Top 5 Important Benefits For Using A Self Storage Unit

Issue: Jul 2019

Top 5 Important Benefits For Using A Self Storage Unit

Why rent a self storage unit? Isn’t it more convenient to store possessions at home? If they don’t fit, can’t you get a bigger house?

People consider self storage solutions for many reasons. Here are the top five benefits:

1. Secured Protection

Your belongings are valuable and some of these may be costly to replace. Others have sentimental value across generations. You deserve the peace of mind that comes with knowing they are safe.

If your home is running low on storage space, secured self storage is a cost-effective way to keep your property safe. Inexpensive extra square footage can free up valuable space at home for a more stress-free lifestyle. Even a small storage space can hold more things than you would expect if the vertical space is utilized correctly.

When planning an extended trip, keep in mind that a lot can go wrong over a long absence. Burglary is not common, but a long absence is a tempting target for a thief. More common is damage due to fire, lightning, wood rot, and water exposure, which can spiral into a costly disaster if you are not home to respond. A professional self storage facility secures your possessions against these hazards with top-notch security, including intruder-proof doors and locks as well as surveillance cameras and electronic entry. Additionally, safeguards are built into the structure to extinguish and prevent rapid spread of fire, and prevent water insurgence due to heavy rain.

Most home insurance policies do not cover items in storage. Consider a facility that offers insurance policies to protect your belongings in the unlikely event of damage or loss. Premiums can start as low as $3 per month.

2. Convenient and Flexible To Use

Many self storage facilities provide 24-hour access. The building has an entry code, and each customer secures his or her unit with a padlock and keeps the key. This allows you to get to your possessions when it is convenient for you, even if your only available hour is late at night or early in the morning. Storage unit leases tend to be flexible, with most facilities renting them on a month-to-month basis. A few days’ or weeks’ notice is usually all you need to end your rental when you no longer need the storage unit.

Self storage facilities may have the option of air-conditioned units if any property is sensitive to drastic shifts in temperature. Alternatively, a client may also choose to rent a unit without climate control. Units can be reserved over the phone, online, or by email, by laying down a deposit and some facilities may have a website with a client portal so you can manage your rental online. Facilities often provide dollies and other moving tools, and may also sell retail locks, boxes, and other packing materials.

3. Space Solution

Even people who live comfortably in small homes may find that their possessions outpace the available space. Professional self storage facilities have solutions to fit every collection and lifestyle. Storage units typically start closet-sized, with standard doors, maybe five feet by five feet for a total of 25 square feet. If this sounds small to you, don’t neglect the vertical clearance. Eight feet of vertical clearance gives you a total of 200 cubic feet. A lot of boxes, totes, or other modular packing containers can fit in a closet when stacked to the ceiling. Just be careful as it can be hard to access items in the back of the unit when storing modular containers this way.

If a closet-sized unit is too much space, storage lockers may be available at even more reasonable rates. From the locker and closet sizes, units scale up and up, from walk-in closets to sheds with oversized doors if you want to store bulky items, to garages large enough to store an automobile, watercraft, or aircraft. Make sure to check the facility’s policies and accessibility if you want to store an automobile or other motorized vehicles.

Another benefit of self storage is scalability. If you find that you need more space, you can almost always upgrade to a larger unit, sometimes with the click of a button. Alternately, if your unit is more spacious than needed, you can downsize to a smaller unit at will.

The facility’s website may include a size-estimating web app or web tool that allows you to enter some details about your possessions. You might be able to enter, for example, how many rooms you are moving out of, how many boxes you need to store, and so on. The web app might give you a price estimate and allow you to select options like climate-controlled storage.

4. Cost Benefit

Self storage can save on long-term costs. The rent-per-square-foot can be comparable or even higher than an apartment or rental house, but with fewer square feet and no need for living amenities, a self storage unit is a bargain compared to renting a second apartment or finding and moving into a larger home.

If you plan an extended absence from your home town, it may be worth ending your lease or sub-leasing your home to another renter, at which point your belongings can be moved into self storage. That way, instead of shouldering a full rent or mortgage payment on a home you are not even living in, you merely pay a self storage fee far smaller than any house payment.

furniture miniature

5. Temporary Storage Purposes

Housing contracts tend to be yearly leases or multi-year mortgages. By contrast, most self storage fees are month-to-month and can be cancelled with relatively short notice. This can come in handy in a number of circumstances. A family may want to move house, but there could be an interim period when they need to move out of the old house while the new house is not ready.

They need to store their belongings for a short period of time, in addition to securing temporary lodging for themselves. If a home is undergoing renovation, it may be necessary to move possessions into storage to give contractors access to the premises and to protect possessions from damage. It may also be wise to store possessions temporarily while travelling, to avoid theft and to prevent damage resulting from unchecked accidents and hazards common in a vacant home.

Some self storage facilities also offer pod storage, portable storage units that can be loaded onto trucks and delivered to a new residence or other destination, rather than the renter having to arrange transport of possessions out of the storage unit. MORE QUESTIONS? Reach out to us! StorHub Singapore is one of the top self storage providers in Singapore. Refer to our visual size estimator guide to evaluate your storage needs and generate a free online quote.

Love It? Store It!