» Self Storage Unit Locations
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Why Storage Rates May VaryBy admin on May 30, 2008 | No Comments
And How To Decide What Is Best For You
Believe it or not, when you are shopping around to find somewhere to store your belongings, different facilities in the same town and sometimes on the same street may have different self storage rates . The great thing is that from week to week or month to month, the space you were looking for will be a different price than when you called to get the initial price. With the economy the way it is plus the competition that is in the area, the prices fluctuates.
There are many factors that go into why the self storage rates are different from facility to facility and space to space. The different reason the prices might be different are convenience of location, amenities that benefit the customer, and of course the size of the space. Many facilities try to sell you on their facility and want you to come down to see them. Sometimes it might be in your best interest.
A great location can dramatically increase the self storage rates of that facility. For the store owner, the great location may mean higher land and building costs, which result in higher rent. Besides that point, people pay for convenience and the demand is higher. Being able to stop by your store room during your daily routine and not waste precious time in your busy day, let alone the cost of saving gas is what creates higher rent. Finding a facility that is on the way to everywhere you go is great. Sometimes you think about something you have in the store room that you need to get out. You will pay more to get in and out of facility that does not disrupt your everyday life.
If you have ever called around looking for somewhere to store your belongings, you have come across one or two facilities that actually do more than just give out their self storage rates . You will find that there are some facilities that believe they can convince a caller to come down and rent with them if they are told how their facility can benefit them. That is an interesting concept. The manager wants to discover your true need for storing and find the best solution for you.
It has been proven that customers are looking for more than just price. It is a common misconception that all people care about is just how much it will cost them a month. If the sales person on the phone takes one or two minutes to explain that they have some benefits that will improve your storing experience, you are likely to choose them. These things could be a computerized gate, security cameras, door alarms on every unit and maybe a conference room that anyone can use. But those are just a few of the things that may cause the prices of the self storage rates to go hirer.
When looking for the best self storage rates , you have to know what you are putting into the store room. How are you going to get the best value on a space if you are unsure on what you are putting in there? Different sizes are given a different price and of course the bigger you get the more expensive it is. Whether it is a 5×5 space or a 10×10 space, you have to know what you want to store and the manager at the site can assist you with the correct space for your needs. Sometimes you might luck out and get a bigger size for the same price as a smaller unit due to the availability of the space in question.
When you are calling around looking for the best self storage rates in your area, you have many things to consider. No matter what you need to be sure on what you are wanting to store and what you can live without in terms of amenities. With the competitive market today, so many people are offering you a free month, half off a couple of months of storing or to move in for only a dollar. You can spend days and sometimes months trying to figure out where to put your belongings. That final decision is yours.
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Falling On Hard TimesBy admin on May 29, 2008 | No Comments
How To Find The Cheapest Place To Store Your Things.
The luxuries in life are slowly being whittled away with each gulp the gas tank gulps down and in some cases, rising interest on credit cards, personal loans and home mortgages. Some of the changes are small, like going out to eat one less time a month, seeing one less movie at the theater and renting one instead, etc.
Other changes are on a larger scale and affect the future of a family, like selling a car, downsizing a home or selling the home to rent a house, finding employment closer to home, or even moving in with relatives.
No matter what financial status our economy may be in, there are, as a rule, a constant ebb and flow of families in these transitions. For one reason or another, they find themselves re-evaluating some major decision in life.
In the hopes of returning to the lifestyle that they enjoyed before these major changes, some families may choose to search out a cheap self storage room to rent until things start looking up.
Although a familys circumstance may leave them in a bind for money, the word cheap should only imply a prudent decision, not a poor one. Cheap self storage could mean many things because there are storing facilities out there that are nothing more than a few aluminum sheds on an empty lot. While those rental spaces may be inexpensive, they are also an unsafe and hazardous environment for items you cherish or want for later use.
Alternatively, there are store room rentals that are very expensive and come with more bells and whistles that you could imagine are necessary for keeping your belongings for a few months or longer.
