» Self Storage Unit Locations
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Overland Park Storage and Other Storage SpecialtiesBy admin on July 9, 2009 | No Comments
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On the surface, choosing a self storage unit for your extra furniture, or household articles during a move or major renovation on your house can seem like a pretty easy task. After all, all Overland Park self storage facilities are the same, are not they? The answer is no. All self storage facilities are not created equal and if you leave the decision until the last minute, you are likely to be leaving your belongings in a place where they will not really be protected or looked after in the way that you desire. There are many factors to consider when you are looking into renting an Overland Park household storage unit and planning in advance to be able to compare 2 or more different self storage provides on all of these factors will ensure that you make the most responsible choice.
Of the utmost importance to many people who are trying to decide on storage units for their belongings is security. People want to be able to sleep at night knowing that their furniture, collections, tools and even cars are being watched over 24 hours a day, and are protected from natural elements as well as human thievery and vandalism. Some important questions to ask the facility manager when you are checking out a potential Overland Park furniture storage facility include, Do they have round the clock surveillance, either in the form of a constantly present security guard, property manager or video monitoring services? Does the property include fences, walls and gates that can be locked after hours completely sealing off the property from outside intruders? Is the lot and storage unit doorways lit sufficiently with bright, outdoor lighting? Does the facility offer any kind of insurance against damage to your belongings while they are stored on the property? What precautions does the facility take to protect the contents of their units from water, heat and pest damage? And, most importantly, has this facility experienced vandalism or theft in the past? The answers to all of these questions can give you a much clearer picture of the total security of the property and whether or not your possessions will be safe there.
Another factor to consider is accessibility, as in the access you will have to your unit at any given time. Some Overland Park car storage facilities will offer a staff member on duty at all times day or night, which is ideal if you anticipate that you may need to access your unit during non-traditional business hours. Does that facility technically close during night and weekend hours? If so, are unit renters provided with an access code that will let them on the property during these times? If not, it would be ideal to be provided with a phone number or email address of the facility manager, so that in the case of an emergency you will still be able to access your unit.
Once you have chosen the Overland Park car storage facility that meets your high standards for security and accessibility, it is time to get your vehicle ready for transport to the facility and ultimately, storage. Some Overland Park boat storage facilities may offer winterization services as an additional perk of choosing to store your recreational vehicle at their facility. However, this is generally uncommon in independent, storage facilities. So from Overland Park RV storage down to your winter clothes, there is something for your every need. The most important thing to remember when packing is to arrange things in such a way that it will be easy to locate important items in the future. Labeling boxes with clear indication of what is inside the box is a great way to do this. It can also help to create a map showing where in the unit certain boxes are being stored.
If you like this entry, take a look at Markets Up
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Guide To Lexington Mini Storage FacilityBy admin on June 18, 2009 | No Comments
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For many people in Lexington KY 40505, self storage has been helpful in answering their storage needs. In a bid to get rid of clutter, however, many simply rent such spaces without even thinking of protecting their valuable objects from damage, fire, natural calamities and other unexpected problems. Although storage companies make it a point to ensure the safety of the things that are stored in their units, such facilities are also susceptible to theft, fire, flood and other destructive events. If you are planning to rent storage spaces, it is always a good idea to get an insurance policy.
It is important to note that many self storage facilities actually offer insurance coverage for the contents of your storage units, car storage, RV storage, boat storage and other types of storage compartments. However, the insurance coverage policies offered by these storage companies differ from one another. Thus, you really need to carefully check the policy before you get one. For those who are just leasing the storage unit for a short period of time, you can also ask the storage owners if they know insurance companies that can provide short-term insurance.
By the way, before you get new insurance policies for your valuables that are stored in self storage facilities, it is a wise move to check the coverage of your home insurance first. Some policies in the Lexington area, and also in other parts of the country, cover the entirety of your household items even when some items are tucked away in a storage unit. If this is the case, you really do not have to pay extra money for another insurance coverage. Since insurance policies can sometimes be tricky, you should always ask your insurance provider about this issue. You do not want to end up losing your valuables to fire, for example, and find out that they are not insured.
