Keep Your Tenants Happy – Smart Storage Solutions Means Less Vacancy
One of the major issues tenants face is where to store all their stuff. As a landlord you’ve probably often heard prospective tenants complain their furniture won’t fit or there is not enough closet storage for their needs as an excuse not to take up the lease.
As folks are often downsizing when they move to an apartment complex, it makes good business sense for a landlord to provide some form of outside storage that is secure and is easily accessible for placement of heavier, awkward furniture items that may not fit up a stairwell, or that can accommodate items that are too high or large for an apartment entrance or ceiling height. Bed mattresses and box springs that are not needed can be shrink-wrapped and stored for future use, while boxes yet to be unpacked or items to be sold can be stashed away.
Damage to interior walls and floors of the building often result from tenants’ clumsy attempts to make an item ‘fit’ into a space it was never measured to accommodate. Reparation of staircase damage can be costly and difficult to do without specialized help, especially when it comes to high walls in the stairwell where sheetrock has been damaged and tapers are needed with stilts or other means of scaffolding to make repairs. Any repairs required not only cost the landlord money, but also cause a mess and inconvenience to other tenants while they are made. Damage caused to public areas of a building are hard to pin-point as being caused by a particular tenant, so reimbursement for such costs is often not possible.
The provision of a storage shed provides the ideal solution. Not only can you purchase storage sheds that match or complement the building you are renting, but additional sheds can also be added as needed, and even moved around from property to property, to provide a tidy and finished look. Discounts are available if you buy storage sheds directly from the manufacturer and purchase several at a time. Another advantage of working directly with a manufacturer is the option of 3rd party financing that you can utilize to have implement storage solutions right away, with the possibility of deducting any interest expenses from your tax liability as a business. Consultation with a qualified tax accountant can often yield a positive financial position on capital purchases a landlord might consider.
It’s not only furniture and personal effects that need storage. It can also be motorized equipment such as lawn mowers, ATV’s, and a myriad of flammable items such as barbeques with propane cylinders.
For a tenant, being able to secure their valuable possessions is a great selling and settling point when it comes to selection of a suitable dwelling. Seasonal needs can be solved quickly and effectively with the use of a storage shed.
The provision of the shed will involve some capital expense, but this can be depreciated over time and the structure can provide income as an added value component to the lease with a monthly fee. As tenants often don’t have the cash flow to pay for storage units at other locations, you are ensuring that what dollars they do have come to you, the landlord. The added bonus is that their ‘stuff’ is always handy for their use, and not driving to or from the storage unit or transport of large bulky items is required. When they move, everything is moved to one, convenient place. Your property!
The on-site storage shed options can also facilitate a storage opportunity for the needs of the landlord. Mowing and maintenance equipment can be kept on site for quick access as needed. Ladders, extraneous furnishings, spare parts for repairs, tools and all sorts of equipment can be housed readily available for use.
With vacancy rates always forefront in the mind of any landlord, and the stiff competition that can be experienced from other rental options in the neighborhood, the storage shed offers an added bonus to the prospective tenant that should not be overlooked in a rental business.
Conversion of family homes to tenant dwelling always evokes concern over storage and limited width staircases. Fire escapes not withstanding, requirement for all hazardous materials including paint pots and gasoline driven motors to be stored outside, may also save on insurance costs for the landlord. Additionally the storage shed will alleviate unsightly storage of tenants’ belonging on decks, mitigate the likelihood of corridors being blocked by bicycles and kids’ larger toys, thus adding a safety factor to the building.
As storage sheds come in such a diversity of shapes and sizes, with low maintenance materials and quick and easy delivery with a ‘mule’ to even the hardest to access places, consider contacting a manufacturer such as Stoltzfus Structures directly. With their wealth of options and designs and no middleman involvement, you will not only have the best range of sheds from which to select but you will also enjoy the best prices.
Nikki Alvin-Smith
Nikki Alvin-Smith is a seasoned freelance writer who loves to share her lifelong experience with everything lifestyle, horse, farm and travel. Her work has been printed in more than two hundred magazine titles worldwide and her published articles number in the thousands including travel and lifestyle press.
A Brit who has called the U.S. home for more than 37 years, Nikki brings a unique perspective to her writing. Her experience as an international level Grand Prix dressage competitor/coach/clinician ensures plenty of travel and opportunity to gather lifestyle ideas for home, garden and farm. When she is not writing, riding or on the road, you’ll find her prepping culinary delights for family and friends or out with camera in hand capturing the beauty of the great outdoors.
Together with her husband Paul, also a Grand Prix dressage rider, she lives in the beautiful Catskill Mountains of New York and operates an organic hay farm and dressage yard. Over the years they have developed and constructed several properties together. She is the proud mother of three children, Tristan, James and Chelsea (twins), and the latter two have kept with the horse riding as adults.
Learn more at www.NikkiAlvinSmithStudio.com.
