Students need Self Storage

Every summer you move all of your college student’s furniture, books, clothes, and whatever junk they’ve accumulated to your garage, attic, basement, or spare bedroom. Of course, you’re so excited to have your student home for the summer that you overlook the exhaustion, time, and inconvenience of this move. In addition, you don’t think about the fact that you’ll be doing this for four (or more) years. You need a solution to this problem, and you need it before the next semester. The bottom line is, students need self storage and having a conveniently located unit can be all the difference.

Your best solution is a safe, secure, affordable storage unit. It will save time, space, and your mental health. Don’t forget insurance so that you’re covered in the event of a loss, and, even more importantly, look into whether your facility offers a tenant protection plan.

Why You Need a Tenant Protection Plan for Your College Student’s Self Storage

We love our college kids, but most are not known for their good judgment. To be fair, this is probably their first experience living away from home, and they’re not used to “adulting.” In many cases, they haven’t had to worry about protecting their belongings, and they’re still in that stage of life where someone else makes the problems go away.

It’s probably a good idea if you help your student choose a self storage facility. They won’t be worried about amenities like safety and security, and a tenant protection plan definitely won’t be a priority. They’ll just want the process finished so that you will go home and they can get back to studying (or partying).

Students need self storage: Look for a Facility that Offers an Optional Tenant Protection Plan

The majority of self storage businesses have cutting-edge security. Video monitoring, electronic gates, keypad access, and even Bluetooth-enabled keyless entry keep their belongings safe and protected.

Despite these precautions, either storage insurance or “off-premises” home insurance is required at most facilities to mitigate risk and cover losses. A growing number of self storage businesses have added optional tenant protection plans as an extra layer of protection. A tenant protection plan, like Storage Shield, covers certain losses not covered by insurance.

According to the Insurance Information Institute, coverage for items in a storage unit is generally provided by the “off-premises” personal property coverage in a homeowner’s policy. Typically covered are fire, lightning, theft, and vandalism. Buying self-storage insurance will usually give you coverage for damages to your possessions, less your deductible, due to loss from:

• Fire
• Theft
• Hurricane
• Tornado
• Wind
• Hail
• Lightning
• Leaking Water (excluding flooding)
• Smoke
• Earthquake

A tenant protection plan, on the other hand, is a contractual agreement between the facility and the tenant where operators agree to pay customers for damages to their belongings up to a specified dollar amount. For more detailed information read Is There a Difference Between Insurance and a Tenant Protection Plan.

Before you make a decision to purchase a tenant protection plan for your college student’s self storage unit, have a discussion with the manager of your chosen facility. He or she will be able to explain the details of the plan. and you can determine if it’s a good fit for you and your student.

In any event, the following are a few suggestions as to what to look for to keep your students as well as their belongings safe.

Look for a Secure Facility

A tenant protection plan and security to protect your belongings are important, but we don’t want to lose sight of what is most important – your child! We already know that safety is not always front and center on your student’s agenda. As mentioned above, it’s probably a good idea if you choose the storage facility. You never know when your children will decide to drive to the storage unit at 3:00 a.m. because they need a certain book, a piece of sports equipment, or that cute jacket that works perfectly with the OOTD (outfit of the day)! This is why you need a safe facility.

Here are a few things to think about during your storage facility search.

• A facility in a safe, convenient location
• A clean and well-maintained facility
• Well lit property
• Perimeter fencing
• Gates equipped with electronic access
• Twenty-four-hour video surveillance
• An indoor unit with keypad access
• Some updated facilities have gates equipped with keyless Bluetooth access using any mobile device
• On-site and/or resident managers
• A disc or cylinder lock that is resistant to tampering

Remind your student to NEVER share the gate access code with friends

Final Thoughts

Be thoughtful when choosing a storage facility, and don’t worry. There are numerous safe, clean, and secure storage facilities with plenty of amenities. You won’t have trouble finding a good one. And don’t forget about that tenant protection plan. Your student will thank you and you will thank yourself!