How Does Parking Space Storage Work?

You have a lot of options when it comes to storage on your property. Is parking space storage really everything that it’s cracked up to be? It is a relatively new concept so it’s entirely understandable that you might not know exactly what it is and how it works. 

That being said, the housing market is a competitive one, and knowing what exactly you have available to you could either help you fill more units or even get a little extra cash from your tenants on a monthly basis, and neither of those things are bad things. 

Many people would even go so far as to say that it’s essential to ensure that you know about storage options for your tenants. It can make a huge difference in how your tenants perceive your property if you do so. Tenants that are happy with the property are more likely not to cause any issues. 

So, how exactly does this kind of storage work, what is it, and how can it end up making you money? Let’s look a little deeper into this so you can be sure that you understand exactly what it is before deciding if it’s right for your property or not. 

What Exactly is Parking Garage Storage?

If you own or manage a property, there’s a good chance that you’ve heard someone talking about this kind of storage at some point or another. It’s becoming more and more common on properties, so it only makes sense that you could be curious. 

This type of storage is actually pretty simple to explain. It’s a series of storage units that are constructed above parking spaces. That means that someone could rent a parking spot and the storage right above and make things more convenient for them. 

This kind of parking is also pretty easy to incorporate into your already existing parking garage, depending on how much clearance there is in each spot. Parking garages that have high ceilings are the easiest, but if your garage has low ceilings you can still find other options. 

It’s also pretty easy to build a garage with these in mind, all you need to do is make sure that there’s enough clearance above the parking spots to fit the storage lockers. It is easiest to build your garage around this idea, but any space is easier to accommodate anything if it’s included in the building plans. 

That being said, even if you didn’t plan for them to be built into your garage, you don’t have to worry too much. Most companies that make these kinds of lockers have all sorts of solutions that can turn any unused space you have into storage space for your tenants. 

Usually, these are a lot like the kind of storage that you would expect to see at a Uhaul or similar storage facility. You know the type, with the metal doors that slide up to reveal the contents of the unit. That’s what the nicer ones are like anyways. 

There are some that are made out of wire mesh but those can be a little risky if you’re planning on putting them above people’s cars. Wire mesh can be sturdy but if it isn’t that could mean damage to the tenant’s car. 

Even if you had them sign a waiver saying that they wouldn’t hold you responsible for any damages, they will still tell people what happened and that can make you look bad for getting subpar over car storage units. 

How Having These Units Benefits You

As someone who either owns or manages the property, there’s a good chance that you want to make sure that these kinds of choices are actually going to benefit you in some way, shape, or form. That’s just called maximizing your return on investment.

That being said, before going through the process of having this kind of storage installed there’s a good chance that you want to know how exactly this kind of thing would be monetized. Money doesn’t grow on trees and installing storage units isn’t free, after all. 

There are a lot of different ways that you could go about getting some money back from this investment. Some properties tie these units to the tenant’s rent, so they get a parking spot and a storage unit. That can potentially bring in new tenants. 

Some properties charge a small fee for tenants to use these kinds of storage units. That can end up being very lucrative, especially if you’ve already paid off the cost of installing the units in the first place. 

There are a few other ways that you can monetize these storage units, depending on where your property is located:

• Rent them to people that don’t live on your property.
• Use them for storing things like vending machine supplies

There are also a few ways that you can market them to your tenants to increase the number of them that are willing to pay for them:

• Their items would be on-site, making it a great choice for people that want to store winter clothes, guest furniture, and other things that they want out of the way without having to leave the complex. 
• Save gas by not driving to the storage facility for their things. 
• Eco-friendly storage units are another great selling point if you choose storage units that are actually eco-friendly. 

These storage units are actually incredibly easy to monetize if you know what you’re doing and how to market them to your tenants. Odds are, if you’re managing a property you already have a good idea of how to pitch this kind of thing to your tenants. 

What Other Kinds of Options Are There?

If you’re curious about the idea of storage units in your apartment complex but there is no way that you’d be able to fit them above cars in the car park, you’d probably be interested in hearing about some other options that are available to you. 

Fortunately, we’re here to help and we can provide you with a few suggestions. Our favorite option for this is high-quality storage lockers that you can put anywhere. If you have some empty space on your property, you can fit these on-site with little to no problems.

The best units are actually usually as affordable if not more affordable than the lesser-quality types that are often targetted by thieves because of how easy it is to breach them. That makes it a win-win for both you and your tenants. 

That is because your tenants want to feel like their things are going to be safe in these storage units. They are paying you good money to store their things, so they would probably be more than a little upset if someone walking by just stole their stuff without anyone noticing. 

The higher quality storage units you can install look a lot like the ones that you would see at an off-site storage facility, but you can get them in all sorts of different sizes. The smaller ones are about the size of your locker in high school gym class, and the larger ones are the size of garages. 

Of course, you get to pick whichever size you think is going to work best. These units are also really nice because they have solid construction meaning that they’ll be sturdy in case a car runs into them, for example, and won’t be easy pickings for thieves.

We’re gonna let you in on a little secret about thieves. Your average, everyday thief is lazy and opportunistic. The less effort they have to put into a theft, the more likely they are to steal something. The common thief is what we like to call an honest thief. 

That’s because they aren’t typically going out of their way to steal things. If something could be broken into in two seconds, someone probably will at some point. Especially if they can see what is inside the unit, that’s why the wire mesh units have a lot of problems. 

Of course, you do have your advanced thieves that are hitting banks and casinos for hundreds of thousands of dollars, but those kinds of thieves are unlikely to go after anyone on your property. If they were going to, you wouldn’t be able to stop them and you’d have much bigger problems on your hands.

That’s why you don’t plan for prolific thieves. They aren’t going to waste their time on your tenant’s potential few hundred dollars worth of goods kept in their secure locker unless they have a personal grudge against the tenant. 

Helping Yourself and Your Tenants in One Fell Swoop

It’s rare that you find something that’s going to be just as helpful to you and to your tenants, but getting good over car storage in your apartment complex can definitely achieve something like that. 

If you’re happy and your tenants are happy, those are good times. Doing simple things to keep your tenants happy that don’t hurt your wallet can have a great impact on your relationship with them, and that’s always a good thing.