Extracting Extra Value from Rental Property

[Andrew C.]

Hi BP community! Looking for some insight on my current rental property in Cambridge, MA.

It is a Duplex (Up-down). Currently, we have an empty basement and shed. 

Do landlords in this market charge for storage space? Our Realtor suggests not charging, but I wanted to know if there is a market & what is the going market rate?

Thanks for your help!

Drew 

[Dan K.]

Hi @Andrew C.

In my experience (in Cambridge) the realtor isn't going to want to do the hustle to rent a storage space and would rather include it in the rent. I live locally, so I can do the hustle for parking and storage.

For the shed, depending on the size and quality you can rent it to somebody for storage. I have garages that at not via accessible that are used for storage.

The basement is a little bit trickier. Because of the furnace, breakers, etc., you probably can't really lock everyone out of the basement. Also, since you only have two units, there isn't much demand since I assume you don't want third parties in your basement. If you had 5 units or something like that, building 3 or 4 storage bins might make sense since there is more demand and more people. I think people are going to store things in the basement whether you try to charge or not. Bikes, off season AC's, etc. will probably end up in the basement. You need to make sure boxes aren't too close to the furnace.