The key to finding a cheap self storage room is to be sensible about it. There are a few things you might be willing to compromise in order to find a less expensive storing provider. It is important to weigh the decisions in your mind. For example, a location a few miles outside of town may offer cheap self storage compared to the store location downtown. If you are willing to put your belongings outside of town, assuming that the rural location has a secure environment, then you can save yourself anywhere from 20 to 40 dollars a month just by going a few miles past town. However, if you imagine that you will need access to your cheap self storage room frequently, then driving those extra miles may eat up more money in gas than you are saving. Then, the downtown location would, in essence, become the least expensive unit.
Another factor in deciding which location will be least expensive in the long run is asking if there are any hidden fees such as deposits or administration fees. And, to be fair, a family falling on hard times should read the fine print about overdue fees and even the policy on auctioning unpaid units. It would be a tragedy for a family to lose all their possessions over a few days of unpaid rent. So choosing the facility with the more lenient policy is one way to safeguard against losing your items. Of course, one need not announce their situation to the property manager if they do not wish to. All you need do is ask to read the rental agreement first, look for the collections or overdue clause and then read it very carefully.
Soon enough, things will start looking up and you and your family will be glad to have had the luck of finding a cheap self storage place to keep your familys heirlooms and possessions.
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How Much Self Storage Should You Pay For?By admin on May 9, 2008 | No Comments
No matter where you look, you can find affordable self storage anywhere. You can find facilities in your area, by searching on the Internet, in the newspaper, or through word of mouth. When you look for a storing facility, you can find a lot of great offers and some great looking facilities. You have to be sure you are getting what you are bargaining for.
When you are researching on-line, you can go to many different places. You can go to many different search engines to get the biggest searches for affordable self storage . Most websites you visit will send you directly to an actually facility. When you are searching for that best facility, most of the time, you will need to search by your zip code or state. This will allow you to see all the different facilities that are in your area. The Internet is very biased when it comes to searches. When trying to find storing facilities through search engines, you will always get the website that has been hit the most. Of course, most facilities use all kinds of advertising to get their name out there and first on many search engines.
When it comes to best bang for you buck, you have to determine what you can live with or without. Most facilities will offer you a lot of different amenities for your dollar, but you have to realize those great amenities are what drive the cost up. Whether it is their climate controlled gates or their millions of cameras looking for those dastardly characters lurking around to confiscate your items, you have to understand what you are paying for. When it comes to needing affordable self storage , you have to ask yourself, if you care if your items are located within the walls of Fort Knox, or can they be stored at this facility down the street? When you are scouring around looking for somewhere to store, the facilities that you do not see fenced in are still great facilities, just without all the bells and whistles.
Now, by saying this you might be thinking that you are making your items susceptible to theft and robbery. Well you will always take that chance. Even in the facilities that have a gate, if the person is sneaky enough they can drive right in behind you, wait until you leave and then break into your space. There is nothing out there, in terms of security that can keep every single person who is willing to break the law out of that facility. With most affordable self storage , you have to invest in a better lock that is better enabled to withstand most lock cutters. You can also make sure where you are storing your belongings is in a particular nice neighborhood that does not have a high theft rate.
The long and the short of it is this. You can find affordable self storage anywhere. What you had to do is do some hunting and looking around. You can find places that offer great specials and your monthly costs will be low for high security. On the other hand, you can find great low cost facilities that might not have all the great amenities, but will save you a dollar or two. It is a tough decision that you have to make.
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There Is More To Storage Than PriceBy admin on May 7, 2008 | No Comments
There are rental facilities everywhere it seems. Some people wonder where they find self storage . If you walk out of the door, get into your car and drive a couple of miles in any of the four directions, you are bound to run right into one. There are facilities everywhere. When you are driving down the highway next time, look to your left and to your right and you will see many facilities lined up in prime view.
Why are you trying to find self storage ? Most people use this service when they are attempting to make their homes less cluttered. They want to give their homes the appearance of being open and free. Some people just need a place to park their vehicle for the winter. There are many reasons to need this service. You just have to determine your need for the service.
