If you plan to rent a storage facility, the main thing you must be thinking about right now is the final price you’ll be charged. It’s absolutely normal. Not just that you use this service for the first time, but after all, everything seems so expensive these days, doesn’t it?
There are many ways for you, though, to avoid paying the highest possible rate, but instead, even to make some savings. Before we give you some expert-approved tricks and tips for this mission, we will try to explain in detail what exactly the storage facilities are.
This is how you will know where you can and shouldn’t make compromises or savings.
How do storage units work?
Storage units are usually arranged and provided the same way.
If you have already found a reliable enough company near you, be sure that the one that’s 20 km away has the same mechanisms of work. At a concrete price, you are given a concrete storage unit. The size of this unit is what determines the final price at most.
The other significant factor is the duration of your contract. A short-term storage service enables you to keep your things in the unit for up to about 3 months.
If you want more time to consider what you will do with your belongings, opt for the more expensive yet flexible enough long-term storage facilities.
What should you look for in a storage unit?
Price shouldn’t be the only factor when choosing a concrete self-storage service. By all means, looking for the best balance between price and service quality is what you should do.
Some concrete factors make the service qualitative enough, including:
- Variety of storage unit sizes to know that you will find the best for you and your baggage volume;
- Guaranteed safety through security measures like video surveillance and modern locking system with personal cards for access, password, and you name it;
- Flexibility in arranging the services according to your special needs, including understanding and kind attitude from the company’s consultants who are supposed to be there to help, not just to get your money in their pockets;
- Decent distance. The location of your storage unit is a significant factor in the service’s convenience. Some customers can afford to have their things quite away, but a shorter distance from your home is a must if you need access to them regularly.
How to find the best storage unit for you?
The best storage unit for you is the one that can accommodate all of your things safely, and for the period you cannot have them at home. This means that, once again, the factors of time and size are on a pedestal.
But there are other things you should have in mind when selecting a concrete storage service company, including:
- How reputable is the company? These are your personal items. Can you entrust them to a company with so many negative testimonials online? We doubt it;
- How experienced is the company? The more practice in the storage industry the team has, the better conditions you will be provided;
- However, don’t the innovations matter, too? Of course, they do. The modern security system is an extra guarantee for the safety of your things. And even both companies offer insurance for the service, the one with the more contemporary security measures is the better choice;
- Can this company store your items? There might be storage offers only for concrete things. Yet, if you are about to keep your vehicle there, they will not suit your needs, no matter their affordable prices.
How to rent a storage unit?
These days it is not rocket science to find and rent a storage module. The whole procedure is straightforward.
To tell you the truth, what takes more time and effort is the research for the best self-storage offer in your town. When you find it, everything becomes extremely simple.
You are supposed to provide the consultants with all the information they need – duration, size of the storage unit you need, and what items you will store.
The last type of data is necessary because storage companies don’t accept illegal or too sensitive things to be kept closed for a long time.
Last but not least, remember that an ID is the only document you will be required to show to sign the contract.
Tips that will help you save money?
But wait! Don’t sign that storage unit contract yet. You can still find a better service.
Through the following tips and tricks, all of you will end up with the most budget-friendly storage unit offer:
- The decent organisation of your items can minimise their final volume or at least the number of boxes to put them in. De-clutter and, if you can, downsize by donating, selling or making gifts of your old belongings. In addition to these, while you get the maximum of a container, you will have to carry fewer of them in a smaller storage unit.
- Get the maximum of the storage module, too. Properly arranging your containers, bins and cardboard boxes will help you fit in a smaller storage unit size. This means less to pay.
- Don’t hesitate to consider getting a shared storage unit. For example, do you have a fellow with whom you go skiing? Then, why don’t you together use a shared storage module? It will be quite cheaper for both of you!
- Discounts are everywhere, including in the self-storage industry. So try to find as many of them as possible. Besides, keep in mind that during the removal season (from May to October), the storage unit prices increase alongside the moving-out prices.
- Having insurance included in the storage service costs extra money but eventually makes your unit cheaper. Here’s why: if you don’t have insurance, no one will cover any omissions or damage in case of an accident. This means you will have to rebuy all those items alone.
Conclusion
Storage units don’t cost much, but the cheap might become expensive if you exclude all the extras they come with – video surveillance, insurance, individual locking and access system, and climate-control functions.
That’s why, in conclusion, we would like to warn you that savings are suitable, but only when it’s indispensable.