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Mini Storage units ??

BigAl

BigAl

Gone But Not Forgotten
Can anyone here give me some infor on Mini storages ?

I just purchased a building that will be converted to a 4 plex apartment/ Laundrymat/RV dump station and 3 RV sites with hookups . It is on 2 big lots and I still have a ton of room left over . Zoning is fine .
Now the nearest mini storage is 70 miles away and I am thinking of adding a mini storage in the rear of maybe 8 -10x20 units and 4 -10x10 units or ?????.

Opinions or do's and don'ts would be appreciated .


I can see only a postive cash flow by adding this .
Would some heated units be worth the extra cost since we live in snow country ?
 
Mini storage is at a premium nearly everywhere, Al. As for heated units? I'd hold off on that. Build 'em as cold storage with provision for heat to any or all of them at a later date, that way, should the demand present itself, you're ready to add heat. You're in the money! :clap:
 
IIRC, that's what JoeC does.

My non-expert advise would be to plumb for heat (as T-Nut's says) but skip it for now.
Make sure liability is in black and white.
 
I have a 455 unit self storage facility now in Lexington. I was also the trainer for Public Storage for about 7 years followed by 5 years with Extra Space Storage both in South Florida. Drop me a PM or Email about what you want to know and I'll help as much as I can. Oh and our property takes up 2.9 acres and is show below in the picture.

Oh and I forgot to add it is a positive cash flow business as long as you keep them rented. Now without knowing the actual size you have it is hard to say how many and how large. I would do more of the 10x10 than the 10x20 in most places but again it depends on who the renters would be. 10x10 are large enough to store a 3 bedroom home if packed right and a 10x20 is a minimum to store the average car. As for climate control again it depends on how cold it gets and what is store. It snows here and we have no climate controlled unit but did have about 50% in Florida.
 

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joec said:
I have a 455 unit self storage facility now in Lexington. I was also the trainer for Public Storage for about 7 years followed by 5 years with Extra Space Storage both in South Florida. Drop me a PM or Email about what you want to know and I'll help as much as I can. Oh and our property takes up 2.9 acres and is show below in the picture.

Oh and I forgot to add it is a positive cash flow business as long as you keep them rented. Now without knowing the actual size you have it is hard to say how many and how large. I would do more of the 10x10 than the 10x20 in most places but again it depends on who the renters would be. 10x10 are large enough to store a 3 bedroom home if packed right and a 10x20 is a minimum to store the average car. As for climate control again it depends on how cold it gets and what is store. It snows here and we have no climate controlled unit but did have about 50% in Florida.
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I agree that the 10x10 units would be a better idea , but my problem is I do no have enough room to have to have doors on both sides of the 20x 100 space where I can build it . I figured I could put a double unit on each end and access them from the ends of the building .

It just seems like a better idea than the local folks who travel 65 miles or so to have a storage area now . WE do get down into the negative 30's in winter here . I can have this up in 30 days from start if I keep it simple . Do the units need power ??
 
As long as you have a master switch to turn it off so folks don't leave light on you could put lights in it. Otherwise folks love to use your electric to do things in them.
 
The last storage unit I rented had a single small bulb in the ceiling on a timer. No outlets. This system should be cheap, not abusable, and handy when you needed access in the dark. You are going to need security lights anyway.
 
BTW, I just went back and checked the member roster. Seems we still only have only one BigAl. Is this really the same one that retired a year or so ago?
 
None of the storage units around here have power. I rented a 10X20 some years back. Kept a generator there for power if I needed to do anything in there.
 
BigAl said:
I agree that the 10x10 units would be a better idea , but my problem is I do no have enough room to have to have doors on both sides of the 20x 100 space where I can build it . I figured I could put a double unit on each end and access them from the ends of the building .

It just seems like a better idea than the local folks who travel 65 miles or so to have a storage area now . WE do get down into the negative 30's in winter here . I can have this up in 30 days from start if I keep it simple . Do the units need power ??
Click to expand...

Yes I understand and that would be a good way to do it. I did answer your PM as I've been out all day and just got home. No WiFi in the country but GPS on computer worked great. :wink: I did list some things to help you get started and I can also send you a list of sources for some of the things you might need.
 
Trakternut said:
None of the storage units around here have power. I rented a 10X20 some years back. Kept a generator there for power if I needed to do anything in there.
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We have 5x5, 5x10, 10x10, 10x15, 10x20, 10x30 and one 35x45 (rented to the Hilton Hotel up the street since the day this place was built 25 years ago). We have no electrical outlets in any of the spaces and a single light bulb in 10x15 up. We don't have a timer as we have some 24 hour access. We also do not have climate controlled spaces here but I've dealt with them in the past. They have some real over head hence they cost more to rent.
 
jimbo said:
BTW, I just went back and checked the member roster. Seems we still only have only one BigAl. Is this really the same one that retired a year or so ago?[/
Click to expand...

Yes it is :biggrin:. With the economy being lousy and watching my stocks stay flat , I decided I could do better than letting someone else handle my investments :unsure:. I retired 11 years ago at age 47 .

This has been my best year for investments since I decided to do it myself .:smile:
 
joec said:
Yes I understand and that would be a good way to do it. I did answer your PM as I've been out all day and just got home. No WiFi in the country but GPS on computer worked great. :wink: I did list some things to help you get started and I can also send you a list of sources for some of the things you might need.
Click to expand...

Thanks Joe ! I am sure I will have more questions as stuff progresses along .
 
BigAl said:
Thanks Joe ! I am sure I will have more questions as stuff progresses along .
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Feel free and if you like I can PM you my phone number or you can get it by doing a Google Search of Handi Self Storage, Lexington, KY. Then if a woman answers ask for Joe, that would be my wife.
 
joec said:
Feel free and if you like I can PM you my phone number or you can get it by doing a Google Search of Handi Self Storage, Lexington, KY. Then if a woman answers ask for Joe, that would be my wife.
Click to expand...


Great ! I'll be calling as I get this going . I am going to try and get the new building up in the next 30 days . No permits needed up here in the outback !!!:clap:. If you have the money you can start tomorrow on building anything .

I'll spend a little extra and make the mini storage match my new apartment building to keep my new nieghbors happy . It will have 8" log siding on the exterior with a colored metal roof .
 
Also get lots of rubbing alcohol to unfreeze locks during the winter. We fill an empty windex bottle with it. It is a lot cheaper than the lock unfreeze products and more of it. One of the best anti freeze things I've found.
 
Joe, the timers on the unit I rented timed each individual unit. You had about 15 minutes before the lights went out. If you were still there, you had to reflip the switch.
 
We have our main exterior light set up to be light activated, on others with motion sensors. Those come on and last about 15 minutes. In the spaces that have lights it is simply on or off. We probably have close to 500 lights between perimeter lighting and in space lights with most being exterior.

I worked for a Public Storage that had the type of lights you had Jim. They worked well also. Extra Space that I worked at after Public Storage had all motion sensor type in the spaces it also had door alarms that would show every time a door was open on the property on a big board in the office. Both of these properties however where in high crime areas in Pompano Beach and West Palm Beach Florida. We are located much better here in Lexington with not many problems with crime in our area.
 
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