You can use the vast Internet for your guide to find self storage . No matter what search engine you use, you will find over 10 million hits with some reference to the rental industry. With it being one of the fastest growing businesses in America right now, it makes sense that there are that many website links to it. Make it a point during your search, that you identify if the location is convenient to you, so that it would not cause a major detour in your day to get there. When trying to find self storage , there are some things you might want to consider.
One thing that most people think about first is the price. While price is very important, is that all that you care about? Hopefully, the answer is no. Now, do not get this message wrong or confused. The price is important to the final decision, but you need to find out what you are getting for the price, which leads us to the next point. Are you seeing the value in where you are storing? When seeking out rental facilities, it is good to know what you are paying for. As we all know, there is a rental facility once every five to ten miles in one direction. What makes one facility better than the one down the street? That is up for you to ask.
Does that facility have any hidden fees that they decide to spring up on you at the last minute? Who wants to pay for you to be entered into the system or to do your paperwork? You have to believe that you are making a good decision based off what you are hearing the associate tell you. It is good to do research online, but actually talking to a person can give you so much more at times.
Why are you trying to find self storage ? Make sure your reason is valid. Stop to think about it. Do not call around looking for free when you know you will have to pay something to store your belongings there. Do not go into it expecting a certain amount of money only to be disappointed. Keep an open mind and realize the value in what you are paying for. Do not put your belongings in facility in which you feel uncomfortable. You are storing things for a reason. If you did not care what happened to them, why are you wasting money on storing them?
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Self Storage Is About ConvenienceBy admin on May 2, 2008 | No Comments
Self storage is a service that many people use on a day-to-day basis. It is a convenient way to store your belongings in a location other than your house to save space. Some people use it in order to store their companys documents because office space is expensive and can be used for something other than storing boxes. So is it better to find and a storing facility for that reason. But what all goes into renting a space?
If you take the time go search for self storage in your area, you will be surprised at the number of available companies that provide this service. It is a fast and growing business that people are taking an interest in, but it is highly competitive. One search revealed more than thirty three facilities within a ten-mile radius. That zip code searched, only showed a population of 25,000 within that same ten-mile radius. If you take a second to think about that number, you will find three facilities within one mile in each direction you go. That is crazy. In another area that was searched, the city had over 2 million people within this city and its outer limits came up with a 330-facility results. That is a ridiculous amount of facilities in that area.
With the outrageous number of self storage places out there, where do you choose to put your belongings? That part is up to you as a customer. Many people have different needs and reasons for needing somewhere to place their belongings. Someone might need the service because they are doing a remodel that involved clearing that room or rooms out. Not everyone has a garage or a portion of the house to put those belongings. That is why they turn to your company for help. Some people are looking for price or a convenient location. For this person only needing this service because of a remodel, they might need a cheap price (so they can put most of their costs to the remodel) and a convenient location (so they can quickly go and access their belongings). There are plenty of people out there who look beyond the typical lowering price points out there. Some people are looking for a value.
With so much competition out there in self storage, the owners have to be smart and innovative in order to keep their facilities full. When people are thinking about where to put their belongings, all owners would like to the customer to think about their facility. Most companies tell you about their great security and how they have 10 or more security cameras and their security access gate in order to show you the value of where you are trying to store. In addition, this is a great way to show you how secure your belongings would be. Some companies have a one-dollar move in special to where they only charge the customer a buck for the first month and then the regular price their after. There are companies out there that spend thousands in advertising trying to through out there what they can do for you as a customer. It is definitely not easy to decide where you want to put your belongings.
There are people out there who have great experience in deciding where to put their belongings. In self storage, you have to first realize your needs for the store room and then find a facility that is accommodating to those needs. You should not just look at pricing for your final answer. Is the place convenient to where you need it to be, can you just stop by quickly on your way back from work? Are your belongings safe and secure at the facility? Do you feel the people that run the facility are helpful and will be there if you need their help? These are all questions that you need to pose to yourself when you are deciding where to put your belongings in self storage.
