest towns, you literally can't buy milk without a 15-minute drive. When I say country, I mean it.), and it's full. I was talking to the dude who owns the place, and he never has more than 2-3 units out of 20 free. Most of them are rented out by the year.

HOW.

Like. Guys. It's the country. Everyone has space and land with their houses. There are no apartments. If you need space to store extra stuff, either a) get rid of the extra stuff, or b) build a shed. Even a ready-made small Home Depot shed costs less than a year's storage unit payments!

I don't understand.

cripzychiken

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #1 on: June 25, 2015, 08:19:09 AM »
Have you looked at the cost of a Shed from HD, it's like 8 months of storage - I don't have that saved up and I'll probably only keep it in there for like 3-4months top.  Plus then I have this shed blocking my view that I never look it, my neighbors will judge me for having some shed on my property!  Also, the stuff I store there is so special to me that it is completely worth the 15minutes to go visit it once every 6 months.  I mean, I couldn't live without.



Le Poisson

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #2 on: June 25, 2015, 08:30:52 AM »
I built our storage shed for about $500 IIRC using odds and sods I had laying around the house. I had to buy 2X3's for framing and some cedar for trim. A broken bundle of shingles was half price, and the latchet would have been $50 so I made on out of scraps. Even with scrounging, my shed was only a small footprint. To go full size I would have incurred a lot more cost.

http://frosthaus.blogspot.ca/2014/05/the-trash-cabana.html

http://frosthaus.blogspot.ca/2014/10/the-shed-has-doors.html

When we moved we did rent a storage locker - similar to you, it was for about 2 months. a 10 X 10 unit IIRC, and we filled it. We also took out the light and put in one of thoes 2-pole adapters that has a plug in it with the light socket. This allowed us to plug in a heater set on low so that our stuff didn't freeze over the winter. I forget what now, but there was something I was worried about freezing. I did get contents insurance so that if it burned down or flooded I could file it under "not my problem" - and since this was stuff I didn't need for months, I wasn't too worried about a timeline to replace it.

We discovered after moving in that a lot of folks are using those lockers to run ebay and amazon businesses out of. Some guys have a man cave set up in them. Others had car repair shops set up with engine hioists and  roller tool chests etc. There was at least one wood shop in the complex. A restaurateur was using one to stock his catering supplies. I guess with the writeoff the space is cheaper than an industrial lease?  Dunno.

My biggest concern with the storage units was the spread of things like bedbugs and vermin between the units. We moved out as soon as we could after getting the new house. I think using a storage unit for actual storage is bad idea for the bug reason alone.
« Last Edit: June 25, 2015, 08:41:12 AM by Prospector »

Chris22

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #3 on: June 25, 2015, 08:54:17 AM »
I just got out of our 1-year lease of a storage unit (we moved out of our previous house, rented it out, and stayed with family while looking for, buying, and rennovating our new house). 

In the times I spent there to load it, unload it, and retrieve random things, I saw a lot of people using their units for what I'd call "specialized" storage; lots of guys in work vans loading and unloading tools, supplies, etc.  We had the biggest unit available (10x20) and it was ~$200/mo.  If it's a business expense, that's not a huge one.  But I did have the "are you sure you want to pay $2400 to store this XXX" talk with my wife 1235234316644 times as we were packing the unit.  In general, most of the stuff we stored (large furniter, washer/dryer, tools, etc) were worth it to avoid rebuying.  Once you put a full dining room set and bedroom set (each cost give or take what a year's storage costs) in, anything else you can shove in there is gravy.

Ashyukun

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #4 on: June 25, 2015, 09:30:05 AM »
When we were selling my old house, I had 2 units (yeah, a bit of a facepunch...)- one climate-controlled that had the vast majority of my household goods so the house could be staged with as little in it as possible, and another unit that my project car and all my garage stuff went into. The climate-controlled unit was in a more 'common' type of storage place, but the one with the car & garage stuff was a lot more interesting- it had lots of overhead lighting and about a dozen outlets and was pretty much designed to be used for more than just storage. At least half of the units in the building (were about 20 units total IIRC) were used as garages by their occupants, which was pretty much what I did, allowing me to work on the project car while I didn't have a garage to use for it. The guy in the unit next to mine who I saw almost every time I was there literally ran his auto-detailing business out of his unit- his had a small bathroom and water, and I almost never saw him not have a vehicle parked in front of it and detailing it. The rent on the place was pretty low per month, so I'm betting he made quite a good profit on the venture.

The Money Monk

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #5 on: June 25, 2015, 09:32:25 AM »
  But I did have the "are you sure you want to pay $2400 to store this XXX" talk with my wife

You had a storage unit full of porn?

nobodyspecial

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #6 on: June 25, 2015, 10:27:11 AM »
  But I did have the "are you sure you want to pay $2400 to store this XXX" talk with my wife
You had a storage unit full of porn?
No - SHE had, he was asking is SHE wanted to store it.


