Personnally we hate carpet, it is so hard to keep clean. Just finished cleaning ours...eeewww! Carpet was installed two years ago and this is only the second time they have been cleaned, first time was when we moved in.
Up stairs apartment...can be a challenge for some of us over in the over 40 crowd. No yard (BBQ), pets are pretty much a no, noise from apartment down to the office (unless sound barrier between ceiling and floor), lot of down sides. The perfect apartment for us would be ground floor, two bedroom, one and a half bath, small yard, car port/garage, and a workable kitchen. Utilities are standard but cable tv and internet are a nice plus. We haven't had a "land line" phone in quite a while, cell phones only. Unfurnished...we want our own "stuff". However a washer and dryer is a real plus. Oh, a seperate heating/cooling system from the office. In our experience if the apartment is comfy, the office is either freezing or a sauna and vice versa.
Just our 2 cents worth.

I agree that an outside space is very important. In our last job, we had a large, brand-new, beautiful apartment, but zero outdoor space, and only 2 windows that actually opened.

In this job, we have a TINY little house, with a cute yard, and we absolutely LOVE it! We may not be able to play baseball in our yard, but we can barbeque, and enjoy the fresh air!

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Never put limits on yourself!

Shannon

Wow! We must be really spoiled. We have a three bedroom house with a covered porch. It is two stories with a front and back door and no access from office to house (that was part of the renovations, we closed it off!). Owner pays electric, water, cable, and internet. The only thing I have wished for is a dumpster. We have to haul the trash to the dump.

I cannot emphasize enough how much we enjoy the back porch outside!! Yes, we stare off into a row of storage units, but wouldn't have it any other way. We also have full size washer dryer hook ups.

I totally agree NOT to furnish an manager apt. And I also agree with not having carpet, even though we do have carpet, it is the commercial grade. I would much rather have vinyl flooring that looks like wood. So much easier to clean!! Also the outside stairs to an upstairs apartment would be nice. Our other facility has those and they go up half way, then there is a small landing, then goes up the rest of the way. I wouldn't want stairs that were one flight straight up!

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MusicCity Gal

Gotta agree with Gina here too. We got back from a Thanksgiving cruise this afternoon....we aren't supposed to be back at work til Tuesday morning. Our relief person was running the shop this afternoon. We pulled up into our assigned parking space, and couldn't even get our suitcases and groceries out of the car without being stopped by half a dozen tenants.

We also have to go through the office to get to the upstairs apartment, can't ever get a pizza delivery at night....and it can be awkward on our day off, having to walk through the office where customers may be, carrying bags of groceries, or dressed for a day at the beach. We peek around the bottom of the steps to see if anyone is in the office so we can sneak out if possible.

and we have to be careful about cooking odors. The office is open 7 days a week, so on our days off, we have to be careful about apartment noise drifting downstairs into the office, and of course we can hear every door open and close and the door chime ring every time someone walks into or out of the office. We can also hear the muffled conversations between our relief person and the customers, so there doesn't seem to be any soundproofing in between except for the carpet. If I cook something with onions or garlic or even bacon and eggs...we spray air freshener everywhere to try to keep the smell from going downstairs.....if we watch tv, it has to be played very low to keep the sound out of the office.

but the very worst part about it all is not having any outside space whatsoever. My husband also loves to barbecue, and he would love to have a small flower garden or even grow a few tomatoes...we don't even have a door downstairs that a friend or relative could knock on or ring a doorbell if they stopped by to see us. It can be a strange and claustrophobic lifestyle.

Lisa - Our perimeter fencing is ivory colored iron, so I lovingly refer to this place sometimes as my "Ivory prison" since we cannot come and go at will. We too sneak around sometimes to avoid people.

We can never crank up a stereo, or converse freely when the office is open as the duct work acts as a voice carrier in both directions between the house and office. That is why I cherish my Sundays, the office is closed! Like shaekirk, no windows to speak of to open up for fresh air.

