Tips for renting a self storage unit

Storage units are very useful. Whether you are moving to Miami and you need to rent storage Miami Beach or you simply have too little space for some of your things, you want to rent a self storage unit. But you don’t know where to start your search. Naturally, you don’t want to pay too much money for storing your items. On the other hand, you want to rent a safe unit, where you can be sure that your belongings are safe. We are here for you to help you with renting a self storage unit that fits your needs just right.

Choose the right size when renting a self storage unit

When you are renting a self storage unit, size matters. You want to choose the right size so that all of your stuff can fit in. So, before you start exploring your options for storage South Florida, you should determine how many things do you want to store. Use a meter and check the size of the biggest item you want to store. Measure also other things you want to store. It would be the best if you could put it all together and check how big it is.

When choosing the size of the self storage unit, you don’t want it to be too small nor too big. If you go with a storage that fits only your items and nothing else, you will have trouble finding the things you stored. Imagine just how annoying would it be to have to take everything out when you need to get an item out. You shouldn’t go the other way either because you will end up paying for the space you don’t use. The ideal storage size fits your things and you inside, leaving you with enough space to move around inside it.

Pay attention to the nature of the stored items

The nature of the things you are storing is the most important factor you should keep in mind when renting a self storage unit. With the Florida weather, many items require a unit with climate control. Climate control in storage unites means controlled temperature and humidity. After all, there is no point in storing items if you won’t provide them with the necessary conditions to preserve them. Keep this in mind when storing the following items:

• wooden furniture – When storing wooden furniture you will want to keep the temperature and humidity in check to prevent the wood from expanding in the heat or growing mold when the humidity is too high.
• antique furniture – Even more so than the modern wooden furniture, antique furniture requires special conditions in a controlled environment.
• wooden instruments – musical instruments are glued together. When the heat is too strong, the glue can come undone and ruin your guitar for example.
• documents – paper can withstand high temperatures nor high humidity levels. That’s why it crucial to keep all important documents in a climate controlled unit.
• photographs –  if not keep in a storage unit with air conditioning, photos can turn yellow and fade out.
• artwork – to prevent mold developing on that precious painting, you should really get a storage unit with climate control.
• electronics – computers, TVs, speakers, cameras etc. can corrode in humid environments.

  

Consider security levels you need when renting a self storage unit

Security levels provided by the storage company are an important factor when deciding which unit to rent. You want to get a storage unit where you will be sure your items are safe from theft and burglary. There are different levels of security provided by self storage companies.

Basic security when renting a self storage unit

Most self storage facilities offer basic security that consists of:

• lightning – when you access your storage unit at night you want to be able to see where you are going. Good lighting in the facility can turn thieves away. Or if it doesn’t, they are easier to spot.
• gated access – a great way to control the fluctuation of people in a storage facility is to use a gated access with security pass cards. That way the security unit of the facility knows exactly how many people are present at the facility at any given moment.
• on-site management – another great way to keep intruders away is to have personnel monitoring the facility around the clock.

Advanced security when renting a self storage unit

In addition to the basic security measures, there are some extra measures you could take to rest completely assured that your belongings are safe. You could pay an additional fee and rent a storage unit with an alarm. That way, if anyone tries to rob your unit, the security crew will be informed right away and they can take actions to protect your things.

Get the right insurance for your unit

No matter how well secured your unit is, sometimes unpredicted events can happen. For that reason, you want to insure your unit. Not only from theft, but from floods and other such events. Most facilities require their users to pay an insurance fee on top of the price of renting the unit. The fee starts at around 10 dollars per month and can go higher, depending on the type of insurance you choose.

Another insurance option is to check whether your home insurance covers storage as well. In some cases they do, so you won’t have to pay anything for you storage insurance. The third option, if your home insurance does not cover it and you are not satisfied with the insurance offered by the storage facility is to buy it from an insurance company.

Next time you need to hire moving and storage company in Florida, you will know what kind of storage unit to ask for.