Chris22

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #7 on: June 25, 2015, 10:27:58 AM »
  But I did have the "are you sure you want to pay $2400 to store this XXX" talk with my wife
You had a storage unit full of porn?
No - SHE had, he was asking is SHE wanted to store it.

Yes...it was hers...we'll go with that...

MgoSam

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #8 on: June 25, 2015, 10:39:05 AM »
  But I did have the "are you sure you want to pay $2400 to store this XXX" talk with my wife

You had a storage unit full of porn?

Well prior to the internet age, who didn't? Where else were you supposed to keep it?

cautiouspessimist

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #9 on: June 25, 2015, 02:26:07 PM »
This thread has reminded me that I have now had a storage unit for five years...Gah, I really hate it, but it's 2800 miles away, and I never seem to have enough vacation to go out there and clean it out/close out my account.

(short answer for those wondering: I moved my stuff there when I got out of the army and ended up NOT moving myself there for a variety of reasons)

NykkiC

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #10 on: June 25, 2015, 05:05:13 PM »
Another valid reason for having a storage unit is temporarily moving a long way away. Back in the earily 2000 my parents moved from Canberra, Australia to Paris, France for a job for my mother but the job was for a year (later extended to two but still temporary). My parents always knew they would come back, and in not too long a time. They had a house (paid off) and both of them had their positions held by their employers so that they could come back at the same level they were originally at. They had a whole life they would be coming back to and didn't want to be bothered getting rid of and re-buying their stuff for such a short time (they were renting out the house, of course). The storage locker may even have been paid for by the organisation that was temporarily employing my mother, there were a lot of perks like tht.

Kaspian

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #11 on: June 26, 2015, 11:13:31 AM »
I heard an interesting (horrible) fact the other day that Americans now spend more on storage lockers and containers than they do in restaurants.  ...And this is private citizens, not businesses.  File under:  "You know you have too much crap when..."

MayDay

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #12 on: June 26, 2015, 11:43:11 AM »
My aunt and uncle were relocated to Europe, for a 2-3 year assignment.  So the company paid to store their belongings in the US.  9 years later they moved back, and basically threw it all away.  What a waste!

We are in the process of moving locally, and have ~10 days of overlap.  Ridiculously little time to move stuff in and out of storage, Pods were all fully booked, so in the end we are having to just rent the moving truck for the whole time period.  Oh well. 

NoraLenderbee

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #13 on: June 26, 2015, 11:54:46 AM »
My dad was a defendant in a lawsuit that started in the 1970s and dragged on for more than three decades. He had boxes and boxes of paperwork that he had to keep. After he retired, he stored it all in a storage locker because he didn't want it in the house reminding him of the lawsuit. They later downsized to an apartment and then to assisted living. I *think* the case was finally settled/closed a few years ago. Most of the defendants are dead, and the plaintiff is about 70. Just an example of a situation where you might *have* to keep a ton of stuff and a storage locker is a good way to do it.

Elderwood17

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #14 on: June 26, 2015, 08:07:04 PM »
During our last move, we had an eight week gap between when we closed on the house we sold and the one we bought 800 miles away.  In the interim we lived in a furnished extended stay place with just some clothes and personal care items.   The moving company charged me for two months storage at something like $1,200 a month.  It was such a waste it almost killed me but they said we got off really light and some folks were paying over $2000 a month for a year or more during a major relocation.  Sure hope their companies are paying for it!

scottish

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #15 on: June 27, 2015, 10:31:02 AM »
Quote
This thread has reminded me that I have now had a storage unit for five years...Gah, I really hate it, but it's 2800 miles away

That would be great for grandkids.   "Hey, while you're out there, go take a look at my old storage unit"   It's a bit like a treasure hunt.   (Speaking of wasteful things, I remember we used to have a family cottage nobody used, it was about 4 hours away.   When I was in my twenties, we were bored and wondering what to do, so I drove out with friends for a long weekend.   It was great.  The foundation had heaved, and the floor was all warped, but it was still livable.  The place has long since been sold, but it was great at the time.) 

Not very mustachian though...

LouLou

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #16 on: June 27, 2015, 10:52:35 AM »
My dad was a defendant in a lawsuit that started in the 1970s and dragged on for more than three decades. He had boxes and boxes of paperwork that he had to keep. After he retired, he stored it all in a storage locker because he didn't want it in the house reminding him of the lawsuit. They later downsized to an apartment and then to assisted living. I *think* the case was finally settled/closed a few years ago. Most of the defendants are dead, and the plaintiff is about 70. Just an example of a situation where you might *have* to keep a ton of stuff and a storage locker is a good way to do it.

And this is the exact reason why law firms are moving to electronic files.  My firm is making the switch, and it will eventually save a fortune in reduced office space (no file rooms) and off-site storage fees.

This thread has reminded me that I have now had a storage unit for five years...Gah, I really hate it, but it's 2800 miles away, and I never seem to have enough vacation to go out there and clean it out/close out my account.