December 2005 Secret Shopping Blog Archive
Self Storage Article Directory – Self Storage Advertising and Marketing
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Find Self StorageBy admin on April 8, 2008 | No Comments
There are all kinds of ways to find self storage units. People are using units for different reasons. Someone may need to use these types of areas for selling his or her house. He may use rental areas just to stage the house for show. A customer will usually get a small unit to put boxes or clear out clutter just so their house looks bigger.
You can find self storage online. This is a very popular way to find units. A customer can go online and do different searches to find something in his or her area. Usually a web site will help, someone can put his or her zip code in and it will pull up all location in their area. If you want a certain company, then someone can put that company name in and it will pull up all locations where that company is located. This really helps those customers who are moving to a new area, or even a new state. Lots of customers who are relocating will use this search. A manager can hold a unit until the customer gets moved to their new location and most facilities can accommodate a semi truck, a lot of times when moving from another state a semi truck brings it in.One way for customers to find self storage seems old fashioned. This is where you are using the local phone book and see what is in the area or close by. Most customers that use this type of service will use a location close to their house, so if they need to get something out it is close by. Most facilities have decent access hours for customers to get in to their rentals. So that way if some one is having a big dinner party but forget they had pack away the good china, they can run to their unit and get the box hopefully mark china and have their good china for the dinner party.
People still use word of mouth to find self storage. Most people in general will ask around to their friends and family, have you tried this or have you used this or that. Whatever they are looking for it seems most like to hear someone else has used it or tried it. And they have had good results with it. Well it is the same with this business. For instance, students who are going home for the summer will need a place to store their items and they will ask their classmates where they should store.
If a customer is moving to an area they do not know, but have a family member in that area, they may ask their family member, do you know of any companies or know of any one who has used rented before. Sometimes the family member may have rented before or heard of one close by their house and they will suggest that one. There are a lot of times if a family is moving to the area then their family member who already lives there will shop around for them. Calling locations in them area and seeing what kind of security they have and the cost.
Regardless of where customers are at or where they need a rental there is a way to find self storage.
January 2008 Property Management Blog Archive
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Culture and Economy Contribute to Storage GrowthBy admin on March 25, 2008 | No Comments
National self storage chains have popped up across the country and have even begun to filter into Mexico and Canada. The popularity of national self storage has flourished over the past decades as Americans began collecting more stuff than they could keep in their home. Several lifestyle, cultural and economic trends could be factors in the rising popularity or national self storage facilities.
One trend that could be contributed to the growth of national self storage is the do it yourself homeowner. Such homeowners typically have one or more home renovation projects going on at once. For example, the kitchen remodel may have crept its way into the dining room and before you know it, half the house in under construction and the furniture needs to be placed in a national self storage facility.
In addition to home remodeling, national self storage facilities have seen an increase in families who are relocating or moving. While in transition, national self storage units offer an inexpensive and convenient way to clear out some clutter while the home is on the market and then store items while the homeowners are in transition from one home to the next.
Another cultural trend that may have contributed to the increase in national self storage business is the aging baby boomers. As they begin to relocate to condos or a smaller home for retirement, they probably give some of their heirlooms or furniture to children or grandchildren. Maybe those children and grandchildren do not have room for it at the time or do not feel it fits the style of their home, yet they do not want to get rid of it. Self storage is a great solution for borrowing a little time and space until one has use for Grandma’s secretary desk. Another possibility is that once a child has inherited furniture, they move their parents furniture into their home and place their old furniture in storage for a later time. In any case, this could be one factor that has created need for self storage.
National self storage facilities have also seen a spike in storage leasing to members of the Military. In this time of war, soldiers may find that national self storage units are much cheaper than keeping a lease at an apartment. In many cases, national self storage facilities offer Military discounts to active soldiers as well as veterans.
