Author: Brad Dixon

Stolen And Illegal Items

If you make the extremely poor life decision to steal something or get involved in the drug economy, you should keep it out of your storage. While police generally need a search warrant to get into your storage unit, there are more loopholes than for your living space.

State and Federal judges have held that your unit can be searched without a warrant if you’re behind on rent or if a friend you’ve given the key to lets them in. Best to stay away from a life of crime altogether.

Weapons

You’ve probably seen Storage Wars by now; you know if you fall way behind on your unit’s rent, it’ll be auctioned off. A variety of people come to these auctions, including people who might be restricted from owning weapons. If there are weapons in the unit, it could be a loophole.

Rather than restrict who can go to storage auctions, the law decides to restrict what you can store. So guns are illegal and most facilities restrict things like knives and nunchucks, too.

Dangerous Chemicals

You shouldn’t store household cleaning supplies, aerosols, pesticides, fertilizers, or gasoline in your unit. Most of those things are either a fire hazard or potentially poisonous.

Storage facilities are unique buildings; fire-fighters have described feeling like they’re in an oven when putting out a fire in a unit. You don’t want anything that could affect their breathing or make the fire worse.

Cash

Storage facility thefts do happen from time to time.. While insurance can cover your losses if things are stolen, most homeowner’s policies will only pay you back $200-$300 for cash losses.

It’s just not smart to store cash in a storage unit. Consider a safe-deposit box at a bank, instead.

Humans

Of course, it’s not legal to live in a storage unit, but it’s also a terrible idea. Self-storage units don’t have temperature or humidity controls and they don’t have adequate ventilation, either.

It’s not a good idea to keep any formerly alive humans in your unit, either. Should you default on your unit, your loved one will pass to someone who has no idea they were even there.

What You Can Store

Don’t worry, though. You can store pretty much everything else in your self storage unit.

From furniture and clothes to books and electronics, storage facilities are secure places to keep most of your things during a move. Find out what facilities are near you here!

We don’t like to think of these things, but they can and do happen. And your local storage facility isn’t immune.

So, how do you keep your items as safe as possible? And how is it insured?

Your Homeowner’s Or Rental Policy

First, the good news: if you have a current homeowner’s or rental insurance policy, your things in storage are likely covered! You don’t have to do anything special, either.

But, the coverage your items in storage have has the same limitations as your current policy. That means, your items are likely covered from:

• Hurricanes, tornadoes, and lightning
• Fire and smoke damage
• Wind and hail
• Theft and vandalism
• Snow and ice weight
• Explosions, falling objects</p>

But, your items likely aren’t covered from:

• Flooding
• Vermin, rodents, and animals
• Poor maintenance
• Mold and mildew

Second, while most homeowner’s and renter’s policies include what’s called “off-premises coverage,” that coverage is typically only 10% of the personal items coverage for property at your home. So if your policy will pay you up to $10,000 to replace personal items, that amount will be only up to $1,000 for your storage unit.

Before you sign a storage agreement, you may want to read over your policy or give your insurance agent a call, just to be clear on your policy limitations. Your insurance agent may be able to help you to get more coverage, too.

What If I Don’t Have A Policy?

Before you can sign a storage agreement, the storage facility will likely make sure you do have insurance. Generally, that means providing a copy of your current homeowner’s or rental policy.

But what if you don’t have a policy? Your storage facility probably offers their own policies to cover loss or damage to your items. You may even be required to purchase a policy if you cannot provide insurance.

Whether required or not, you should make sure you have insurance for your items in storage.

Other Ways To Keep Safe

Even if you have an insurance policy, hopefully you’ll never have to use it! How can you keep your belongings safe?

• Know what items are in storage. Complete a clear and detailed inventory of your items going into storage. Take pictures of any high-value items to note serial numbers and condition.
• Make sure your facility is secure. The best facilities are well-fenced, have 24-hour video surveillance, and require security codes to access units.
• Check natural disaster protection. What are your facility’s procedures in case of fire? How do they protect against flooding?

Find A Safe Storage Facility Near You!

Take a look on our website to find a safe, secure storage facility near you!

All of these terms refer to storage units that have their temperature and humidity controlled. But do you need this kind of storage or is it an unnecessary frill?

What Is Climate-Controlled Storage?

Traditional storage units provide protection from rainstorms, wind, and direct sunlight, but that’s about it. A unit in the Midwest will endure large temperature swings and a unit in Florida will get incredibly humid.

Climate-controlled units are heated, air-conditioned, and use humidifiers to maintain a consistent temperature and humidity regardless of the conditions outside. It’s not that different to keeping your own home warm and cool.

Different companies have different temperature and humidity guidelines. But in general, units don’t get below 50F or above 85F. Humidity is typically kept to around 50% or 55% You should be able to find a specific answer on a company’s website or by giving them a call.

Who Needs Climate-Controlled Storage?

High temperatures can dry out leather, fade paintings, and damage electronics. Cold temperatures can crack wood. And humidity can destroy electronics and cause the growth of mold and mildew everywhere.

If you’re storing anything with significant financial or sentimental value for longer than a few weeks, you want to look into climate-controlled storage.

This includes:

• Pricey furniture and electronics
• Musical instruments
• Important documents and family heirlooms
• Art work
• Antiques

If you’re looking at your things being in storage for an extended period of 3+ months, you can add things like household appliances, clothes, and books to that list. If it’s susceptible to mold or mildew, you shouldn’t leave it long term in a non-climate controlled unit.

How Much Does Climate-Controlled Storage Cost?

There’s typically  a 25-50% premium on climate-controlled storage, though the exact costs can vary from region to region and season to season. If you’re paying $100 for a storage unit, that means a climate-controlled unit of the same size will cost $125-$150.

Climate-controlled storage probably isn’t worth it for you if you’re a college student moving from the dorms into your first apartment. Or if you need storage for a few weeks while you wait to close on a new home.

But if you have valuable items or need storage for over 3 months, the extra cost of climate control is far cheaper than buying replacements. And, of course, sentimental items can never be replaced.

Where Can I Find Climate-Controlled Storage?

Most major self-storage companies have climate-controlled options. Take a look on our website to find climate-controlled storage in your area.