This article takes the view of the consumer, "Why do so many people pay to store items they almost never use?". But in actuality, the interesting part of this is why is there so much supply of self-storage businesses?
The answer is: cash flow. Self-storage businesses are the almost perfect solution for someone with a good size (but not enormous) bucket of money that they want to put to work generating cashflow:
1. Cheap build out (cheap land, cheap facilities)
2. Almost entirely hands-off (no employees, automated entry)
3. Low liability (low risk of customers suing you)
4. Low overhead (just pay for taxes, electricity, minimal maintenance)
5. Reliable monthly cash flow
The abundant supply of these businesses, I suspect, tends to generate demand: it's easier to pay $80/month to store your junk than spend the time and emotional labor of picking through what you want to keep and what you want to get rid of. That ends up being captive long-term revenue.
I disagree with the last point -- it's a pain to gather a bunch of things up, put them in vehicles (or rent a truck), find a storage facility that isn't full, rent the unit, haul your things over to the unit.. all the while ignoring that you're putting off whatever culling and disposal ceremony you should actually be engaging in.
My local town gives you two free visits to the garbage transfer station per year. Choosing storage over that seems harder.
Rebuying decorations every year is also a leak on finances. Rebuying a bunch of camping gear (more than I can comfortably store in my home) is also a leak on finances.
It's far cheaper to use a storage unit for a lot of this stuff I do routinely use than buying and selling a house just to get more storage space at home.
I'm not blind to the fact not everyone just stores junk they never use. I'm certain there's a percentage of stuff in mine that is probably better off sold or trashed. But until we stop changing decorations for the different seasons, stop a number of hobbies with bulky stuff, or move to a giant mansion I just don't have the space and could use a few more square feet of pure storage space.
Every square footage of every home costs $$$ to keep in your possession. I pay a mortgage. I pay insurance. I pay taxes. I pay maintenance costs. There were acquisition costs in the purchase of it, and there will be acquisition costs wherever I go next. Not one square inch of my home is "free".
Suddenly that simple answer isn't so simple when actually confronted with reality, unless you're willing to be homeless and just carry your possessions in your hands.
Closets, basements, and attics cost you the same regardless of whether they are full of stuff or empty. "Free" in this case means no added monthly expense beyond the bare minimum to keep your dwelling.
> "Free" in this case means no added monthly expense beyond the bare minimum
So "free" as in "ignoring actual costs" and "ignoring opportunity costs".
Storage needs can change quite a bit over time. Household sizes sometimes change over time. Hobbies can change. Lifestyles can change. What was more than enough storage space several years ago can become not enough later on. Buying a bigger house to have more "free" storage space isn't really "free", especially as interest rates have increased massively over the years.
For instance, in the past my needs for storage for "camping gear" was largely handled by a single big backpack. Its just me, I'm down for pretty light camping. Now I've got multiple different sized tents for different kinds of trips, a sun shade, a whole family's worth of camping chairs, folding tables, camping stoves, multiple lanterns, camping related toys and activities, far more water storage, etc. What was easily stashed in a corner of a closet is now practically its own shelving unit.
epochbtc · · focus · HN ↗
The answer is: cash flow. Self-storage businesses are the almost perfect solution for someone with a good size (but not enormous) bucket of money that they want to put to work generating cashflow:
1. Cheap build out (cheap land, cheap facilities) 2. Almost entirely hands-off (no employees, automated entry) 3. Low liability (low risk of customers suing you) 4. Low overhead (just pay for taxes, electricity, minimal maintenance) 5. Reliable monthly cash flow
The abundant supply of these businesses, I suspect, tends to generate demand: it's easier to pay $80/month to store your junk than spend the time and emotional labor of picking through what you want to keep and what you want to get rid of. That ends up being captive long-term revenue.
browningstreet · · focus · HN ↗
My local town gives you two free visits to the garbage transfer station per year. Choosing storage over that seems harder.
neutronicus · · focus · HN ↗
Dealing with renting a storage unit vs deciding to throw away your Pokemon cards feels like kind of a wash.
diskzero · · focus · HN ↗
vel0city · · focus · HN ↗
It's far cheaper to use a storage unit for a lot of this stuff I do routinely use than buying and selling a house just to get more storage space at home.
I'm not blind to the fact not everyone just stores junk they never use. I'm certain there's a percentage of stuff in mine that is probably better off sold or trashed. But until we stop changing decorations for the different seasons, stop a number of hobbies with bulky stuff, or move to a giant mansion I just don't have the space and could use a few more square feet of pure storage space.
wildzzz · · focus · HN ↗
vel0city · · focus · HN ↗
Every square footage of every home costs $$$ to keep in your possession. I pay a mortgage. I pay insurance. I pay taxes. I pay maintenance costs. There were acquisition costs in the purchase of it, and there will be acquisition costs wherever I go next. Not one square inch of my home is "free".
Suddenly that simple answer isn't so simple when actually confronted with reality, unless you're willing to be homeless and just carry your possessions in your hands.
wildzzz · · focus · HN ↗
vel0city · · focus · HN ↗
So "free" as in "ignoring actual costs" and "ignoring opportunity costs".
Storage needs can change quite a bit over time. Household sizes sometimes change over time. Hobbies can change. Lifestyles can change. What was more than enough storage space several years ago can become not enough later on. Buying a bigger house to have more "free" storage space isn't really "free", especially as interest rates have increased massively over the years.
For instance, in the past my needs for storage for "camping gear" was largely handled by a single big backpack. Its just me, I'm down for pretty light camping. Now I've got multiple different sized tents for different kinds of trips, a sun shade, a whole family's worth of camping chairs, folding tables, camping stoves, multiple lanterns, camping related toys and activities, far more water storage, etc. What was easily stashed in a corner of a closet is now practically its own shelving unit.