(short answer for those wondering: I moved my stuff there when I got out of the army and ended up NOT moving myself there for a variety of reasons)

If you haven't lived with that stuff for five years, you should really just sell all of it.

shadowmoss

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #17 on: June 28, 2015, 04:30:04 AM »
I had storage units in 2 different states at one point.  I left Nashville with 3 weeks notice and had to empty out a 2000f2 house.  About a third was gotten rid of by a friend( I just said 'make it disappear' and she did), about 1/3 or more was stored in Nashville, and the rest went to WA with me in a moving truck.  Almost 2 years later I relocated to Honduras with about as much notice.  What was with me went to Honduras, and my Jeep went into a storage unit in MO where my Mom was.  On a trip back to the States I moved my stuff from TN to another unit in MO.  Then when I came back I relocated to Phoenix and my stuff hadn't arrived yet from Honduras, so it got eventually put into the unit where my Jeep had been stored.   About 6 months later I moved it all out here, and have been going through it getting rid of a lot of it.  My trouble at the previous moving times was not enough time to sort through it all before needing to be many miles away.  The units bought me time.  And kept me from having a nervous breakdown trying to sort all the stuff while making arrangements to turn my life upside down yet again.  I am now working on going as minimalist as I can.  I probably own less than 1/4 of what I did when it all started, and I'm not done downsizing.  However, those storage units helped me survive the major moves.

cautiouspessimist

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #18 on: June 29, 2015, 01:04:09 PM »

This thread has reminded me that I have now had a storage unit for five years...Gah, I really hate it, but it's 2800 miles away, and I never seem to have enough vacation to go out there and clean it out/close out my account.

(short answer for those wondering: I moved my stuff there when I got out of the army and ended up NOT moving myself there for a variety of reasons)

If you haven't lived with that stuff for five years, you should really just sell all of it.

Well, that's the idea, but it's rather difficult to do at a distance. And I don't get enough vacation time to be able to take time off and do it in person.

Reynold

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #19 on: June 29, 2015, 01:41:40 PM »
We've got friends who have four climate-controlled storage units in CT, each is probably about $250/month so they have been spending $12,000/year for the last four years or so.  Mostly media (DVDs, CDs, books, etc.). 

They are now round tripping from New Hampshire back down to CT each weekend to try to empty/consolidate them, about 5 hours each way.  After about 6 months of this, they got ONE emptied.  The SAHW is a bit, um, OCD. . .   They are really going to try to pick up the pace now, though, and hope to empty another in maybe 4 months. 

Oh, by the way, they also have her former parents house in the area, now vacant since both her parents passed away a couple of years ago.  So I believe she is paying half the cost of keeping the empty house going, probably totaling another $12,000 by now.  I pointed out it would be cheaper to move all the storage unit contents into the local house, or pay to move it up to New Hampshire and rent a larger house, since their current spare bedroom is full, unsurprisingly.  The problem is that then the stuff would be so overwhelming it would never get cleaned out. 

Given that it took 2 years for her to move up to NH for the new job, I don't see them finishing this in under that. . .

nereo

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #20 on: June 29, 2015, 02:00:50 PM »
when I moved cross-country I bought a trailer off Craigslist.  I used it to store my things for ~4 months while we painted, cleaned and renovated various rooms in our new apartment, and then sold the trailer for $150 less than what we paid for it (mostly to make it move faster - probably could have gotten the same as I had paid if I had been more patient).

I wonder why more people don't just buy a trailer or shed to store their things - for $2400 (about what most rent their storage spaces for one year) you can get a 6 x 12' trailer and register it, even insure it against loss under my homeowners policy.... only you could sell it to the next person and get most of your money back.
Sure, it won't work for some people who live in urban areas... but it should work for many.

Chris22

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #21 on: June 29, 2015, 02:31:16 PM »
when I moved cross-country I bought a trailer off Craigslist.  I used it to store my things for ~4 months while we painted, cleaned and renovated various rooms in our new apartment, and then sold the trailer for $150 less than what we paid for it (mostly to make it move faster - probably could have gotten the same as I had paid if I had been more patient).

I wonder why more people don't just buy a trailer or shed to store their things - for $2400 (about what most rent their storage spaces for one year) you can get a 6 x 12' trailer and register it, even insure it against loss under my homeowners policy.... only you could sell it to the next person and get most of your money back.
Sure, it won't work for some people who live in urban areas... but it should work for many.

Trailers aren't climate controlled, the more time your stuff spends on the road the more likely you damage it, you have to have a place to park an eyesore for long term, you have to have a way to tow it, and on and on.  It works in some situations, but not in many.  Also, your trailer is about half the size of the space I rented for that $2400 (10' x 20' vs 6' x 12') 

horsepoor

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #22 on: June 29, 2015, 02:32:28 PM »
My coworker and her husband have like 2-3 storage lockers, plus pay to store their boat.  I pointed out to her that if they really need all that stuff, they could just buy a bigger house with all the money they're paying for storage each month.  No traction on that idea...