Many people have the habit of just applying for an insurance policy without even reading it. Remember that insurance companies only reimburse you if the damage or loss of your belongings is due to the causes that have been stipulated in your policy. Some only cover theft or acts of God, while others cover both. Be sure to check them out. Lastly, you may also want to ask your insurer about Goods in Motion coverage so that your belongings are protected even when they are being transported in or out of the Lexington mini storage facility that you rent.
If you like this entry, take a look at Movement Of People
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Need More Real Estate for Self Storage?By admin on January 30, 2008 | No Comments
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The threat of a declining economy has drastic affects of many industries, but the self storage industry seems to thrive. If the stock market crashes tomorrow, storage just does not disappear. Money disappears but not storage. In fact, storage, whether it is personal storage or commercial storage increases. As many businesses close for good and people become laid off, storage has to go somewhere. If a retail location closes its doors for good tomorrow the owner will need to put paperwork and left over inventory somewhere. And if a worker is laid off from a job and has to give up a home, he will need to put furniture and other personal items in storage. It is sad to admit, but the self storage industry thrives off a poor economy. So no time is better than now to call a commercial real estate agent and search for commercial property to build a self storage business. Commercial real estate property is more affordable than ever, but to succeed in your new business adventure you most start with location. When scouting commercial property it is important to investigate the area for potential self storage renters.
Find commercial real estate property for a self storage facility in the proximity of a hospital. Why? Well first, hospitals are surrounded by doctor offices and clinics that need self storage for document storage and file storage. As their offices are already full of patient records, there is not enough storage space in their offices for anything else. Second, many hospital workers are working on contract so their stay is temporary. Instead of investing in a real estate property, they rent an apartment or condo until their research project is done.
Commercial real estate property near colleges and universities is a smart investment for a self storage facility, especially schools with a high out of state student population. Students use self storage for during semester breaks for furniture storage and book storage. Also, freshmen who are not allowed to park a car on campus rent a storage unit for car storage.
It goes without saying that apartments and condos lack sufficient storage space. This is why real estate property around apartments and condos make a great location for a self storage property. Apartments lack garage storage space for motorcycle storage, lawn mower storage, and boat storage. Plus, apartments and condos have high turnover rates which demands for more need for a self storage unit.
A commercial real estate property on coastal areas necessitates self storage. There are many reasons coastal communities require a self storage unit. One of them is boat storage. Numerous neighborhoods ban boats from being stored on personal property so they need to find other places for winter boat storage. Coastal living requires more storage space for patio furniture storage and beach gear storage. Coastal homes often are rented as summer homes for the summer so the owners will rent a storage unit to safely keep their personal storage that they do not want damaged from tenants.
Lastly, you commercial real estate property for a self storage business should be located near retail shopping and business parks. Storage units hold overstock storage, document storage, commercial storage, and food storage.
Every business starts with a dream, but the road to success is smart real estate planning. You cannot just choose a real estate location and expect people to come like in the movie Field of Dreams.
StorageMart Federal Hwy and Atlantic Pompano Beach, FL 33062 (866) 748-6951
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Storage Concierge — Your Storage FinderBy admin on January 5, 2008 | No Comments
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Storage Concierge is your premier Storage , Storage Unit , Car Storage , RV Storage , Furniture Storage , Boat Storage , Yacht Storage and Self Storage finder.
Find your next local self storage unit :
District of Columbia Storage Units
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State to State Moving.By admin on February 3, 2007 | No Comments
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Update:
Please visit our new State to State Moving site State To State Moving — Free local and national self storage quotes -
What You See Isn’t Always What You GetBy admin on July 26, 2006 | No Comments
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Ronald Smith, PhoneSmart call center reservations expert offers the following insight.
Welcome to the PhoneSmart property management blog, the ins and outs of property and commercial management.
