If you find yourself in need of self storage and live in a town or city, chances are that you can drive to such a storage facility within just a few minutes. If you live rurally, there’s probably self storage available in the nearest town. But you shouldn’t always simply settle for the closest and most geographically convenient self storage facility.
Because you’ll be using your storage unit to keep things that you clearly don’t want to part with, whether they have real value, sentimental value, or they’re things you simply need to keep, you don’t want to trust these items to just any self storage facility.
You owe it to yourself to shop around a bit to find the best facility for your needs, with the most security you can get for the price that you want. If you’re just storing documents that you anticipate needing later but that won’t cause extreme problems if lost, or items that you simply don’t know what to do with for the time being, you might not need to pay for a storage facility with round-the-clock guards, CCTV monitoring and motion detectors that sound alarms at the local police station.
But with some items you’ll want to store, you may want those features to protect your valuables. The point of self storage is that you get to make the choice based on your needs. From the size of your storage unit to climate control storage options to whether it’s outdoors, indoors or in a drive-up unit, you get to make the decisions and decide how much you’ll need and how much you’ll pay.
Some general guidelines when it comes to choosing the right self storage facility start with making sure the company offers the size and type of storage you’ll need. Do they have climate control storage, should you need it? Do they have the size you want available, or will you be forced to rent two mini storage units or pay extra for a large unit that you don’t need? Do they have inexpensive outdoor units available for boat storage, RV storage or vehicle storage or do you have to pay for drive-up storage of these items when you’d rather not?
Find a few self storage facilities that offer the exact storage unit you’ll need. With the many facilities available today, there’s no need to settle for a storage unit that’s not exactly what you want. You might have to look beyond your immediate local area, but a drive of 20 minutes or even an hour might be worth it to get the kind of storage you need, especially if the closest storage doesn’t have the right environment for storing goods.
When you’re looking at an available self storage unit, don’t just see that they have the right size available and sign a contract. Look at an empty unit like the one you might get. Look for things like signs of a leaking roof, dampness and moisture. Look in the corners for things like vermin droppings when the previous owner cleaned out the unit, as you’re expected to do with self storage, if they did a haphazard sweep-up job they might have left evidence of such things behind. The self storage facility might clean the units between users too, but taking a quick look along the edges and the corners can make a vermin problem apparent. The unit should be dry and not feel humid. Be sure to check these things because it doesn’t take long for your items to be damaged or destroyed by either vermin or dampness.
And there are some basic security features you should look for in any self storage. Make sure the fencing around the facility is in good shape, and the buildings are well lit, inside and outside. Make a trip at night to see how dark the area might be, which can be an invitation for would-be thieves.
Well-lit facilities, however, discourage people from lurking around and trying to break in. This should be the minimal security at any facility, along with a fire alarm system to protect the contents of the self storage. You can find storage with more advanced protection like guards, CCTV and individual alarms, if you want those things.
Finally, look at the self storage contract. Will you buy the lock yourself or must you buy one of theirs? Notice the amount of the non-refundable deposit and find out if you can get a partial month’s payment back if you use the self storage unit for only part of the month.
