Storage Information

The need for storage space

Almost everyone needs storage space at one time or another. The nature of modern life is that we need some things periodically, and temporarily, and between those times, they have to be placed somewhere for safe keeping. This is true of our tools, our recreation equipment, and even our documents.

Renting or owning my storage space

If you have a location, buying is always better than renting. In the end, you have a product that has value, and belongs to you. This product can be used for continued storage purposes, re tooled for other purpose, or even sold if the need for it is gone. There are more reasons. A building on your own property is more convenient than one across town. If you own the building it can be used any time you get ready to use it, day or night. Because it is near your back door, you will save on fuel as well. See also: Buy A Storage Building Instead of Renting Space

The hallmarks of high quality storage buildings

Good material, and solid construction will mean long life, and easy maintenance. In most instances this will mean wooden framed structures with metal siding. These buildings represent the best long term value. Wooden , or composition siding with composition roofing requires quite a bit of maintenance. If such a building is not periodically cleaned, sealed, and painted, the material will degrade quickly. Steel clad buildings are almost maintenance free. Buying The Right Storage Building

Determining the size of the building you need

Deciding your buildings size, will require deciding the buildings intended use, and by available space. If the building is to be used for the purpose of storage, the number of cubic feet of the material to be stored can be determined by some simple measurements, and some simple math.  For workshop use, size should be determined by design and usability. The need for 200 square feet of space to be placed into an area no wider than 10 feet will require the building to be longer than it is wide. Whatever your buildings intended use, add at least 10 percent to the final size. Most people need more space than they initially expected. See: Buying The Right Storage Building

Deciding where to locate the building

The building should be placed where it can be reached easily, and where it does not interfere with lawn and landscape practices. we also need to think about the irrigation system, and how it will interact with the building. Some irrigation adjustments may be needed. See also: Storage Placement

Financing a storage building

Portable utility building producers and dealers want to sell buildings. That is why they are in the business. For that reason, most will have several financing options available. Of course, everyone loves cash. Most will help you to locate a loan source, and there is also the rent to own option, and some dealers offer ’90 days same as cash”. See: Storage Building Finance Rent To Own.

Buying online is also possible. See: How To Buy A Storage Building Safely And Securely Online

Getting your building to you

Most buildings are built at a factory like facility, and then delivered to the locations where they are to be displayed and sold. When a building is sold on a lot, it will be picked up at that lot, and hauled to it’s new home. That is not the only way it can be done though. Buildings can be built to meet your specific needs, and hauled directly to your place, or they can be built on site. On site building normally requires an on site fee, but this will probably be offset by omitting the cost of a delivery fee. There is always a cost for delivery. When a dealer tells you that they do not charge for delivery, that simply means that they have figured the cost into the building in other places. Free delivery is a gimmick. Look at the quality, and the final cost, and that will determine the buildings true value. See also: Storage Building Delivery

Uses of utility buildings

How you choose to use your utility building is limited only by your imagination and creativity. They serve well for the purpose of storage, but can also be used for work and hobby shops, offices, game rooms, and entertainment rooms. See: Storage Buildings Who Needs Them?

Maintaining your storage building

Utility building maintenance needs are determined by the type of materials and the quality of workmanship in the building. A well built steel clad building will be almost free of upkeep. A building built with other materials will require cleaning, sealing and painting on a regular basis to maintain looks and structural integrity. Read more in Storage Building Maintenance.

A row of metal storage buildings

Rent To Own Tips Storage Buildings

Rent to own, in spite of what you may have heard is a very good way to own some things. A storage building is one of those things. Renting to own something that will save you money is much better than continuing to pay rent at the end of which you will have nothing. There is no interest involved in renting to own. When you buy in this way, you are renting something until the agreement is paid, at which time the product becomes yours. Most companies take about one half of each payment for rent, and the other half goes toward paying for the product.

Your building suppliers will be able to help guide you through your financing options. If you decide that renting to own is the best route for you, you will have a little paperwork ahead of you. It may take some time, but there are some things that you can do to speed things up.

Things you will need to process a rent to own agreement:

• A photo copy of your drivers license

• Your social security number

• Your home phone number

• Home address

• Employer information

Things that will help:

• Phone numbers for spouse

• Phone numbers for immediate relatives

• Addresses for relatives

Some of these things may not be needed, but if the application calls for them, it will be better to have them ready rather than spending extra time looking for them.

Shed with offset door and window

Are you looking for a place to buy storage buy a storage building? The world is a pretty big place! We want to help you sort through the big old world, and find the storage building that meets your need.

To start with, if what you need is a small basic storage shed, we invite you to search through our online store at: Storage Master Marketplace

If you need something a little bigger, and prefer to buy locally, let me tell you what is local to us. This blog originates in the pine woods of East Texas, near a little town called Tyler. As with most situations, we are familiar with our native area, so we know more about the products available in this area than we do about other parts of the country.The material on this blog is based on data gleaned in the North East Texas area, but the principles and information it contains are applicable in almost any part of the globe.

If you are preparing to buy a storage building, utility building, carport, garage, or storage shed and you live in East Texas or North Texas including the Dallas area, and the area extending into Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas, we can make specific recommendations for the best places to buy. You can phone Jim at 903.504.3938 for details.

Some of the towns and cities in this local area are:

Tyler, Jacksonville, Whitehouse, Bullard, Lindale, Winona, Longview, Mineola, Kilgore, Emory, Winsboro, Quitman, Alba, Kemp Maybank, Canton, Ennis, Kaufman, East Tawakoni, Quinlan, Van, Grand Saline, Edgewood, Forney, Fruitvalle, Garland, Mesquite, Dallas, Rockwall, Royce City, Saxe, Rowlet, Greenville, Paris, Bonham, Farmersville, Wills Point, Terrel, Sulphur Springs, and, well, okay, the list is really pretty long, and there are many more, but you get the idea. If you live in or near any of these areas, give us a call. For those outside this area, see the note below.

