Consistency is the Key to Avoiding Mistakes

When you rent out a self-storage facility unit, you want to make sure that you follow the exact same steps every time. While this may seem tedious to your manager, you are keeping yourself from the possibility of having a lawsuit on your hands.

You always want your manager to walk out to the unit with the clients and show it to them. This is a way to verify that they know which unit is theirs and to make sure that they are renting the size that they want. If the unit ends up being farther away than they wanted, your manager may be able to upsell them to a closer unit.

The main reason for doing this is to make sure that if you ever have to lock the unit or even worse, auction off the unit for back payment, you know that you have the right tenant in the right unit. If you accidentally give them the key to someone else’s unit and that person stops making their payments, you might auction off the wrong things. This is a lawsuit waiting to happen.

By always following the same steps, you make sure that no one left items in the unit or that you don’t have the wrong key. This is another way for both the manager and the tenant to make sure that the contract reflects the right unit number.

Have a welcome package that you give to every new tenant. This welcome package can explain how we do our automated payments. If necessary, offer a few dollars off each month for automated payments. The reason you want them to be automated is that they don’t think about it anymore. If they ever stop and think about how much they are paying for the stuff in the storage shed, they may no longer store it.

By automating the payments, they are not sitting down and paying a bill each month and thinking about how much those items are costing them to store. In the package, explain how you lock a unit if the payment doesn’t go through. Explain the process of selling off the belongings if the non-payment continues.

Review the hours and how to access the facility. If necessary, show them how to use their code. Explain to them what happens if they get locked into the storage facility after hours. This is also a good place to review the rules and regulations. Highlight what they are allowed to store and what they are not allowed to store. You don’t want them to store things that are going to attract vermin. You don’t want hazardous materials and you don’t want anything illegal in your facility.

By providing a welcome package and having a rental system in place for every unit, you will avoid costly mistakes. Make sure that your managers follow these rules by explaining why thy are important. As always, happy investing.