Houston, TX · Member since 2017 · 35 posts · 6 votes
I was recently contacted by a small moving company who wants space to park their trucks. I'm not sure where to start and I havent been able to find much information online. The vacant land im leasing is 1/2 acre, no restrictions. I have a couple questions, should I rent it out by the truck or just lease them the whole 1/2 acre? Would there be a difference on the insurance, on my part? The owner of the moving company also said he would pitch in to pour gravel down as long a I gave him a year lease.
Thank you in advance.
I own the land out right, I had other plans for it that fell through so for now this seems like a good option. I did hear about environmental issues like that, I'll have to look into it. The current owner does have the trucks stored somewhere else and is on a month to month lease. I'm meeting with him tommorow, so I'll see how much info he's willing to share. Thanks for the tip on calling other moving companies.
Just have a good lease agreement specifying what the tenant can and can't do, terms and responsibilities, etc. I would suggest a lease for the entire lot so there is no dispute or effort about how many trucks were parked for how many fractions of a day.
Is your lot fenced? Security may be another issue of possible liability. Insurance is also important to make sure your policy is updated.
Hi Santos Gloria
Interesting problem you have here.
You mention you are leasing the land. Are you the owner or are you leasing it from someone else? If you’re leasing it make sure the owner of the property is OK with you doing that.
If you own it and it is truly unrestricted that then you can do whatever you like (within reason). If you do not have immediate plans for the land then it could all be upside but be careful for environmental concerns (I.e. motor oil leaking on no paved surfaces, etc)
I am not sure what “insurance” you have on the vacant land but you should always make sure and talk to your insurance broker to find out the specifics of your policy before committing to anything.
Do you know if the owner of this company has truck stored some other place? He might be able to give you some info. When I drive around Houston I’ve seen moving trucks located on vacant land, you can always call those companies and ask them how their relationships work with the land owners. You never know, you may get someone who tells you exactly what they do how much they pay and how they structure the deal.
Hope that helps.
I own the land out right, I had other plans for it that fell through so for now this seems like a good option. I did hear about environmental issues like that, I'll have to look into it. The current owner does have the trucks stored somewhere else and is on a month to month lease. I'm meeting with him tommorow, so I'll see how much info he's willing to share. Thanks for the tip on calling other moving companies.
I own the land out right, I had other plans for it that fell through so for now this seems like a good option. I did hear about environmental issues like that, I'll have to look into it. The current owner does have the trucks stored somewhere else and is on a month to month lease. I'm meeting with him tommorow, so I'll see how much info he's willing to share. Thanks for the tip on calling other moving companies.
Just have a good lease agreement specifying what the tenant can and can't do, terms and responsibilities, etc. I would suggest a lease for the entire lot so there is no dispute or effort about how many trucks were parked for how many fractions of a day.
Is your lot fenced? Security may be another issue of possible liability. Insurance is also important to make sure your policy is updated.
Sounds good. Trucking companies have great insurance so get them to add you as an additional insured. Lease the space buy the square foot and give them the option to add but not subtract space. If he won't take all then list the balance of the property on LoopNet or Craigslist as that's where trucking companies look for these spaces. Ground must be stabilized which sometimes can be more than just gravel. Get the gravel company to give you their opinions as these truck can weigh a lot. Make sure the neighbors are ok with trucks as your plans could be spoiled by a complaint. Use an attorney for the lease or sign up with a prepaid legal service like LegalShield for a lease review.
Rent has been coming in for the past three months.
We agreed on a per truck rate that would of course adjust as he purchased more vehicles. He is also interested in leasing the rest of the land in the future for his main office.
I also made sure environmental concerns were addressed in the lease as well as specific can and can't do's.
The only issue I ran into was the city wanting a grading permit along with drainage plans, we are still in the process of getting that situated.
hello! I know I'm 5 yrs late to this post but I'd love to chat with you and pick your brain @Santos since my husband and I are thinking of going into this business as well here in AZ. It's funny, you and I worked at abby realty together and I somewhat remember you but I mainly worked the north side of Houston. looking forward to hearing from you!
I was recently contacted by a small moving company who wants space to park their trucks. I'm not sure where to start and I havent been able to find much information online. The vacant land im leasing is 1/2 acre, no restrictions. I have a couple questions, should I rent it out by the truck or just lease them the whole 1/2 acre? Would there be a difference on the insurance, on my part? The owner of the moving company also said he would pitch in to pour gravel down as long a I gave him a year lease.
Thank you in advance.
You'd want to lease the entire lot if they need the entire space, if they are willing to pay the amount you'd want to have it completely tied up, and to avoid juggling multiple tenants and them potentially not playing nice in the sandbox.
You'd want a simple ground lease agreement AND include in it terms of what they can and can't do with the property while they are leasing it and the condition they need to return the property to you.
Outline taxes and insurance clauses and make sure your insurance is updated to account for this change in use.
You should put it on the biz to verify zoning allows for commercial use/parking on this lot in the lease agreement. AKA they need to do the homework and take on that liability.
I own the land out right, I had other plans for it that fell through so for now this seems like a good option. I did hear about environmental issues like that, I'll have to look into it. The current owner does have the trucks stored somewhere else and is on a month to month lease. I'm meeting with him tommorow, so I'll see how much info he's willing to share. Thanks for the tip on calling other moving companies.
For the potential for "future contamination" you'd include a clause in the lease that addresses it and puts the liability & future remediation to restore the site on the Tenant. You ensure that via their insurance and it listing the LL as additionally insured.