Boat Storage for Beginners

Location, location, location. That phrase is familiar for a reason. You have to be in a location that has a demand for boat storage if you are going to successfully offer it. You also must have rules, or you are just going to collect old relics that you can’t get rid of until you run a junk yard. Finally, you need to know the market to know if it financially makes sense to utilize the land this way.

When you convert a property into self-storage you often inherit a large parking lot. There are a lot of options for that large parking lot, but one option that you should consider is Boat storage. The lot is already paved, you simply have to add fencing and security. This is a quick way to have your property generating income at a lower entry point.

If you are not ready to start investing in self-storage but you know that you want to get there, buying land that is zoned for self-storage and using it as Boat storage is a way to land bank. You can purchase a lot and have that lot generate income while you are waiting to use it for self-storage. If you don’t want to use it for self-storage, you can sell it for a property after it has appreciated. Typically, property prices double every 10 to 15 years. This is a way for you to buy at today’s prices and still generate income.

Is there a need for Boat storage?

The first thing that you need to consider before you offer self-storage is need. Is there a need for self-storage in my area. If you live near a lake, then you are going to have people with boats. There are three ways for people to store their boats. They can store them at home on their own properties, which a lot of people will do. They can store them at the marina, which people will do until they run out of spots, finally, they can store them with you. You have to advertise in a way to show them that you are the best option of those three.

If there is no water source within 100 miles of where you are, then fewer people are going to invest in boats. This means that no one is going to have a boat that they need to store. Because of that, boat storage would be something that would not be successful in your area.

Rules & Regulations

If you do not require your renters to carry insurance on their vehicles while they are stored, you may run into problems. First of all, insurance companies hate to see lapses in coverage. They tend to raise the renter’s rate when they see gaps and so ultimately the boat owner may not save any money by not insuring the vehicle year round. However, you want to require insurance while the boat is being stored. What if something goes wrong. What if someone accidentally hits their boat? What if… There are too many variables to allow them to store without insurance.

Title/Registration

If they don’t have title to the boat, you need to turn them away. As hard as it may be to turn away a potential renter, you do not want to store vehicles that you haven’t seen the proper paperwork for. If you have vehicles with title problems, you can end up with a big mess. You also need to find out what your rights are if the boats are abandoned on your lot. Can you file a lien and eventually foreclose? What steps will you have to take in order to get that boat and eventually auction it to get it off of your lot? If you are in a state that will not allow you to file a lien on an abandoned boat or on a boat that isn’t making payments, you could end up with a property full of boats and there won’t be anything you can do about it.

Basic Rules

You want the boats to look nice. They don’t all have to be showboats, however, you don’t want your lot to look like a junkyard. Some of your basic rules should include that the tires must be inflated on the trailers. The boat must float and run. The boat should be tarped against the weather so that it looks nice. Under no circumstances is anyone allowed to live on the lot.

Financially Feasible

When you are evaluating your lot, you need to be able to determine how many spaces you are going to be able to get on the piece of land. There are different types of boats, and they need different amounts of space. You are going to need to offer 20 foot spaces, 30 foot spaces and 50 foot spaces. Make sure that you do your due diligence to see how much you can charge for each type of space. You also need to decide if you are going to offer some covered spaces.

Obviously, if you are renting out boat spaces, it is likely that they also have RVs to store or possibly smaller 4 wheeler type vehicles. Be prepared to ask and upsell them. Offer multiple space discounts. An RV is going to need a 10 x 26 space or a 10x30 space.

Boat storage is a great way to add a little more cashflow to your property. Don’t allow large lots of land to sit unused. If you have the space and you have the demand, use your property for Boat or RV storage. As always, happy investing.