For the person who can't get out to clear the unit they've been paying for for five years... is there anything very valuable in there?  It seems like you could just cut your losses and find a resale/salvage type business that you could authorize to go in there and clear it out for you either in exchange for the goods, or maybe they'd give you a few bucks for the privilege if there's more valuable stuff in there.

cautiouspessimist

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #23 on: June 29, 2015, 02:40:54 PM »
My coworker and her husband have like 2-3 storage lockers, plus pay to store their boat.  I pointed out to her that if they really need all that stuff, they could just buy a bigger house with all the money they're paying for storage each month.  No traction on that idea...

For the person who can't get out to clear the unit they've been paying for for five years... is there anything very valuable in there?  It seems like you could just cut your losses and find a resale/salvage type business that you could authorize to go in there and clear it out for you either in exchange for the goods, or maybe they'd give you a few bucks for the privilege if there's more valuable stuff in there.

I'm afraid I do have some rather valuable items still in there. Perhaps if I manage to get all of those out I can do something like that. (or stop paying and let them auction off the contents on one of those shows)

Actually, given how many people on the forum seem to be moving out to the Seattle area, I've been tempted to put out a post advertising my stuff for sale...

mtn

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #24 on: June 29, 2015, 03:21:29 PM »
I'm in one, currently 2 months in. Max will be another 2 months.

My dad has one for his boat. That was supposed to be a short time deal; he used to keep the boat at his dads vacation  home (4 hours away), but Granpda sold the place. Dad got the unit, and started putting in offers on a house up there to buy. One we got screwed by the bank (somebody lied on behalf of someone else, we could pursue legal action but wouldn't get what we wanted). One guy thinks his house is worth about 40% more than it is (dad even offered $20k more than it appraised for). Another guy is in foreclosure and it is just a pain in the butt. 2 more won't sell, even though they haven't been there in years. So now the storage unit has been rented for the past 5 or 6 years. Hopefully ending soon, but who the hell knows?

lakemom

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #25 on: July 05, 2015, 07:39:51 PM »
I love self-storage units!!  They've helped me to be a stay at home mom for the past 16 years and now are enabling dh to be semi-retired.  We own a 110 unit facility in a small Midwestern town.  We've got about 10 clients who've been in their units for 10+ years (one whose been with us the entire 16 years we've been in business).  Its a great gig

cripzychiken

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #26 on: July 06, 2015, 05:47:00 AM »
I love self-storage units!!  They've helped me to be a stay at home mom for the past 16 years and now are enabling dh to be semi-retired.  We own a 110 unit facility in a small Midwestern town.  We've got about 10 clients who've been in their units for 10+ years (one whose been with us the entire 16 years we've been in business).  Its a great gig

Besides buying the land/building, normal utility bills, and meeting with clients to fill out paperwork and such, are there any other real business expenses/tasks?  Maybe maintaining a front gate and security system, but it otherwise seems very "set-it and forget it".  Anything I'm missing?  Storage companies is actually something I've looked into in the past, just never had the combo of a good deal and money at the same time.

kite

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #27 on: July 06, 2015, 06:04:04 AM »
I love self-storage units!!  They've helped me to be a stay at home mom for the past 16 years and now are enabling dh to be semi-retired.  We own a 110 unit facility in a small Midwestern town.  We've got about 10 clients who've been in their units for 10+ years (one whose been with us the entire 16 years we've been in business).  Its a great gig

A friend who owns them calls it a "License to steal" because they are so profitable. 

Bracken_Joy

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #28 on: July 06, 2015, 06:37:14 AM »

This thread has reminded me that I have now had a storage unit for five years...Gah, I really hate it, but it's 2800 miles away, and I never seem to have enough vacation to go out there and clean it out/close out my account.

(short answer for those wondering: I moved my stuff there when I got out of the army and ended up NOT moving myself there for a variety of reasons)

If you haven't lived with that stuff for five years, you should really just sell all of it.

Well, that's the idea, but it's rather difficult to do at a distance. And I don't get enough vacation time to be able to take time off and do it in person.

Have any friends there? Offer them a % of the sales. (Heck, offer them all the sales- it'll still save you money!). Call the company and get permissions for them to access the unit. Ta-da. I actually did this for one of my brothers once. Came at a very good time for me, I was 'down on my luck', and saved him the trip and dealing with an emotional minefield of his and his ex's stuff. Bonus: since I know him well, I was able to save some meaningful items for both of them they forgot they had in there. Also some important paperwork.

zephyr911

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #29 on: July 06, 2015, 12:00:40 PM »
I love self-storage units!!  They've helped me to be a stay at home mom for the past 16 years and now are enabling dh to be semi-retired.  We own a 110 unit facility in a small Midwestern town.  We've got about 10 clients who've been in their units for 10+ years (one whose been with us the entire 16 years we've been in business).  Its a great gig

A friend who owns them calls it a "License to steal" because they are so profitable.
I ran the numbers on one here in AL and passed because it grossed less than comparable residential rentals and was more labor-intensive from what the listing agent told me. What kind of returns are your friends seeing?

