Have you ever seen a married couple, divorced couple, a soon-to-be divorced couple or maybe family members (siblings, etc.) get into heated arguments on your property? Have any good stories?

Obviously, no one wants to step into these types of battles, but I'm sure you've got to draw the line somewhere, right? Before you (or the authorities) intervene?

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John Carlisle
Community Manager, Self-Storage Talk
Online Content Editor, Business Solutions Network
VIRGO
jcarlisle at vpico dot com
480-990-1101, x1214

Had one a few years ago - VERY dysfunctional family.

The unit was rented by one girl where she was storing not only her stuff, but her girlfriends also.

Long story short - the two girls split up and started fighting about who's stuff was who's.

The tenant decide to get back at her GF she changed the code and the lock and then stopped paying for the unit and was going to let it go to auction.

The GF found out about this and came in using language that made this former sailor blush !!! She was DEMANDING access to the unit. We calmly explained to her that only the tenant was allowed access unless she had the code and the key.

The GF ended up paying the rent for almost a year before they finally got things worked out enough to vacate the unit.

During the vacate it was the GF, her Mother and the tenant. I had to spend most of the afternoon out there playing referee and threatening to call 911! The surprising part was that most of the hostility was between the GF and her Mother!!!!! Those two spent all day cussing each other out! It was great entertainment, but I was so glad to see them all go away.

One last thing --- the GF came by about 6 months later wanting to rent a unit for her and her new GF ---- I recommended the place down the street.

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Wayne
Jamestown, ND


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

No, thankfully nothing between customers. I'd call the cops right away though if it did happen, I'd be too scared around here that it would turn into a gun fight, also seeing as I live her and I respect our residential neighbors close to us, I wouldn't allow it to happen. I'm too old for any drama.

Let's set the stage, first...ten, ten's mom, ten's ex-hubby, and ten's 15 yos dau. Ten rents unit. A bit later, adds mom as user and mom puts some things into unit. Fast forward 2 mos - ten calls, wants mom off list w/ strict instructions mom isn't to go "near the unit". Unfortunately, ten doesn't tell mom. Meanwhile, rent rolls past due (about 1 wk). Mom shows up & code won't work & I explain deal to mom. FLAME OUT!!! Mom on phone w/ ten screaming so loudly that she could have been heard on the moon. Ten mins later, ten arrives w/ dau and starts a (verbal) fight w/ mom; dau is bawling like a 3 yr old asking them to stop. Ten comes in asks mom to be back on list - why? Seems the ten didn't have the $ to pay rent & for all purposes bullied mom into paying or she won't get her stuff. After all that drama, everyone leaves all huggy-kissy. Fast foward another 2 weeks, mom arrives w/ ten's ex, who she still likes & came to help mom move a table (mom's). Ten drives by w/ dau in car, sees hubby's truck - does a U-turn, storms into ofc, & picks fight w/ hubby; ten calls police telling them HE followed her to facility & he's threatening her. I don't know the details of relationship (don't care) but this poor guy was, at that moment, was merely standing in my office w/ mom when ten screeched onto lot. With the police on site, ten starts a slap-fest w/ hubby; he didn't press charges, just finally simply left when he could get away from her. Meanwhile, dau is, again, in tears begging for everyone to stop. (I still feel bad for that kid.) I'm sure hubby wanted to but he never raised a hand! Fast foward a month - ten listed on arrest list for shoplifting, passing bad checks, domestic violence, and threatening ph calls AND making false police reports. Couldn't have been happier when she finally packed it all in and left!

I really hate renting to people that are in the middle of a domestic situation, listening to all the horror stories makes me wonder about just how far we have advanced from our primate forebears. Two months ago I had to intervene when a tenant and his wife decided to duke it out just below my living room window. He is a retired Army MP and currently is a State police officer, but I must admit his wife was doing a commendable job of defending herself when I broke it up. He came in a few days later to apologize for the whole affair and I told him about calling in for help that as a veteran he and I are entitled to. The good news is he did and they are now back together and doing well.

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The End Is Near!

oh... I have quite a few stories

One guy got divorced and put all his wifes things neatly in containers and rented a storage unit and paid every month on it. The X finally came to get her things and she was in the parking lot screaming at her X and slapping him in the face and he just stood there and let her have her tantrum.

