Self Storage Solutions

The home storage industry is experiencing a recentstorage unit very often, it is unlikely you will
Renaissance. It seems that most every dayexperience a climate related accident such as freezing
someone comes out with a new and clever way toof water damage. If the roof is leaking in these
hang something, box something or store something.storage centers, someone will notice. If the roof is
The most recent improvement has been in long termleaking in a single storage bays of a free standing self
storage which is also climate controlled storage.storage center, no one would notice until you arrived
There is a growing trend in markets large and smalland opened the door.
to convert former grocery stores or other vacantAnother plus of these next generation storage
retail space into secure, climate controlled storagecenters is many will offer high security storage. This
centers. This new market model is a win-win foris usually a section within the storage center that is
everyone. Strip mall owners are able to get long termwell secured, with heavier locks on doors, better
leases on retail space that was sitting idle. The selfvideo monitoring and often manned by a security
storage center is able to get a great price on existingguard 24/7. These are well suited for the storage of
space that is already under roof and has HVAC.valuable antiques or works of art. While not
Plus,can be converted less expensively to storageinexpensive, this level of storage goes for a fraction
units then if they were starting from scratch. The bigof what high end, all-climate storage used to cost.
winner is the self-storage consumer.The only down side to these new storage centers,
Since these new storage centers are in retail areasespecially those that are just getting started, they do
they tend to be more conveniently located thannot offer the same access that the more mature
newer, free-standing self storage centers. Becausefree standing self storage centers offer.
the overhead is lower the rates for individual storageBecause there are now more options then ever for
units are often less expensive per square foot.self storage, including the new portable on demand
These centers also offer a wider variety of spacestorage solutions, rates have been stabilizing and in
options since not all of their storage units are thesome cases actually coming down. You would be well
same cookie-cutter size. This is really handy if youadvised to shop around for the best pricing, especially
have something that is over sized or an odd shapeif you are looking for a long term contract. Self
that needs to be stored. The biggest plus is this newservice center owners are less likely to give a price
generation of climate controlled storage is an addedbreak to someone who will only be there for a few
level of security.months, but will often cut deals better than the
The converted retail stores to self storage centersprinted price sheet for someone looking at a multiple
have limited access, either through the front doors oryear lease.
the shipping bay doors. These are easy to monitorBefore you sign any long term contract, be sure to
both by humans and by video security cameras. Thisread it carefully and insist on a job change or
is much better that hundreds of feet of chain lengthemergence "escape" clause. If you suddenly get
fence - often with blind spots that are not monitoredtransferred or have something else unforeseen
- and the risk of someone breaking into your storageoccur, you don't want to end up paying for years on
unit undetected.an empty storage unit.
Another plus, especially if you do not visit your