Does anyone own rental storage units??

[Circus Midget]

I'm thinking about building some storage rentals and was wondering if anyone else has them or any opinions. Locally, we have the demand and I don't feel I'd have any trouble keeping them filled. Just last week a guy I knew called 14 different places in town and every one of them was full.

I'm young and to me it would seem like a pretty ideal investment. It wouldn't be too costly upfront and it would be pretty low maintenance. Also wondering if it would be worthwhile to build some bigger storage units that could be used to store boats, etc. Without doing any further research, I'd almost bet there would be a market for taller units that could accomodate campers.

 

[Wolfrun]

I have several friends who built them years ago. They have all done great and one is independently Wealthy. Yes they have taller units for trucks, campers etc. Good investment.

 

[xrated]

Talked to a guy who has several units one day. His words, "a legal license to steal"

Great business. This was over a year ago, but he said at those rates, you could buy land and build the units and be showing pure free and clear profit in 7 years!!

Asked about insurance, etc. You only insure the buildings for your sake, ie storm damage etc. You aren't responsible for fire damage, etc to items in the units. Likewise you are not liable if illegal drugs, etc are in the unit. Also if you aren't paid monthly rent you can break the lock and take what you want and sell the rest.

Well I think that was the jist of it, if I screwed up please correct.

I would look into building storage if I could.

 

[HeadLever]

the only downside is the folks that don't pay. You seem to end up hounding after them, but that is not too bad. If they don't pay for a couple of months, most contracts are set up that the contents of the units are now forfiet. However, I don't think that they are automatically yours. You may have to check out the state laws, but I know that most folks auction these units off. there are very specific laws that govern these autctions. Here is a little news story that I saw the other day that goes through some of this.

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/front_page/20090316_Storage-unit_auctions_on_the_rise.html