Had a lady rent a unit and she was breaking up with her boyfriend and he was stalking her. He stole her wallet and got her gate code and came in one night and cut her lock off and was in her unit. I noticed her lock was different and phoned her and she told me about the situation and we overlocked her unit and locked out her gate code. Then that night this guy came in the gate by tailgating in. He saw the unit was overlocked and then tried to key out but the gate code no longer worked. We brought him into the office and scanned his ID and gave him a no trespass warning. He then saw the tenant moving out a few weeks later and parked and walked in and started hasseling her. I went out and told him to leave and he would not leave. We ended up calling 911.

Then there was the tenant who was in jail and his girlfriend had his gate code and came in on labor day and stole a jar that they said had $5k in it and left the lock off the unit. They then came back the next day and called the police and said someone had broken in the unit - when they were the ones who broke in. When the tenant got out of jail he confirmed that there was a jar a money missing from his unit.

Or there was a guy who rented a unit and he wanted one far from the road. Then someone cut the fence, broke the unit door, and stole a motorcycle from the unit. The tenant knew who it was and saw the guy on the street and beat him up. The tenant then went to jail for the beating.

doesn't drama and storage go hand in hand. There's been so many that I've fogetten more than I remember and if people never got divorced I think storage demand would take a double digit drop ... just saying.

Anyway, the most memorable was the lady who rigged a swinging saw to the locker door so that when her soon to be ex opened it ... WHOOSH! Fortunately, it missed him and stuck in the wall.

Theres of course the crazy break ups and the games and such.

Guy rushes in with his Porsche 911 filled with stuff takes a big space and starts loading up the locker with his stash. That afternoon lady shows up with the same last name for a locker ... same last name ... hmmm. We give her a locker on the other building far side. They stashed all their goodies from each other and then separated. We had to make a contingency plan for the day they might walk into each other on site.

Then there's the renting of space for harleys and toys in the mistresses name type of thing.

But my favourite was this great University Prof who was a real nice guy and all. But he had a mental disorder that would have him arguing loudly and violently with his girlfriend ... it would scare the crap outta you when the arguments began. Of course, she only existed in his mind ... if you asked them to take it outside he'd been extremely apologetic and embarrassed and would do so. He visited the locker almost every day too. Great guy to talk to otherwise.

In the end you just have to be the cool voice of reason and allow calmer heads to prevail. Sometimes people just need to separate and cool off. Regardless, this is part of what we do and everyone needs a good storage psychologist anyway ...

we are currently renting a unit and early one morning got caught in the middle of a loud cussing, throwing argument between the manager of the property and their spouse .. it was very uncomfortable .. and very loud .. someone other than us called the cops and the spouse blamed us for calling and then followed us on their motorcycle to the park where we do our morning walks and tried get physical .. we called the owner of the property and filed a complaint .. and filed one with the police department .. but overall it has been written off as stress related .. they still make me nervous ...

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just looking for our 'forever place' ..

http://selfstoragemgrteam.webs.com/

Hey Troy, nice to see you around again!

We've had our 'crazies' also, thankfully few & far between. We had one this morning, a tenant came in claiming he's being followed and that multiple cars had passed by him many times. Uh, okay, they all work in the business park and they go in & out all day long based on their job requirements. I know all of the people that go with the vehicles he kept pointing out including; one of our other tenants who is obviously a contractor. This guy doesn't do drugs, but should be and I fear is not on his medication at this time. Otherwise, he's normally a really low key good tenant. I feel for him.

I spoke with tenant's friend, another tenant of ours who is a local cop. Cop asked if our tenant was still hanging around on the street. The tenant scared me a bit this morning with the wild eyes and talk of the FBI etc. At least his law enforcement buddy is watching over him and trying to keep him from harm's way.

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Gina 6k
CochraneStorage dot com
Morgan Hill, California
twitter.com/CochraneStorage

You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough!
I am not an attorney, just an experienced manager who is willing to share what I have learned. Your thoughts, practices or opinions may vary and neither of us may be right.

We had someone from the Dept. of Homeland Security call and ask about a tenant. We told them if they stop by with ID that we would answer their questions. I bet $50 that the person calling was NOT the Dept. of Homeland Security and it was just someone trying to get info on the account.

Sure enough a car pulls in and two men with Dept. of Homeland Security show up. I lost $50.