Self Storage- Conex or Cargo Container notes

[Henry Clark]

Made a post on a Self Storage forum and copying for info purposes.

A. Temperature and humidity. They are hotter during the summer. We use Trailer roof paint on the tops. One 5 gallon bucket covers 2 1/2 roofs. Although black, it turns silver which reflects the heat. You can actually tell. We had painted 1/2 a roof and I walked inside and you could tell the radiant heat between the two sections. Knocks the temperature down about 15 degrees.

B. Looks- As you can see above the Beige or Tan color looks the same as regular storage units. The 1 trip or new containers normally come in just the Beige color, which you can request. Sometime they come in Grey. If you buy Used containers they come in all colors and rust. We painted ours the tan color. Since they are side by side, you just need to paint the fronts and possibly the backs.

C. Humidity. They have breather holes at the bottom and the top. This helps with Condensation. You can spray foam the roofs, but that is expensive.

D. As you can see in the pictures above. We put a row of material about 4 inches high to set them on. This keeps them from sinking into dirt and then the door may not open.

E. Hard to open. Used units can be difficult to open. Use "Blast" to lubricate the hinges. Make sure the front is level. Buy only new ones. They are as easy to open as the front door on your house. 

F. Bugs, Dust, Mice- "Zero" gets in. G. ROI- an 8 x 20 1 trip, new, runs about $2,900; along the coast near ports they can be $2,300. A similar 10 x 15 regular unit runs about $4,200 to build. We rent both for the same price. 

H. Property taxes- none on Containers. 

I. Insurance- Containers come under Personal Property and not real Property. Our coverage costs is lower, but don't have at my finger tips. J. Maintenance- containers none. No Latch replacements or Door alignments.

K. 100% depreciation- If you have REP status you can take 100% write-off in the first year for taxes. Be careful if you plan to sell in the next say 7 years, you can get hit with depreciation recapture at higher tax rate. 

L. Risk- You can add as you need them. You can sale or move them. Buildings you can't do that. You have to build to your layout footprint. You can actually resale them for a higher retail price than the wholesale price you paid. 

M. Aging- You won't see any aging structurally or visually for decades. Material is what is know as Core 10 steel. Virgin steel to stand up to Salt water environments. Whereas all regular Storage steel is Recycled steel and not as rust resistant. 

N. Zoning- it's a lot harder to find zoning to use Cargo Containers. 

O. Zoning Setbacks- some jurisdictions will allow you to put them on setbacks and some won't. 

P. Right of Ways- You can put them under or over powerline or gas pipeline right of ways, Since they are not "permanent" and can be moved if needed. 

Containers are not the be all end all. But they are a great Tool. In the last few months we have rented 10 out of the 50 units we bought. Normally we buy 14 at a time, so doing great on rent up. We bought 50 expecting the price to "Double" since about 90% are made in China and with the Tariffs and reduced China US traffic, they should have gone up. Actually, they have gone down. Plus, the Tariffs were not applied to them.