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Freedom Through Storage

101 members • Free

StorageAce

379 members • Free

11 contributions to Freedom Through Storage
Q&A call
The call today was great! Just wanted to give a shout out to Shane. Amazing job on the call and starting this community. You truly inspire me!
1 like • Jan 12
@Shane Chapin will the call recordings be posted?
0 likes • 12d
@Shane Chapin Sweet deal! Thanks for letting me know.. I know what I'll be listening to on my drive home tomorrow :)
Rent raise
Question for the group- how soon after closing are you folks raising rents ?
2 likes • 19d
@Shane Chapin great advice Shane! Thank you for sharing
Environmental
For those who've acquired properties with prior auto body/gas station history — did your lender require a current Phase I or Phase II, or did they accept older reports with a reliance letter? Has anyone successfully gotten an environmental firm to issue an updated reliance letter on a 13-year-old report rather than doing a full new Phase I or Phase II? What did that cost and how did it go over with the lender? What else should be considered before acquiring?
0 likes • 19d
@Ying Fu great insight!! Thank you for your input. Would you say a property that requires a phase 1 is enough to turn off a potential buyer on the exit? What if the phase one identified some items to be aware of but basically states they are a non issue - and clearly it was a non issue as owner was able to secure an sba loan ? Will still want a fresh phase 1 but was unsure if this roadblock would be enough to turn future buyers away
Leases
Anyone deal with a seller unable to find the leases for their tenants? If so - dealbreaker? We will be getting everyone on our own new lease so personally don't think its that big of a deal but curious others thoughts
Quick Operator Question for the Community: Surcharges
Storable just rolled out a credit card surcharging feature for ESS users, and I’m curious where everyone in here stands on this. For those who haven’t seen it yet, the feature basically allows operators to pass the credit card processing fee (up to around 3%) directly to the tenant when they choose to pay with a credit card. So instead of the facility paying the merchant fees, the tenant pays the convenience fee. Pretty simple concept. But operators seem to be split right down the middle on this. Side #1: “It’s Just a Cost of Doing Business” Some operators don’t love the idea of charging tenants extra fees. Their thinking is: If someone is paying you $100–$150 a month for storage, why nickel and dime them over a few dollars? They’d rather focus on increasing revenue through things like: • Better rate management • Tenant protection plans • Operational efficiencies In their mind, credit card fees are just another operating expense like utilities or software. Side #2: “Why Should I Pay for Their Credit Card Rewards?” Then you’ve got the other side of the fence. These operators look at their merchant statements and say: "Wait a minute… I'm paying thousands of dollars a year so tenants can earn airline miles and cashback points?" Their argument is that credit cards are a convenience for the customer, not the operator. So if a tenant wants that convenience, they should pay the fee. Some operators are even encouraging ACH autopay instead, which usually has little or no processing cost. I’ve also heard of a few operators switching software platforms just to get lower merchant fees and the ability to surcharge. Here’s My Real Question For You If you were running a facility today… Would you: A) Absorb the credit card fees as a normal operating expense B) Pass the surcharge to tenants who use credit cards C) Encourage ACH and bank draft and try to move people away from cards altogether No right or wrong answer here. I just think this is one of those interesting operational decisions that affects both NOI and customer experience.
Quick Operator Question for the Community: Surcharges
3 likes • Mar 11
I would make sure to read your state's laws regarding surcharging - there are different rules and regulations around how to properly and adequately "display this" to the customer, etc.
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Caitlin Lombardo
3
36points to level up
@caitlin-lombardo-8161
My husband Tom and I are self storage owner/operators looking to continue to acquire more facilities with the overall goal of time freedom

Active 6d ago
Joined Dec 31, 2025
Rochester, NY
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