Buying storage buildings in the wider Texas area, and  everywhere else

If you are residing in most parts of Oklahoma, Louisiana, or Arkansas, we can now make specific recommendations as well as in Texas. If you live in another area of the country, even if it is outside the Texas area, we will be happy to try to locate companies in your area that follow the principles,  practices, and standards we believe to be the most consistent with the quality building materials, and the best construction practices to help you with your long term needs. Please email jim@storagemasterblog.com for details.

Storage building with standard door

There are two types of storage. That which you own yourself, and that which you rent from someone else. Self storage and mini storage or two forms of public storage, which is the type you pay your hard earned cash to rent. Storage sheds, or storage buildings are utility buildings which are most often used for private storage, which is the type of storage you pay for once, and then own forever. Let us show you why owning your own storage is better than renting public storage.

Peace of mind.

• You can rest easier knowing that your cherished belongings are tucked away safely within the confines of your own property, and within easy reach.

It’s green.

• In these days of environmental awareness, we have become aware, that it makes more sense to store your items closer to your home to avoid wasting energy and adding pollution to the atmosphere. What better way of reducing your carbon footprint than to avoid extra, and unneeded trips?

Fuel cost.

• You have to pay rent to someone else to get them to allow you to put your stuff in their building located miles from your own home. Fuel prices are in a state of flux, but wasting money on fuel is always out of style. All those extra trips to get boxes from some “self storage” place 10 miles away can wind up costing you a lot of money.

Rent cost.

• If you buy a building, you are paying for something that is yours, so instead of perpetual rent, you have something to show for your money, and it can be used in many other ways, and for many other purposes if the need to store something is over. What you have left after paying rent, is more rent! When you stop renting, you have nothing!

Your safety in transit.

• Any time you drive, you take risks. That is part of our everyday lives, but why take more chances than you have to?

Your safety on site.

• Most storage places are somewhat remote, and while there are usually security systems in place, (whether they are working or not is another story entirely) the very layout of the buildings present safety issues. Besides, having a nice video of you being robbed outside your self storage unit will help the police to catch your mugger, but that is, after all, "after the fact."

Your convenience.

• The ability to grab what you want from your own building at any time of the day or night, without having to leave your premises, waste any time, or fight any traffic will go a long way toward stress reduction, and that is one thing that most of us would prefer. In that regard, buying instead of renting is good for your mental and physical health, and consequently, your longevity!

Your time is important.

• Even if buying instead of renting won't increase your longevity, it might just increase the amount of time available for doing the things you want to be doing.Time is our greatest asset, wasting it just might be our greatest failure. You have soccer, and baseball, and piano, and school activities, and shopping and...! It is much less time consuming to step into your back yard than to make a trip across town.

It has been said that there are only two certainties; death and taxes. In modern times, you could add to that list, financial uncertainty. Ironic is it not? In these days, many people need a place to store a few things until the economy settles down, and the downsizing is over. The sad part is that many folks may be entering this sad new situation with less than perfect credit.

Financial uncertainty is a fact of life in today’s economy, and unlike the perfect world sometimes offered by on screen entertainment, most people do not have perfect credit. There are a lot of reasons why. In a perfect world, we wouldn’t have credit rating problems, but in a perfect world, we wouldn’t need credit to begin with. the world is not perfect.

What can be done?

So, what can we do when the need arises for a fairly large purchase, and our creditors say no? We could always save our money until we have enough cash to purchase the product, but it takes a while to save a few thousand, and time can be our enemy, especially if we need the product for the purpose of making and saving money.

Financing options

There are always options like loan companies, who can eat your financial lunch when it comes to interest, and you have to be careful when it comes to the way the interest is structured. In some cases,  the interest may be as costly as the purchase, and there may be no way of paying it down ahead of time. Similar problems may exist with credit card purchases.

There is another option. Rent to own. In the rent to own system, you are paying for rent and ownership. You are not paying interest.

Storage rent to own

I had someone call me the other day about rent to own. The person on the line had heard that rent to own was, well, she couldn’t make herself put it bluntly, so I finished the statement for her: “You are wanting to know if it is a scam?” I asked politely. “Yes!” She said, in a way that showed an element of embarrassment and surprise!

Wrong information

There is apparently some bad information floating around on the subject, so I thought I would address that here. No. Rent to own is not some kind of scam. It is a perfectly viable way of renting or buying. I can’t speak for everyone, but the programs with which I am familiar are good programs.

Rent to own and interest

First of all, there is no interest on rent to own. you are paying rent for a building, and part of that rent, usually about half of it, goes toward the purchase of the building. Rent to own payments are very similar to what you would be paying for renting an equivalent amount of storage space from one of those self storage, or mini storage public storage facilities. The major difference is, that when you complete your contract on rent to own, you actually own the building, and it is setting on your property!

Early pay off

Many people choose to pay off the building early with income tax return money, or some windfall. This will save quite a bit on rental payments, since you would be paying for the building and not the rent if you pay it off. There is no penalty for early pay off. There is no credit check, and no credit damage for default. Since you are renting the building, you can call the company and have them pick it up, and your credit will not be hurt.

Bottom line

If you are paying 75.00 or 100.00 per month for storage, you can find an equivalent amount of storage space in a portable storage unit, and rent to own for about the same price. The big advantage is that you will be paying for something that will belong to you, and you won’t be throwing those dollars away! Throwing away dollars makes no sense! Neither does driving all over the country to get something that you need from storage, when you can just walk into your back yard to do the same thing.