The benefits of choosing a national self storage facility over a singly owned and operated self storage facility are that there may be a higher level of security and amenities. This is because the national self storage company wants to create a brand name and quality associated with its company. So security such as video surveillance, alarms on each storage unit door, police patrol and amenities such as fax, email, delivery and pick-up services and even luxuries such as conference rooms may be part of the national self storage deal.
Typically, a national self storage chain will have a standard that the company holds all owned, franchised or affiliated self storage facilities to. This means that the customer should expect a higher quality of customer service. The self storage managers of a national self storage company will be managed by regional or district supervisors who answer to the corporate office. With a national self storage structure, there is more accountability and a higher standard for each store.
However, it does not discredit the locally owned and operated self storage facility. Local self storage facilities should also offer great customer service and tenants may be able to negotiate price more so than with a national self storage facility.
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Self Storage MiamiBy admin on March 22, 2008 | No Comments
Self Storage Miami is a new cable TV cop mystery series that is coming out as a summer replacement show this summer. Self Storage Miami is going to feature a different investigation every week, where the cops will get a search warrant for a self storage Miami unit. They will look into the unit for evidence to help solve a crime. They will try to piece together the lives of the people they are investigating by examining the things they find in self storage Miami storage units. Imagine the evidence and the stories left behind by people in their self storage Miami units.
There is furniture and books, baby clothes and artwork, tools and pictures and things that might just be junk. A self storage Miami episode could uncover evidence of past crimes or evidence of past lives lived to the fullest. Why is it people use self storage Miami storage units? They are between homes or building a new home that is not ready yet. They are storing things they no longer have room for. They are storing family items that may have been passed down for generations. Maybe they are storing things for their businesses. Self Storage Miami will surely also feature people who are importing and exporting things to and from the Caribbean and South and Central America. Part of the allure of South Florida is its connection to the rest of the Americas. In many ways Miami is one of the capitols of the Caribbean and of the Spanish speaking world. There are also lots of Canadians, Germans and other Europeans who love to come to South Florida. Self Storage Miami would then have the potential to connect episodes to all parts of the rest of the world. Imagine the trail left by people as they hop around the globe stopping in Miami just to use their self storage Miami units as they move all sorts of things around the globe. Some of these things are probably also contraband, which would make every episode even more interesting for viewers.
The part about Self Storage Miami being a new cable TV series is a fabrication. But the concept is not a bad one. People love the allure of Miami and the fact is that many people from across the globe come through Miami. There must be a million interesting stories of people traveling and doing business all across the globe. There must be thousands of storage units in Miami. And each one of them probably tells an interesting story about the person or about that family. There may be families who have roots in Cuba or Haiti or Brazil that have belongings that have been in their families for hundreds of years sitting in the storage unit. There may be people from Canada who have things in their storage unit that their ancestors brought over from Scotland or England in the 1600s. Then there are probably some very boring items like boxes of old school books or old clothes that do not tell much of a story. But it has happened that some very fascinating things have turned up in storage units all over the country. Who is to say what interesting things would turn up in a self storage Miami unit. Maybe someone should work up a script for just such a mystery series and see if they can get it made into a show.
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Choosing The Right Storage FacilityBy admin on March 7, 2008 | No Comments
Self storage is a service that many people us on a day-to-day basis. Self storage is a convenient way to store you belongings in a location other than your house to save space. Some people use self storage in order to store their companys documents because office space is expensive and can be used for something other than storing boxes. So is it easy to find and a self storage facility or for that matter, what all goes into self storage?
It you take the time go search for self storage in your area, you will be surprised at the number of available companies that provide self storage. Self storage is a fast and growing business that people are taking interest in, but it is highly competitive. One search revealed 33 self storage facilities within a ten-mile radius. The zip code searched only had a population of 25,000 within that ten-mile radius. If you take a second to think about that number, you will find three self storage facilities within one mile in each direction you go.
