SiteLink, which provides facility-management software and payment-processing services for self-storage operations, has launched a proficiency certification program for users worldwide and integrated credit-card processing for users in the United Kingdom.

The “SiteLink Certified Professional” program is designed to provide users with a comprehensive understanding of SiteLink tools. The free offering covers beginner topics, such as tenant move-ins, and more advanced tools like customer-relationship management. It’s browser-based and allows users to work through courses at their own pace, according to a press release. Courses can be started, stopped, continued and completed on any Internet-connected device.

The company is offering three levels of certification: Daily Operations, Advanced Operations and SiteLink Administrator. Each course includes several modules, with recap questions at the conclusion of each. Users can review content without answering the test questions, but must answer all questions correctly to receive a certificate of achievement.

Certified users will also receive recognition on SiteLink’s online forum. A designation will be displayed by their username and an “earned badge” will appear in their profile. Those receiving certification will also be given “access to additional resources and benefits,” the release stated.

In the U.K., users can now streamline payments and rentals through platform integration between facilities, websites and the automated INSOMNIAC kiosk from OpenTech Alliance Inc. The integration brings these users in line with customers in Australia, Canada and the United States, according to a press release. It allows self-storage operators to process single or recurring automatic credit-card payments, gives tenants the option of initiating automatic payments online, and offers a single platform for payments, refunds and reconciling transactions.

Founded in Raleigh, N.C., in 1996, SiteLink offers cloud- and Windows-based self-storage management software as well as built-in, in-house payment processing. Its software integrates with dozens of technology partners’ services including call centers, insurance, kiosks, mobile devices, websites and other platforms.

Update 10/5/17 – The Equator self-storage conversion project in Staten Island was listed among September’s “top 10 biggest real estate projects coming to NYC” by “The Real Deal” magazine, which provides news on the New York City real estate market. The Veterans Road storage project was named No. 4 behind a 37-story commercial tower comprising 385,000 square feet in Brooklyn, a 473,000-square-foot apartment complex in the Bronx, and a 143,000-square-foot hotel in Manhattan.

Self-storage architect Frank G. Relf has been tapped to design the facility.

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8/14/17 – Equator Capital Management LLC, a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based private-equity group, is developing a self-storage facility in Staten Island, N.Y. The company signed a 99-year, $70 million ground lease to build a 136,000-square-foot building on a 2-acre property at 2601 Veterans Road W. The site is owned by A. Tranchina Inc., a supplier of construction materials, according to the source.

The lease pricing is the net present value of annual rent payments for the entire term of the lease, according to the broker, Eugene Rivera, director of the commercial real estate division for Pure Properties. The firm is the U.S. brokerage arm for Dixon Advisory, an Australian-based investment-management firm.

Equator developed a storage facility in Long Island City, N.Y., in 2015. The property at 29-01 Review Ave. comprises 143,700 buildable square feet. The site once housed a 24,363-square-foot, single-story warehouse, but was purchased vacant for an undisclosed amount.

The same year, Equator formed a joint partnership with NitNeil Partners, an Atlanta-based real estate development and investment firm, to develop another storage facility in Durham, N.C. The facility is managed by self-storage real estate investment trust Extra Space Storage Inc. and branded under its name.

Founded by CEO Mehul B. Patel in 2008, Equator was formed to pursue business investments that can hold economic value even during market fluctuations, according to the company website. The firm invests in a range of real estate classes, acquiring, developing and repositioning properties in various industries, including self-storage. It works with institutional partners, private investors and joint-venture partners.

Guardian Storage, which operates 19 self-storage facilities in Colorado and Pennsylvania, has hired David Decker as vice president of operations. In this role, Decker will help guide the company’s property-management program and operations to a more efficient and sophisticated level, while also developing strategic plans for continued growth, according to a press release.

Prior to joining Guardian, Decker worked for Extra Space Storage Inc., an industry real estate investment trust and third-party management company, in a variety of roles including operations analyst, revenue-management specialist and district manager. Since 2013, he served as senior director of operations in charge of establishing policies and processes, increasing revenue streams, on-boarding new acquisitions, and outbound communications, the release stated.

