New and Needing to Learn - Outdoor RV/Boat!

[CourtneySteele]

Hi All,

Greetings from British Columbia, Canada! I’ve been tasked with transforming our 200’x300’ gravel lot into an outdoor/uncovered storage facility for RV’s, boats, trailers etc.

I appreciate that the return is much lower than with container units; but I just don’t think I have the expertise to expand to that, as of yet.

I’ve recently purchased the Easy Storage Software and starting to familiarize myself.

Looking forward to gaining a lot of information from this fantastic forum! If anyone has some newbie recommendations, I welcome them all!

Courtney

[GM - StacieJ. - BSS]

Hey Courtney

Big Hello from Connecticut, USA. Welcome to the forum. We currently use Sitelink for our software, but I'm sure there are plenty of ppl on here that will be able to assist you. Are you new to storage? I've been in storage for 18 years. At my old location I had a big warehouse that we used for boats, campers etc. The place I'm currently at offers some outdoor parking, and you are right about the return being lower, but we looked at it the same way you are. We are a fairly new facility being built in 3 phases and completed 2 phases of building so far, so instead of having all that empty space where the last two buildings will go, we are renting it out for campers, boats, trailers to utilize the space and make some revenue off it. We do have certain rules here in CT. all outdoor vehicles, boats, campers, trailers etc. must be registered and insured to be on the property. The vehicle they are storing must be road condition and in their name and must provide proof. We don't allow any work to be performed at any time with the exception of a flat tire or dead battery. Anyhow, enough of me rambling on. If you have any questions you think I may able to assist with, feel free to reach out or just keep posting and the other members are usually good about helping out. Have a great day in Canada

[CourtneySteele]

Hello! Thank you for the message! We have now decided to require proof of insurance as well. Some facilities still do not require, but I’ve heard it can cause quite the headache if you do not.

We also recently added a clause that doesn’t allow maintenance. I didn’t realize how many people would like to use your property as a mechanic yard!

[GM - StacieJ. - BSS]

Hello! Thank you for the message! We have now decided to require proof of insurance as well. Some facilities still do not require, but I’ve heard it can cause quite the headache if you do not.

We also recently added a clause that doesn’t allow maintenance. I didn’t realize how many people would like to use your property as a mechanic yard!

Exactly and here in CT it leaves the facility open to law suits if the tenant gets hurt while doing vehicle repairs. We also ask that they place drip trays under anything with an engine, obviously it would not be required for trailers, tow campers etc. Hopefully you have some type of camera system, we have over 25 cameras and thank goodness because we actually caught someone sleeping in their camper....yikes..


Also you should check you local storage laws as far as what your options are for delinquent tenants. Here we have the right to sell them if in default, but it is a huge pain in the neck, long drawn out process, our other option is to have them towed and the tow company then takes over the debt and we take a loss but now have our space back to rent to someone else.