MoonShadow

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #30 on: July 06, 2015, 01:13:16 PM »

Like. Guys. It's the country. Everyone has space and land with their houses. There are no apartments. If you need space to store extra stuff, either a) get rid of the extra stuff, or b) build a shed. Even a ready-made small Home Depot shed costs less than a year's storage unit payments!

I don't understand.

Let me help you with this one. Long term rentals of storage units are for things you don't want associated with your home or yourself.  Let's go through some examples.

A busted boat or "classic" car that the owner can't/won't fix, and the wife doesn't want to have to look at.

As a poster alluded to above, a porn addiction.

A hiding place for a dope growing operation, rented under a false name.  If the unit is raided, it doesn't lead the cops to the grow-op; but if the grow-op is raided there is still the storage unit of product and/or seeds & gear to rebuild. Basicly diversification for legal risks.

I saw one that was a full-on 'Man cave', with a couch, refrigerator and huge TV (before everyone had huge TVs), and a small sat dish mounted on short pole stuck in a bucket of concrete.  This guy & his buddies would go to the unit before the game, pull the sat dish out into the isle with the door open, align the dish and watch the game without any interruptions at all. I would never have spent the money, but I have to admit that is was a fine solution to the problem he had.  That being, wife doesn't want husband's friends over late jumping and yelling while the kids are supposed to be sleeping, and the closest sports bar was a 40 minute drive.  I'm pretty sure they had a real (octogonal) card table in there as well.

I will leave it to your imagination as to how I know about this stuff.

foobar

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #31 on: July 06, 2015, 02:17:13 PM »
I love self-storage units!!  They've helped me to be a stay at home mom for the past 16 years and now are enabling dh to be semi-retired.  We own a 110 unit facility in a small Midwestern town.  We've got about 10 clients who've been in their units for 10+ years (one whose been with us the entire 16 years we've been in business).  Its a great gig

A friend who owns them calls it a "License to steal" because they are so profitable.
I ran the numbers on one here in AL and passed because it grossed less than comparable residential rentals and was more labor-intensive from what the listing agent told me. What kind of returns are your friends seeing?

Times change. 10-20 years ago the storage business was like printing money. It has gotten a lot more build up these days.  Now we are talking generalities and there are still locations that are great.

I remember reading about this 15 years ago and thinking that people were crazy. There was no way there were enough people willing to pay a 100+ month to store stuff. I was totally wrong:)

lakemom

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #32 on: July 06, 2015, 04:15:31 PM »
In our case the land was inherited so our costs were only construction costs.  It is a steady stream of income with very little work.  I spend 10 hours a week in the office (mainly just to have set times to rent/get paid) and a couple more hours per month fielding phone calls.  These days with kiosks and electronic gates (we have neither) you can literally never set foot on your property unless you want to.  Of course there is the selling off of abandoned units but that really isn't a huge part of my business (5-6 per year or less) and nothing AT ALL like the show on tv.  My area is perfect for this type of business because we have a lot of lakes and low lying land where you can't dig a basement so packrats need somewhere to put all their junk.  In my area you definitely profit more with units than with single family rentals but like any business the money is made going in not coming out.

mm1970

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #33 on: July 06, 2015, 04:23:22 PM »
We had one for a couple of years, facepunch!  We moved from a 2BR apt into a 1BR apt, and had extra stuff that we'd need "when we bought a house".

Two moves later, we ended up in a duplex with a garage, so we used the garage.

Then we bought a house the same size as our duplex, but no garage.  So we got rid of all our stuff.  Well, not all of it, but much of the stuff we were storing at $100 a month.

Live and learn.

sstants

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #34 on: July 20, 2015, 08:54:56 AM »
Storage units are great when you have to bridge a gap between apartments (out on Aug 31st, in on Sept 1). Otherwise...WHAT?! I've used them for moving a few times and have always been in and out so quickly it has only cost me the introductory rent $1 plus a move-in fee of $20. After that the rates jack up to over $100 for even a small space.

I'd love to hear someone actually list all the things that they store in their unit...I bet most people have no idea.

Kitsune

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #35 on: July 20, 2015, 10:24:03 AM »
To my own personal taste, owning a home that has a dining room that you rarely use or a guest bedroom that is empty 50 weeks of the year, or an extra bathroom that is never used, is just as brainless as renting a storage locker, and the costs are similar.  It's easy to poke fun at the storage locker folks, but...'Let he, without a guest bedroom, cast the first stone...'

My DW would never even consider a home that had only 1 bathroom, and yet, as homeowners, our 2nd bathroom has been used probably 4 times in 4 years.  How many thousands of dollars extra did we pay for this completely useless room?  I think we will pay about $1,000 per $hit.