You may remember the saying “don’t judge a book by its cover.” In my opinion, that statement is right on the money. You can’t always tell what all goes into something based on what you see on the outside. You have to take everything into consideration. This can be applied in all aspects of life, whether it is in relationships or if you are buying product. I had to learn that the hard way.I learned this lesson when I was deciding on whether to rent furniture or just buy it outright. Much like most of our customers who call in, one of the major factors in deciding what to do was based on price. I also looked at the quality of the furniture. I had two options in front of me. I could save up to buy some furniture and just buy some cheaper furniture for the moment, or I could rent some brand new furniture for a weekly price. I chose to rent the furniture because I didn’t like the idea of having furniture of less quality in my home. I also loved the way the new furniture looked. Of course, I didn’t take into account that paying every two weeks can really add up. Instead of having furniture and being able to save some money, I was paying on furniture every two weeks. That money could be spent elsewhere. This is the kind of picture I try to paint with customers. I want them to see that looking at the price isn’t always a good thing. You could be stuck with something you could end up not being happy with. I try to tell them to go down and take a look at facility that you will be storing at. You don’t want to be stuck with something because you shopped solely on the basis of the price.Storage Concierge Self Storage in Maryland
Storage Concierge Self Storage in Kansas
Storage Concierge Self Storage in Missouri
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Put On A Smiling Face :)By admin on June 28, 2006 | No Comments
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Our upbeat call center rep, Mary gives us the benefits of a smile.
Welcome to our property management blog, the ins and outs of property management and commercial management.
Customers love to be treated like royalty, after all they are always right. People who call about storage are usually on a mission. They know what they want, or think they know what they want and they want the cheapest. Sometimes, they don’t care about anything else but to get to the price. They want to get right down to business. Does that sound familiar? Then sometimes people are nervous because they’ve never rented before. They don’t know what to ask, or they have a lot of questions. Some people are calm and easy going. Irate people are usually current tenants and are unhappy about something.Smiling while on the phone can give you a cheerful, pleasant impression to the caller. Your smile can do so much for you and you might not realize it. It can slow down that rapid hard to sell on the mission type, or make a nervous one feel comfortable, or an easygoing person just feel at home. A smile can even diffuse the upset customer who would seem to be the most unlikely to make happy.So you see, smiling can help a variety of people and, a word of warning; it can be contagious even though a caller may not see it.PhoneSmart Your Offsite Sales Solution
Secret Shopping Blog Your inside peek
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This Is Not Bad At AllBy admin on June 5, 2006 | No Comments
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Jeremy McCainey, PhoneSmart newbie displays a positive outlook on our call center.
Welcome to the PhoneSmart property management blog, the ins and outs of property management and commercial management.
This is just a blog to talk about how exceptional the working environment at PhoneSmart is. I have had previous employment at a telefundraising firm. It was very difficult to convince people to give money to an organization that they knew nothing about. It did become easier once you could grasp the donor’s concern. This is key in any phone service job. Whether it’s renting storage or trying to get donors to donate. You need to answer a clients concern in a manner that tells them they can trust your advice and hopefully make a sale.People want to feel confident that the person on the other end of the phone understands them and will help answer any question that may arise. PhoneSmart is a place where most of the concerns are actually solved in a professional manner. If a person has a question about why they should rent from a facility we can help pinpoint the given concern and get them on the road toward renting a unit.I think the pace in which we take our calls really does influence the rate of success. I know that when I slow down and articulate my words the sale is finalized more quickly. I’ve learned that convincing our clients with facts about storage and what amenities are available for them does result in reservations.PhoneSmart Your Offsite Sales Solution
Self Storage Blog A diary of the self storage industry
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By The NumbersBy admin on April 14, 2006 | No Comments
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April and May start “The Season”
By Tron Jordheim
As Seen in the April Issue of The Mini Storage Messenger. www.minico.com
Self storage is less of a seasonal business than it used to be. Over the last several years people have been using self storage more for extra space than they used to. However, our business is still seasonal. April and May start the busy season no matter which market you are in. This is the start of house selling season. This is when college students are getting ready to take off for the summer or graduate. This is the time when people are doing outside projects and home remodeling. And it is when many people choose to move to new homes or new cities.It is important to pay attention to your phone and walk-in traffic during these two months, because you will learn a lot about what sort of a season you will have by the patterns you see in April and May. We’ll talk more about what to expect and how to interpret this patterns in this article.There are several traffic volume influencing events you need to be aware of. Spring break will end for many schools on the 3rd of April. Others will be a week earlier or later. The first Monday of April is always busy. So assume the buildup to the first Monday on the weekend of April 1 and 2 will be very busy as students and their families finish projects on this weekend. Monday the 3rd will then be very busy as