With the outrageous number of self storage facilities out there where do you choose to put your belongings. That part is up to you as a customer. Many people have different needs and reason for needing storage. Someone might need storage because they are doing a remodel that involved clearing that room or rooms out. Not everyone has a garage or a portion of the house to put those belongings. That is why they turn to self storage. Some people are looking for price or a convenient location. For this person only needing self storage because of a remodel, they might need a cheap price (so they can put most of their costs to the remodel) and a convenient location (so they can quickly go and access their belongings). There are plenty of people out there who look beyond the typical lowering price points in self storage out there. Some people are looking for a value.
In self storage, with so much competition out there, the owners have to be smart and innovative in order to keep their facilities full. When people are thinking about where to put their belongings, all owners would like to the customer to think about their self storage facility. Most companies tell you about their great security and how they have 10 or more security cameras and their security access gate in order to show you the value of where you are trying to store. In addition, this is a great way to show you how secure your belongings would be. Some companies have a 1-dollar move in special to where they only charge the customer a buck for the first month and then the regular price after. There are companies out there that spend thousands in advertising trying to throw out there what they can do for you as a customer. It is definitely not easy to decide where you want to put your belongings.
There are people out there who have great experience in deciding where to put their belongings. In self storage, you have to first realize your needs for storage and then find a facility that is accommodating to those needs. You should not just look at pricing for your final answer. Is the place convenient to where you need it to be, can you just stop by quickly on your way back from work? Are your belongings safe and secure at the facility? Do you feel the people that run the facility are helpful and will be there if you need their help? These are all questions that you need to pose to yourself when you are deciding where to put your belongings in self storage.
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Climate Controlled Self StorageBy admin on March 4, 2008 | No Comments
Using a non-climate controlled self storage facility is like storing things in a regular garage. The hotter or colder that the weather gets outside, the hotter or colder that it gets inside of the space. On the other hand, a climate controlled self storage unit is heated during the winter months and cooled during the summertime. And climate controlled self storage not only affects the temperatures, but it also helps to keep the humidity down.
It is imperative for a facility that offers its tenants a climate controlled self storage unit to be a safe and secure operation, just as with any type of a storage facility. It needs to be well lit with video surveillance and fire detection. An onsite manager is able to live on the property and keep a close eye on things. Offering tenants different options to pay their bill is also necessary, since different people have different needs. Online bill paying, automatic credit card payments, and paying via the telephone are just a few options.
Obviously there are many reasons and circumstances why a person may need to rent a climate controlled self storage unit.
Anyone planning on storing their items for a long period of time will want a climate controlled self storage unit. The drastic changes in temperatures between hot and cold can cause items to expand and contract. This process is hard on just about everything a person owns.
Renting a climate controlled self storage unit is very important for storing leather or wood furniture. The extreme temperatures can harm leather and cause wood to warp.
A climate controlled self storage unit is a necessity when storing family heirlooms and antiques. These items are fragile and have years of stories to tell, and they need to be kept in a climate controlled self storage space.
It is a good idea to keep clothing and bedding in a climate controlled self storage space. Humidity can cause a musty smell in these items, and that can be difficult to get rid of.
Photographs, 45s, and LP albums are very sensitive to temperatures and need to be put in a climate controlled self storage unit. Finding a record player to listen to the 45s and LPs is another story.
Musical instruments are another example of things that need to be put in a climate controlled self storage space. Pianos, guitars, and harps need a fairly constant temperature to assure their well-being.
A climate controlled self storage unit is important for businesses needing to store files and records long term. Paper has a tendency to turn yellow or become brittle over time. And renting a climate controlled self storage space costs a company much less money than renting a larger office just to accommodate the papers they need to hold onto.
Pharmaceutical representatives are required by law to store their goods and samples in a climate controlled self storage unit.
Many people with a classic car want to keep their pride and joy in a climate controlled self storage space. That way they can sit and admire their baby without anyone even noticing.
And anyone that is going to spend a great deal of time in their unit will want a climate controlled self storage space, just for their own comfort. Unpacking and looking through years of boxes can be very uncomfortable if it is zero or one hundred degrees outdoors!