It gets worse.  We have a nice finished basement we rarely use.  For 75% of the year, we have to run 2 dehumidifiers concurrently or we will get mold in our basement.  Holy crap, those machines draw a lot of energy.  How much extra am I paying those months to have a finished basement I rarely use?  I think most people pay for some version of a storage locker.  At least I know I do.

 

True. So true.

For some people, the guest bedroom is actually useful (witness me justifying it...): ours is currently booked for every weekend until Thanksgiving, except for the 3 weekends we'll be out of town and staying with friends (the air mattress in the living room is also claimed for about half of those weekends). We live far away and have a close social circle; extra space is part of how we coordinate keeping our friendships. Also, we do intend to have more kids, so space to grow the family is encouraging. (Disclaimer: we were finishing part of the basement to get an office out of it, since we both work from home. Cost to get a guest room done too: less than 1K. Decent investment to keep friendships close, and also decent on the resale value of the house. I would NOT have bought a house with an extra unneeded bedroom for 15K more.)

For the rest of the house, though... couldn't agree with you more. Dining rooms are a LOT of square footage, especially if you want to be able to have a larger table and sit more than 6 people. (I don't know about everyone else, but 15+ people at least every two months is about standard for us...) Houses that have a living room, a family room, a den, another sitting room, and maybe a playroom for the kids? I don't get it. You have one bum. It can sit in once couch at a time. How many couches does one family need??




mtn

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #36 on: July 20, 2015, 10:58:20 AM »
To my own personal taste, owning a home that has a dining room that you rarely use or a guest bedroom that is empty 50 weeks of the year, or an extra bathroom that is never used, is just as brainless as renting a storage locker, and the costs are similar.  It's easy to poke fun at the storage locker folks, but...'Let he, without a guest bedroom, cast the first stone...'

My DW would never even consider a home that had only 1 bathroom, and yet, as homeowners, our 2nd bathroom has been used probably 4 times in 4 years.  How many thousands of dollars extra did we pay for this completely useless room?  I think we will pay about $1,000 per $hit.

It gets worse.  We have a nice finished basement we rarely use.  For 75% of the year, we have to run 2 dehumidifiers concurrently or we will get mold in our basement.  Holy crap, those machines draw a lot of energy.  How much extra am I paying those months to have a finished basement I rarely use?  I think most people pay for some version of a storage locker.  At least I know I do.

The second bathroom is the one thing I miss from my old apartment. That was awesome.

It will only take one instance of the flu or food poisening to hit both of you at the same time. Then that bathroom is going to pay for itself for eternity.

mm1970

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #37 on: July 20, 2015, 11:24:41 AM »
Storage units are great when you have to bridge a gap between apartments (out on Aug 31st, in on Sept 1). Otherwise...WHAT?! I've used them for moving a few times and have always been in and out so quickly it has only cost me the introductory rent $1 plus a move-in fee of $20. After that the rates jack up to over $100 for even a small space.

I'd love to hear someone actually list all the things that they store in their unit...I bet most people have no idea.
I can tell you what we stored in ours:

College textbooks
An extra couch
A couple of extra tables and bookshelves
Christmas tree and decorations
Off season clothing
Skis
Camping gear

mm1970

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #38 on: July 20, 2015, 11:28:24 AM »
To my own personal taste, owning a home that has a dining room that you rarely use or a guest bedroom that is empty 50 weeks of the year, or an extra bathroom that is never used, is just as brainless as renting a storage locker, and the costs are similar.  It's easy to poke fun at the storage locker folks, but...'Let he, without a guest bedroom, cast the first stone...'

My DW would never even consider a home that had only 1 bathroom, and yet, as homeowners, our 2nd bathroom has been used probably 4 times in 4 years.  How many thousands of dollars extra did we pay for this completely useless room?  I think we will pay about $1,000 per $hit.

It gets worse.  We have a nice finished basement we rarely use.  For 75% of the year, we have to run 2 dehumidifiers concurrently or we will get mold in our basement.  Holy crap, those machines draw a lot of energy.  How much extra am I paying those months to have a finished basement I rarely use?  I think most people pay for some version of a storage locker.  At least I know I do.

 
Hand up right here!  We have an 1146 sf, 2BR, 1 BA home.

Plus two boys, 9 and 3.

Our guest bedroom?  It's the cot in the boys' room, if it's a kid sleepover.
Otherwise, the couch is a sofabed.

We did own this house before kids, so for 2 years the 2nd bedroom served as our office.

I would kill for a 2nd toilet though.  I don't remember the last time I had a week where I was able to shower every day (I take 3 min/ Navy style showers), without someone else in the bathroom. Sometimes my older kid is on the toilet and the 3 year old is on the potty-training potty, and my husband is helping him.

No fun.

This morning I was helping 3 year old on the big toilet and the 9 year old was washing his hands and I was waiting patiently to pee.

EricP

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #39 on: July 20, 2015, 11:40:19 AM »
My parents have a storage locker.