spring break activity always increases demand and the end of spring break will mean many projects have left-over stuff that will need to go into storage.Daylight savings time kicks in on the 2nd. This extra hour always makes people get outside and get projects going. This will also increase the activity on Monday the 3rd as people will be wanting to arrange storage for the weekend of the 8th and 9th to take advantage of the first weekend of longer light.Easter and Passover observances coincide beginning on April 12th. This means three things will happen. Many people will want to get things done before the holidays creating a lot of extra traffic throughout the whole week of April 3rd through the weekend of the 8th and 9th.Other people will take advantage of some time off over the weekend of the 15th and 16th and will try to get things done on the weekend. This means that demand will spike again on Monday the 10th and Tuesday the 11th. You will see some softening on Wednesday and then more activity on Friday and Saturday. Many people use Easter Sunday as a family gathering day. But many people will be trying to get things done on that day, too. Traffic will not be heavy, but there will be a good proportion of rental demand on Easter Sunday. If you can stay open during the middle of the day on Easter, you will write several rentals.The third group of people will wait until after Easter to get things done, so Monday the 17th will be very busy and the whole last week of April will be slamming. The last week in April is typically when the flood gates of demand start to open anyway. But with some pent up demand coming from the Easter/Passover holidays, the last week of April should be very, very busy.The last day of April falls on a Sunday, which will contribute lots of demand to the weekend of April 28 through 30, as well.April has many demand generating events working together, making it doubtful that anyone should have a weak performing month even if broader economic forces are not working completely to our advantage.May will start out with a bang. The first Monday of May is also the first day of May. This means two demand generating events happen on the same day. Expect traffic to stay very heavy through the 9th of May, when you will catch a little bit of a break for only a few days.Many colleges and universities are graduating and ending classes on May 12 or 19. Most students will want to start their leases in the month of May, so expect student traffic to be overwhelming in the student markets starting the last week of April and running hard up until the last week of May. By the last week of May, most students have finished their summer arrangements and are heading off to the four corners.Some of you may want to start promoting student rentals in April and signing leases in April to make the May stampede a little easier to deal with.The week of May 15-21 will seem somewhat sane as many people will have already taken care of their May and June storage needs. This is just the quiet before the storm. Starting May 22nd, you should see markedly increasing demand that will stay steady throughout the entire week. You may get very little time to come up for air until the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend.Memorial Day weekend usually works like this. Friday is very busy as people are trying to get things done so they can play on the weekend. Saturday is very busy as people who had to work on Friday are trying to get their projects tied up so they can play on Sunday. Sunday is usually quiet as many are trying to play and rest. Monday starts slow and then gets very busy in the middle of the day as people who are trying to get things done on their day off are trying to get done early. Then by about 3 or 4 o’clock in the afternoon traffic will go dead. People are traveling back home, trying to get to the picnic before it gets too late or heading to the fireworks display.If you can staff your store over the weekend, you will rent a lot of units. I would staff heavy on Saturday, close earlier than normal on Sunday and be open in the middle of the day on Monday to write leases.Then watch out, because the day after Memorial Day, demand will go nuts. All the people who did not get their projects finished or who chose to not do any projects on the weekend will be calling and coming in on May 30 and 31. Be prepared for a 20-30% increase in demand on the 30th and 31st as compared to the period of the 15th through 28th.Several factors can influence these projections. Is your advertising in order and placed and timed correctly? Are your competitors trying to make money or just gain occupancy? If they are doing price cutting and “giving it away”, it may hurt your entire market. If they are playing to be in a mid priced to higher priced slot in the market, then you will all do well…unless your market is significantly over-built.Will the increase in home heating and gasoline prices over the winter have hurt consumers enough to dramatically change their storage behaviors?Will a softening in the housing market cause less or more people to sell or buy?Will looming corporate lay-offs mean a slower economy or just more people getting new jobs or moving to other areas of the country?Will the pending retirement of the first wave of baby boomers mean more things are going into storage? The first wave is turning 60 and thinking about paring down, retiring, moving up, giving away possessions or getting more possessions.If you live in the colder part of North America, you will see that April gets off to a bit of a slower start than the rest of the country. This is a normal effect of the longer winters in your area.If you live in the areas that are experiencing heavy growth, like Las Vegas, Phoenix, etc, multiply everything I wrote by another 10%.Pay attention to demand traffic each day to see how your particular patterns are working. Consult the sample demand wave and see where you fall. You may notice indicators that tell you your demand is going to be stronger or weaker th -
Interviewing properties
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Interviewing for the job
Finding just the right place to rent an apartment to suit the renter’s needs can be a difficult task considering there are so many places to choose from. What does the average renter look for? How do they know what to look for? Each individual has their own priorities in the search for the perfect apartment to call home. (At least for the time being).
