Contract
A contract is a contract, once you’ve signed on the dotted line you’re obligated to adhere to its contents. And yes, that also includes the small print. You need to read it, all of it, know what you’re in for and eliminate any nasty future surprises. Most self storage operators are bonefide businesses who cherish their reputation. However, a contract can contain certain clauses that if you don’t pay any attention to can cost you dearly in certain circumstances. Having it looked over by a legal expert is something you could consider, the legal language can be difficult to understand. Another smart thing to do may be to compare contracts of self storage providers in your neighbourhood and see who’ll give you the best deal.
Here’s a list of things to check when you’re going through contracts chosing a self storage operator.
Standard contract
This will guarantee the protection of yourself and the valuables you have put in storage, your rights and privileges as well as your obligations. At first glance everything may look in order but you have to keep in mind that a self storage company has its own self-interests in mind, just like you and if you’re a businessman, it’s purposes are the same as yours, to make money. What happens if you can’t or don’t pay your bill, what if your accountant missed a payment, what will they do to your stuff, will they give you a months grace or throw it out the same day. Will they send you a gentle reminder or bring in the auctioneers.
Another thing to consider is access by employees, do they have the right to enter your storage unit whenever they please, or only with your permission or in case of an emergency. Say the company moves your stuff into another unit wanting the use of the one you had for another purpose, another customer who needs your size unit while your stuff can be moved to a smaller one. Can they randomly move your belongings or only in case of an emergency?
Insurance
Not all self storage providers demand you insure you stored belongings, while most do, there are exceptions. We however, do recommend that you do take out some form of insurance, there may be sections in your contract that relate to this issue and state that if you don’t you may lose certain rights if accidents or damage occurs. There are storage providers that have their own insurance policy, they may even demand that you make use of it, others may have arrangements with other insurance firms and demand that you use their policy, and then again there are those that will simply let you use your own. What’s most important is that you get proper cover, so that in case of accidents or damage to your belongings you will not lose out. Again, read the contract, get an understanding of what it says about insurance, if you don’t properly understand what it says, find someone who does.
Extra expenses
While reading through the contract you may come accross extra fees and expenses that you did not take into account when you budgeted your self storage costs. Some self storage operators will for instance, charge you for a padlock you need to lock up your storage unit with, your own padlock will not do, you have to buy or hire one from them. This could work out to be more expensive than buying or bringing your own. Access to your storage unit should always be free, but the use of the car park may not be without cost. Packaging materials such as boxes, tape, rope and writing utensils are frequently available at storage facilities these days, these also cost money.
Down payments, the lease and ending your contract
90% of the time you enter into an agreement with a self storage facilitator you will be asked for a down payment. Only for promotional purposes will storage providers ever wave this requirement. You should get this money back when you end your use of the storage facility proper, have given notice and ended your professional relationship with the storage provider. When you move your stuff out of the unit make sure it is in the same condition as when you first entered it, except for decay caused by the tooth of time of course. Some storage providers however, will try to get out of giving you your money back making impossible demands. Look into this before you sign.
Secondly, when your pay your rent and insurance monthly or quarterly, make sure you won’t have to pay for the time you don’t use your storage unit anymore. For instance, if you pay per quarter and you terminate the contract in the first month having just paid up for 3 months, you’ll want to get the money paid for the other 2 months back. Another thing to look at is for how long or how short you can rent your storage unit. A limit on how long you can make use of the storage facility may not be in your best interest. The best that’s available on the market is a minimum of 7 days and no limit on how long you may make use of your storage space.
Thirdly there’s the issue of giving notice, self storage as opposed to regular storage facilitators is all about ease, easy to get to, at almost any time, everything should be easy, so there shouldn’t be any long-term notice periods. Anything over a month is too long. Now if you’re running a business and you plan to use the storage facility for a longer period of time or you know exactly when you’ll terminate your contract you may have different priorities and the disadvantage of a long notice period may outweigh the advantage of a shorter period. So check the contract, and see how long you have to give notice before you can stop paying bills.
Manpower
There are self storage facilitators that have people available to help you pack up and move things. Only in case of promotional purposes will they ever be offered free of charge, if you decide to make use of these make sure you know beforehand for how much this will cost you.
Temperature, humidity, dust dirt and rodents
Most self storage providers claim to have the best climate control available, that their facilities are free of insects (read cockroaches and ants) rodents (read mice and rats) and dust and dirt. This is of course not always true.
Climate controlled units are usually more expensive than regular ones, so make sure you really need a unit with its own climate control.
Tools and transport
Many self storage operators do upon signing a contract provide some form of free transport for their customers. The same goes for tools of the trade. These “extras” may look enticing, -no charges for the use of a van during removals, free transport to and from your storage unit, the use of trolleys to get your stuff into your place of storage. – For the use of trucks, vans and trailers you usually need to put down a deposit, if you bring them back without damage you’re deposit will be refunded. If you break something or dent the vehicle the cost of repairs will be deducted from your deposit. And of course there are limits to “free,” There’s always a time-limit involved, if you don’t bring the vehicle back in time “free” goes out the window. You could be charged for time, mileage and petrol. Ask the staff and check what your contract says about these “free” offers and in particular when free stops being free. Other transport providers may be cheaper if you need to rent a vehicle for a longer period of time.
