Cambridge, MA · Member since 2018 · 37 posts · 11 votes
Hi BP community! Looking for some insight on my current rental property in Cambridge, MA.
It is a Duplex (Up-down). Currently, we have an empty basement and shed.
Do landlords in this market charge for storage space? Our Realtor suggests not charging, but I wanted to know if there is a market & what is the going market rate?
In my experience (in Cambridge) the realtor isn't going to want to do the hustle to rent a storage space and would rather include it in the rent. I live locally, so I can do the hustle for parking and storage.
For the shed, depending on the size and quality you can rent it to somebody for storage. I have garages that at not via accessible that are used for storage.
The basement is a little bit trickier. Because of the furnace, breakers, etc., you probably can't really lock everyone out of the basement. Also, since you only have two units, there isn't much demand since I assume you don't want third parties in your basement. If you had 5 units or something like that, building 3 or 4 storage bins might make sense since there is more demand and more people. I think people are going to store things in the basement whether you try to charge or not. Bikes, off season AC's, etc. will probably end up in the basement. You need to make sure boxes aren't too close to the furnace.
Compare with other similar properties. Maybe having access to these spaces would make the rental command a higher price. If you have existing tenants, maybe you can offer them the space for an additional amount of rent.
Compare with other similar properties. Maybe having access to these spaces would make the rental command a higher price. If you have existing tenants, maybe you can offer them the space for an additional amount of rent.
I like this idea... can we change a contract after it has been signed?
In my experience (in Cambridge) the realtor isn't going to want to do the hustle to rent a storage space and would rather include it in the rent. I live locally, so I can do the hustle for parking and storage.
For the shed, depending on the size and quality you can rent it to somebody for storage. I have garages that at not via accessible that are used for storage.
The basement is a little bit trickier. Because of the furnace, breakers, etc., you probably can't really lock everyone out of the basement. Also, since you only have two units, there isn't much demand since I assume you don't want third parties in your basement. If you had 5 units or something like that, building 3 or 4 storage bins might make sense since there is more demand and more people. I think people are going to store things in the basement whether you try to charge or not. Bikes, off season AC's, etc. will probably end up in the basement. You need to make sure boxes aren't too close to the furnace.
Dan K.
This is some great feedback. I think charging for storage by itself would be tough. Maybe we will price into rent but otherwise I will leave it untouched!
Thanks.
Drew
The difficulty with pricing it into the rent is that when potential tenants are comparing apartments on paper they aren't going to say "Gee, this includes storage, I'm willing to pay an extra $75 a month."
Just think of it as a bonus for getting tenants more quickly. That's how I approach our free laundry.