Remember your first apartment? Was it at all what you expected during your apartment hunt?
I remember mine. Living in the city with about 100 apartment complexes advertised in the newspaper to choose from… 30 that actually fit into my criteria. You start by circling and calling all of the ads that include the most information that falls within price and guideline range, right?
I had the newspaper strung all out on my kitchen table, markers, writing pen and paper in hand ready to take notes and score the individuals I interviewed. You know, because I want to make sure it is going to be a good fit.
With all of the possible apartments you start to narrow down your search. How? Call after call after call. You get the pool of possibilities as far as trying to reach someone over the phone… the no answer, busy signal or answering machine full message. These call attempts have already lost out due to the fact that they were not available when you needed them to be. You’ll most likely have already spoken to a certain number of locations that have caught your interest.
O.k. so some locations have answering machines. Are you a “message leaver” type of person? Or are you like the next guy who doesn’t like to leave messages, especially since you are calling a wide range of locations. And when they finally do call you back, how will you ever find the original ad in the paper to match up to what this person is telling you over the phone? So you decide that you’ll just call back at a later time if you have time and if you haven’t already found a location that suits your needs.
So now you have left a few messages here and there. There’s always a few that never get to the person they should have due to someone accidentally erasing it, or your machine goes out of whack. Then the leasing agent or property manager has so many messages to catch up on before they call you back. Then there’s the “yes, I left a voicemail and now you’re calling back. But I will remember that you weren’t available the first time I called you to get the information that I needed.”
So far your search has been narrowed down automatically for you by the outcome of answers vs. no answers. After that, what grabs your attention in order for you to decide that “yes, for this location I will spend money on gas, sit in traffic, and deal with road rage (whether it be myself or someone else) in order to look at one of these fantastically advertised apartments?”
I learned quickly that the advertisements didn’t mean a thing if there was nobody available to answer the phone and answer my questions when I needed them too. I was interviewing to fill the position. And I had a deadline to meet.
Change of plan. All of the awesome amenities and location and pricing were no longer the first reasons why I would rent from the apartment complex that first caught my interest. Now, what’s more important is if someone can help me make a decision now while I have time to make these phone calls. I’m not typically an impatient person, but I do prefer a company who will be able to meet my needs as a consumer… answer my questions, show me things I wasn’t aware of and make me smile when I am in a tight squeeze. And I don’t necessarily like to have to ask all of the questions in order to get the information I need. I expect the person on the other end of the line to be the helpful, caring, sensitive person that I look for when I want things to go my way.
And whatever you do…please don’t put me on hold!
So a few things to keep in mind:
Always have someone available to answer the phone
Smile at your customers
Be patient
Be personable
Always be able to answer the caller’s questions without hesitation
Know your property, availability, pricing and schedule
Don’t place your callers on hold unless absolutely necessary
Walk your callers through the entire process without them having to ask too many questions.
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