Spring Legal Cleanup
It's ironic that while this industry reaps the benefit of customers who practice "spring cleaning," sorting through their possessions and moving items into storage, most self-storage owners fail to do a spring cleanup of their own. Many do not perform an annual review of ...More
March 1, 2005 Kenneth M.Piken
Posted in Articles
Liability Claims on the Rise
Leading into 2005, the outlook for self-storage commerce remains positive. The industry is growing into an increasingly sophisticated and customer-oriented business. The bad news is legal claims against self-storage facilities are also on the upswing. Self-storage ...More
March 1, 2005 Mike Schofield
Posted in Articles
Sell Your Worst Feature First
An effective rule of selling is: Sell your worst feature first. If there is something about your facility you feel could negatively affect a rental, bring it the forefront early in the sales process. And don’t just reveal it to the customer—sell it to him. A mere mention ...More
February 1, 2005 Tron Jordheim
Posted in Articles
Insurance Risks and Real Estate
You’ve decided to purchase a self-storage facility and you need to buy insurance. Many buyers want to know how much to put in their pro formas for this coverage. While there is no black-and-white answer, there are factors that contribute to the insurance premium. Knowing ...More
February 1, 2005 Amy Brown
Posted in Articles
Workers’ Compensation
Workers’ compensation is designed to ensure that employees injured or disabled while on the job are properly compensated, negating the need for related lawsuits. It also provides benefits for dependents of workers killed by work-related accidents or illness. Some laws also ...More
January 1, 2005 Amy Brown
Posted in Articles
Health Savings Accounts
This article is intended for smaller self-storage operators as well as managers who purchase their own health insurance or who, for economic reasons, have insurance with high deductibles. For the rest of you, tune in to this column in February for something more relevant ...More
December 1, 2004 Jeffrey Greenberger
Posted in Articles
Sale-and-Disposal Legal Liability
Your Tenant stops paying rent on his self-storage unit. You have gone through the legal process of eviction, and now it is time to reclaim your space. You know that whatever the renter leaves behind may be removed and discarded, but only through strict statutory methods. ...More
December 1, 2004 Amy Brown
Posted in Articles
What's Up With Permanent Financing?
“Unbelievable” is the only word to describe continued financing opportunities for self-storage and most other commercial-property types. To illustrate, the following chart shows a sample of long- and short-term index rates over the last 10 years. Today’s rates are still ...More
November 1, 2004 David Smyle
Posted in Articles,
Finance
Employee Credit-Card Fraud
Incidents of credit-card fraud and identity theft have risen dramatically in recent years. With increased use of e-commerce and technology in business, it has become easy for thieves to steal and misuse credit-card numbers. The dangers do not always come from outside a ...More
November 1, 2004 Amy Brown
Posted in Articles,
Finance
Trees and Potential Property Damage
Trees and Potential Property Damage By Amy Brown Trees and shrubs contribute to property value by enhancing appearance, reducing noise, cutting energy costs and blocking unsightly views. Unfortunately, trees meant to be part of a facility’s permanent landscape are often ...More
October 1, 2004 Amy Brown
Posted in Articles
