Tips on How to Find a 5-Year Self-Storage Tenant
Part of owning a self-storage facility to make money is making sure your units are filled with tenants. The best way to have consistent tenants is to find those who are willing to sign a long-term lease. That way, you won’t have to worry about finding new tenants to fill your spaces each year (or even each month!) and can count on consistent rent for years to come.
Finding tenants who are willing to sign a long-term self-storage lease can be a bit more difficult than other forms of real estate, as many people use self-storage units during transitional phases for short periods of time. However, there are a few ways you can attract long-term tenants to your self-storage facility. Below, we’ll share tips on how to do this.
How to attract long-term self-storage tenants
Attracting long-term tenants, no matter what real estate industry you’re working in, is generally all about building a good relationship with your tenants in order to send the message that your self-storage facility – and you – are worth sticking with for the long haul. Here are a few ways to send that message:
Be welcoming and respectful of tenants
Right off the bat, you should offer a warm welcome to all of your tenants. This can be more difficult in the self-storage world than it is with residential real estate, but all it really takes is some warm communication. A personal touch in these sorts of industries can go a long way in this day and age. People like to remember that they’re talking to a real person who values them and their time, so make that clear! That alone can put you ahead of the competition.
Be communicative and responsive
To that end, keep up the communication throughout the whole time a tenant rents from you. Try to respond to any messages or concerns as quickly as possible, especially when it comes to maintenance and any complaints. Show your tenants that you’re there to help them in any way that you can, and make sure maintenance and repair is taken care of in a timely manner.
Respect tenants’ privacy
Self-storage tenants put a lot of trust into you and your business by storing their personal belongings in your units. Show them that you deserve that trust by being respectful of their privacy. This means giving proper notice before entering their rental unit for whatever reason. If you need to complete a routine inspection or take care of a repair, a simple message of when you’ll be at the storage unit and for what reason will go a long way.
Provide proper security and up-to-date technology
Tenants will be more likely to renew with a long-term lease if they not only have a good relationship with you, but also like and feel comfortable keeping their belongings in the self-storage unit itself. That means if you want long-term tenants, you should put extra effort into ensuring your facility is the best of the best. Invest in good security measures so that tenants belongings stay safe, keep your facility clean and attractive, and equip it with all the available technology that makes the process easier for everyone.
Offer a competitive year rent increase
Rent raises to keep up with market changes are a normal part of real estate, but in order to keep your tenants around, you should keep your increases as reasonable and competitive as possible. If you raise the rent a significant amount between leases, a tenant may choose to switch facilities to a business that offers cheaper rent.
Offer incentives
A small incentive could be the nudge your tenant needs to sign a long-term lease on their self-storage unit. One good idea, if you can afford to offer it, is to give them one free month of rent if they decide to renew with a long-term lease. While this may sound like it’s losing you money, vacancies between tenants are almost guaranteed at one point or another, so the certainty of keeping a unit filled for multiple years will likely make this offer worth it.
Trust TyMac
To attract long-term self-storage tenants, you’ll want to offer the best self-storage facility in your region. That’s where TyMac can help. We develop top-notch self-storage facilities in high-traffic locations and work to find our partners the best possible acquisitions to create a high return.
With TyMac, you’ll be able to offer self-storage units that your tenants will be happy with for years to come – even happy enough to sign a 5-year lease!
