I’m going to be frank with you: renting a storage unit is a bad idea. Financially speaking, it’s enough to make your savings account cry. Here at New England Rent To Own, we build rent to own sheds that free customers from the burden of ongoing storage unit payments.

Money down the drain

Don’t take my word for it, look at the facts. SpareFoot, a company in the business of promoting self storage facilities, used data from 2017 to zero in on the national average cost of storage unit rentals. Here’s what they found:

The monthly average to rent a 10×10 unit is $99.57. So let’s do the math: renting a 10×10 unit for a full year will ring up to a whopping $1,194.84. If you plan on storing items long term, I don’t need to tell you that a grand plus each year adds up quick. Even a small unit, like a 5×5, has an average monthly cost of $48.26, or $1.93 per square foot.

These monthly averages are 4.5 percent higher than that of 2016. If it continues to follow this trend, you can expect to find your storage unit rental bill steadily increasing year after year. Oh, and don’t forget to ask about the taxes and other bonus fees your local storage unit facility may charge.

Vulnerable to burglary

< Not only are storage unit rentals expensive, they could make your valuables a sitting duck for thieves. You’d think there would be a standardized approach to the security of self storage units. Alas, security is all over the map and completely varies by facility. There may be an attendant on site, or perhaps not. Your storage unit may be lit up by a nice, bright light, or its entrance may be hidden in the shadows. Units can be constructed with solid materials, or plywood and flimsy wire.

The point is, it’s not a secret that people pay to store things they think are valuable. Thieves know it’s likely at least some of the units are worth their special attention. Unlike storage on personal property, they can sneak in at night without waking a vigilant homeowner.

Going once, going twice…

And just like that some tobacco chewing stranger in a cowboy hat owns your great-grandma’s prized brooch. Most people don’t realize that unpaid storage rental bills count as secured debt. If you fall behind on payments, the facility may actually auction off your possessions to recoup unpaid fees.

Where’s the value in things you can’t easily reach?

Sure, you may drive to your storage unit rental to take inventory on occasion, but where’s the convenience in that? Nobody wants to load up their vehicle and make trips to a self storage facility across town each time they do spring cleaning.

Besides, if your like most of us; out of sight, out of mind. If you ever want to use the items you’ve put in storage again, putting a drive between you and them will make them that much less convenient.

Rent to own sheds keep your valuables close to home and easily accessible. Why rent to rent… when you can rent to own?