They use it to store my grandparents stuff that they couldn't fit in the nursing home or that they wanted to keep when they died.  It's mainly sentimental stuff that they can't throw away, but some of it was stuff that they wanted to keep until the kids moved out on their own and could be used to kickstart an apartment (pots and pans, silverware, vacuum cleaners, etc.).  That's no longer the case as most of it has already been doled out, but they just can't emotionally throw a lot of it away.

I imagine there are others in the same situation, and I think it's a pretty big task to get over emotional attachment to objects.  I know I have trouble selling/throwing stuff out, so I can't really get to upset about people who have storage lockers to keep things they can't throw away for emotional reasons.

cripzychiken

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #40 on: July 22, 2015, 08:52:44 AM »
My parents have a storage locker.

They use it to store my grandparents stuff that they couldn't fit in the nursing home or that they wanted to keep when they died.  It's mainly sentimental stuff that they can't throw away, but some of it was stuff that they wanted to keep until the kids moved out on their own and could be used to kickstart an apartment (pots and pans, silverware, vacuum cleaners, etc.).  That's no longer the case as most of it has already been doled out, but they just can't emotionally throw a lot of it away.

I imagine there are others in the same situation, and I think it's a pretty big task to get over emotional attachment to objects.  I know I have trouble selling/throwing stuff out, so I can't really get to upset about people who have storage lockers to keep things they can't throw away for emotional reasons.

My parents (well mother) is like this too.  For a birthday gift awhile back, I scanned in a whole bunch of newspaper articles she had kept.  Organized them by when, who and where (so 3 copies of each article).  Gave her 3 copies of the stuff (dvd, jump drive, installed on her computer) plus I have 2 copies myself.

After that, she only kept 3-4 articles rather than her 4-5 boxes (she kept the whole paper for each article, sometimes 2-3 copies of said paper).  I've been doing this to slowly clear out her junk room.  It took a bit to get started, and it's a lot of time, but it's super cheap and she loves it. 

Next on the list is photos, and she has 7 boxes of those (that I've found so far).  And I mean moving boxes, not shoe boxes (although there are 2-3 boxes of framed pics).

but maybe something like this will help get to the point where the storage locker isn't required anymore.  Get it down to a box or two and they can just keep that and not the locker - saving whatever the monthly rent is.

Sibley

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #41 on: July 22, 2015, 03:21:13 PM »
Storage units are great when you have to bridge a gap between apartments (out on Aug 31st, in on Sept 1). Otherwise...WHAT?! I've used them for moving a few times and have always been in and out so quickly it has only cost me the introductory rent $1 plus a move-in fee of $20. After that the rates jack up to over $100 for even a small space.

I'd love to hear someone actually list all the things that they store in their unit...I bet most people have no idea.
I can tell you what we stored in ours:

College textbooks
An extra couch
A couple of extra tables and bookshelves
Christmas tree and decorations
Off season clothing
Skis
Camping gear

For one month, 5+ years ago:
Queen size bedroom set + mattress (got free from a neighbor)
Whatever was packed and ready to get out of the way when I filled it up. Mostly books, dvds, music I think.

mtn

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #42 on: July 22, 2015, 03:31:20 PM »
Storage units are great when you have to bridge a gap between apartments (out on Aug 31st, in on Sept 1). Otherwise...WHAT?! I've used them for moving a few times and have always been in and out so quickly it has only cost me the introductory rent $1 plus a move-in fee of $20. After that the rates jack up to over $100 for even a small space.

I'd love to hear someone actually list all the things that they store in their unit...I bet most people have no idea.
I can tell you what we stored in ours:

College textbooks
An extra couch
A couple of extra tables and bookshelves
Christmas tree and decorations
Off season clothing
Skis
Camping gear

For one month, 5+ years ago:
Queen size bedroom set + mattress (got free from a neighbor)
Whatever was packed and ready to get out of the way when I filled it up. Mostly books, dvds, music I think.

Since... Uh... May? June? For us--Most of our house. We both were living together, then got new jobs, and are living with our parents until we get married. Since we had a house of stuff, and our parents no room for it, we decided to get the storage unit. The $150 a month for that is way cheaper than rent for an apartment, and the value of the stuff inside is probably about equal to what we're spending on rent of the storage unit IF you buy used. But most of it has sentimental value as well.

Bob W

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #43 on: July 23, 2015, 10:59:30 AM »
We have a couple of storage unit place up my main road.   Most people around here have acreage as well.    I have been driving by a building project on the main highway the last few weeks.  Fuck if they didn't blast out a mountain side to build around 200 storage units.  That can't be cheap.   

I guarantee they will be filled up in less than a year though at $80 per month.

Real Estate investors on this thread be notified

Storage Unit real estate investments are the greatest real estate investment known to man.   No tenants to bitch or evict -- no plumbing, heating or AC problems,  high occupancy with no need to qualify anyone.   It is the perfect game. 

