Self storage question

[Tina Lee]

Just curious about when you rent a self storage unit to client can you check their Credit or income?

What chance are running someone who dump all their stuffs there for one month and dissapare and doesn’t want to pay anymore.

[Nathan Gesner]

I own a self-storage facility and manage another one. No, we do not check their credit or anything of that nature.

Rent is cheap, so they won't cause $10,000 in losses and disappear like a residential renter. My worst-case scenario so far was a tenant paying $100 a month. He has mental health challenges, so let it go longer than normal before auctioning his items off. With late fees and everything, he owed $550. I auctioned his stuff for $100, leaving me with $450 in losses. I sent that to collections and rented the place to someone else in a few days.

I have 135 storage units bringing in almost $10,000 a month. If one tenant doesn't pay for a few months, it's a very minor hiccup. And if you run a tight ship and don't let them get more than 90 days behind, you'll barely notice.