Our home is very large, a family room, kitchen, dining room, full bath and sunken living room downstairs, two bedrooms upstairs with a huge master and an equally huge patio deck off the master. One of these days I am going to enclose it somehow as it looks over the main drive & entrance. Walk out there and guess what? Yup! Customers wave at you, want to chat from 15 feet below etc.

However, I do have a roughly 10x10 downstairs patio area with a massive container garden. No room for chairs and such as from the gate opening, it's three steps to the home front door. So I put planters all around the perimeter. We have peppers, tomatoes, flowers, and even a 5 type of apple tree, and now a very small fig tree growing out there. So that's my salvation, digging in my container dirt.

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Gina 6k
CochraneStorage dot com
Morgan Hill, California
You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough!

After reading LisaT's post I feel even better about our place.

Sure it's 25 years old, but the office is well insulated from the residence! I can crank the surround sound on my TV pretty loud without disturbing the office.
We also have a front door (and sliding patio door) that leads to a small front yard that is surrounded by a 7' block wall and has a lockable gate entry. We can come and go through their without going through the office.

Normally we do go through the office without a problem as our facility is not as busy as Lisa's or Gina's.

The only real change we will be making in the near future is to cover the patio area - this will cut down on the sun coming through the Patio door and reduce the A/C bills

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Wayne
All American Self Storage
Palmdale, CA.


All arguments can be resolved ... with high explosives and Humor!!!

You are a very thoughtful owner. Wish I knew what to do with mine. My facility is 30+ years old and the apartment is only about 600 sq. ft. I can deal with tiny, but the owner won't fix anything unless forced to and I can forget about having anything updated. The tile floor is so old that it doesn't even come clean anymore. Dirt is ingrained. We get told all the time how much we are apreciated and how great a job we are doing. This may sound ungrateful, but telling just isn't enough. We need some showing! Never worked for such a cheapskate before.

I agree NO CARPET. I would love to have a private place to park as well where I can make it from my car to the apartment without feeling like I have to stop and greet everyone. We do have a private patio that we have turned into a wonderful little get away however we have to lock the gate because tenants will just walk right in and go I love the courtyard here. UHHHH , This is our patio!!! So a private entrance to the apartment with a private outdoor spot that tenants can not access I would think is the key that most managers need to feel some sense of home like this is theirs and not work related. I do think Internet and calbe should be provided as well. This job is a tough one in that you are never really off of work and I think if you have good managers doing the job and taking care of things that the little details that are needed to give them some space and privacy are not much to ask at all

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Lovin it.

That how I feel about it also.
I know space means money , and budget is the number one issue.
but a one bedroom I would not even consider. nor would I take a furnished one except for the stove, fridge, washer, dryer, microwave. the rest i can add my own taste in furnishings.
I live in a three bedroom ranch home. Of which my dining room is my office so when we say on site manager we are!! and we have 5 storage units 5 feet away from the back door.
a separate office away from my private home would be so nice!!
Also a caring owner, one who will provide the things needed when needed.
We were without heat for a week, we were without water for a month, we had electrical issues from the begining... our home has windows but no storm windows, no insalation, we have a front entrance with glass and the doors could be pulled open at any time while they are locked!!
after 5 years of this, we are looking elsewhere, I have had enough cold nights and running to the 7 11 to pee.
I know the home is included as part of the income but really, I am expected to live on 20 thousand a year? and self employed so taxes are killing me every year.
I guess I just had to vent cause I am cold....waiting on the gas bill to be paid.......
we are your front line, we are your profit, we are important enough to have you trust us, so I dont think it is much to ask that a decent home be provided especally when it is considered part of your income.

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WOW! That is all I can say! I really hope you can find better living conditions. Hang in there, good things will come! Times are tough now with our economy and jobs are harder to find, but I believe good deeds don't go unrewarded. You will be in my thoughts and prayers and please keep us updated.

All The Best

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MusicCity Gal