And yeah -----  Most people are dumbasses and 50% are more dumbass than that. 

Reminds me of that other thread about sister -- I can't afford food because my damn storage unit to store our 2 monthly payment Harleys we never ride is too expensive.

mtn

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #44 on: July 23, 2015, 11:23:26 AM »

Storage Unit real estate investments are the greatest real estate investment known to man.   No tenants to bitch or evict -- no plumbing, heating or AC problems,  high occupancy with no need to qualify anyone.   It is the perfect game. 


I'd argue that a parking lot with fees is a better investment.

EricP

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #45 on: July 23, 2015, 02:01:09 PM »

Storage Unit real estate investments are the greatest real estate investment known to man.   No tenants to bitch or evict -- no plumbing, heating or AC problems,  high occupancy with no need to qualify anyone.   It is the perfect game. 


I'd argue that a parking lot with fees is a better investment.

No one would pay for a parking lot in the middle of BFE, though.

Le Poisson

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #46 on: July 24, 2015, 05:48:20 AM »

Storage Unit real estate investments are the greatest real estate investment known to man.   No tenants to bitch or evict -- no plumbing, heating or AC problems,  high occupancy with no need to qualify anyone.   It is the perfect game. 


I'd argue that a parking lot with fees is a better investment.

Low end parking spots in Toronto are selling in the $30K range IIRC. http://www.realtor.ca/Residential/Parking/15633060/P-255---210-VICTORIA-ST-Toronto-Ontario-M5B2R3-Church-Yonge-Corridor

cripzychiken

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #47 on: July 27, 2015, 05:44:19 AM »

Storage Unit real estate investments are the greatest real estate investment known to man.   No tenants to bitch or evict -- no plumbing, heating or AC problems,  high occupancy with no need to qualify anyone.   It is the perfect game. 


I'd argue that a parking lot with fees is a better investment.

Low end parking spots in Toronto are selling in the $30K range IIRC. http://www.realtor.ca/Residential/Parking/15633060/P-255---210-VICTORIA-ST-Toronto-Ontario-M5B2R3-Church-Yonge-Corridor

I had to double check, click the link and still look a 3rd time... that's 30k for a SPOT.  not a lot, not a garage, not a level, but a single spot.  That costs more than both of my cars, combined.  And that doesn't count the $137/month in fees to 'maintain' that single parking spot.

But hey, it can rent for $170/month, which means only 1,000 months until you break even - or a quick 83.3 years.

Le Poisson

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #48 on: July 27, 2015, 06:12:06 AM »

Storage Unit real estate investments are the greatest real estate investment known to man.   No tenants to bitch or evict -- no plumbing, heating or AC problems,  high occupancy with no need to qualify anyone.   It is the perfect game. 

I'd argue that a parking lot with fees is a better investment.

Low end parking spots in Toronto are selling in the $30K range IIRC. http://www.realtor.ca/Residential/Parking/15633060/P-255---210-VICTORIA-ST-Toronto-Ontario-M5B2R3-Church-Yonge-Corridor

I had to double check, click the link and still look a 3rd time... that's 30k for a SPOT.  not a lot, not a garage, not a level, but a single spot.  That costs more than both of my cars, combined.  And that doesn't count the $137/month in fees to 'maintain' that single parking spot.

But hey, it can rent for $170/month, which means only 1,000 months until you break even - or a quick 83.3 years.

Any you have to buy a condo to get the parking spot. That building is actually pretty reasonable at $260,000 for a 'spacious' 1 bedroom. http://www.condominiums.ca/listings/1554736-200-victoria-st-toronto-ontario-c3085657

mtn

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Re: Storage lockers, wtf
« Reply #49 on: July 27, 2015, 07:21:25 AM »

Storage Unit real estate investments are the greatest real estate investment known to man.   No tenants to bitch or evict -- no plumbing, heating or AC problems,  high occupancy with no need to qualify anyone.   It is the perfect game. 


I'd argue that a parking lot with fees is a better investment.

Low end parking spots in Toronto are selling in the $30K range IIRC. http://www.realtor.ca/Residential/Parking/15633060/P-255---210-VICTORIA-ST-Toronto-Ontario-M5B2R3-Church-Yonge-Corridor

I had to double check, click the link and still look a 3rd time... that's 30k for a SPOT.  not a lot, not a garage, not a level, but a single spot.  That costs more than both of my cars, combined.  And that doesn't count the $137/month in fees to 'maintain' that single parking spot.

But hey, it can rent for $170/month, which means only 1,000 months until you break even - or a quick 83.3 years.

You're thinking of it wrong. You buy a condo, you buy a spot with it. Roll the cost of the spot into the condo. In the big cities, it isn't going to depreciate. So yeah, if you rent it out and it is covering you're costs, you're ahead. Sell the spot when you sell the condo.

Seems crazy, and it is, but it really is no more crazy than buying a house. Assuming of course that you "need" a car.