“He is very collaborative and shares our people-first mindset,” said Steven Cohen, president of Guardian. “His vast knowledge and experience in our industry will prove to be extremely beneficial to Guardian Storage, both immediately and as we continue to grow.”

Over the last year, Guardian has added three new facilities in Hampton, Monroeville and Robinson, Pa. Three more properties are under development, including sites in Boulder and Longmont, Colo., which are scheduled to open in 2018. The expansion has enabled the operator to grow its employee base by 28 percent between the two markets, the release stated.

“I can see the company’s growth potential, and I’m excited to lend my experience to help them achieve their 2017 goals and beyond as they continue to expand,” Decker said. “I was immediately drawn to the company’s leadership, employee passion, and focus on customer satisfaction and operational excellence.”

Decker earned a bachelor’s degree and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Utah.

Established in Pittsburgh in 1987, Guardian operates 15 facilities in Pennsylvania and four in Colorado.

Penn Valley Mini Storage in Penn Valley, Calif., will host its seventh annual Community Shred Day on Oct. 21 to support a local first-aid training program. The self-storage facility at 17714 Penn Valley Drive will welcome individuals, families and business to drop off documents for shredding, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., for a donation of $5 per box. The money will benefit the CPR and automatic external defibrillator (AED) training program sponsored by the Penn Valley Area Chamber of Commerce (PVACC). Some will used to purchase portable AED devices for the community, according to the source.

Yuba City, Calif.-based Titan Shred will be on hand with a mobile-shredding truck. PVACC and Tri Counties Bank are event supporters, and refreshments will be provided.

"We are excited to host this shredding event as one way we can help people and businesses avoid identity theft and other types of fraud," said Pam Bivens, the storage-facility manager. "We originally started this shredding event as a service to our customers, but quickly learned that it is a popular service to benefit the entire community."

Penn Valley Mini offers drive-up storage units, moving and packing supplies, U-Haul truck rentals, and vehicle storage.

As self-storage operators review their rental agreements for possible 2018 updates, the three hottest issues revolve around consent for text communication, arbitration for dispute resolution and mandatory tenant-insurance requirements. These are the newest topics being discussed as they consider provisional changes to their tenant leases. Let’s take a closer look at each.

Consent for Text Communication

Based on the recent enforcement of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), self-storage operators who intend to call or text their customers would be wise to include specific consent from their tenants in their rental agreements. This is especially true for any robo-calling by telemarketers or debt collectors. The “established business relationship” exemption no longer can be used to avoid the liability of contacting your tenants by automated calls or texts without their consent.

Though tenant consent may be given on the front end, consumers still retain the right to “opt-out” by notifying the facility operator (or its representative making the call or text) to stop contacting him. In such a case, the original consent is withdrawn.

The below example demonstrates the type of clear consent that is needed if you intend to contact your customers via phone or text. Though not addressed as part of the TCPA, this draft provision also provides consent to contact a customer via social media. This has been added to address the likelihood that, as our technology and social media connections expand, it may be far easier to contact a customer through Facebook or Instagram than by phone. Here’s some sample text:

PERMISSION TO COMMUNICATE: Occupant recognizes that Operator and Occupant are entering into a business relationship as Operator and Occupant. Occupant hereby consents to Operator phoning, texting (including automated calls and texts), faxing, e-mailing and using social media to communicate with Occupant with marketing and/or other business-related communications.

Arbitration for Dispute Resolution

If there’s a single hot button that highlights most everyone’s thoughts about rental agreements these days, it’s arbitration. In recent history, most self-storage leases provided for court resolution with jury-trial waivers; however, the wave of class-action lawsuits to hit the industry has motivated many operators to consider alternatives to their dispute-resolution procedures. Most notable is the inclusion of arbitration provisions in rental agreements, with class-action waivers.

Arbitration is unusual in that it’s a method of dispute resolution where the parties agree, in lieu of using a public court and typical lawsuits, to instead address concerns though a private service. These typically have relaxed procedural rules to make the process easier for the consumer. Since it’s an agreed private form of resolution, the parties can further agree to limit their disputes solely to the limited issues that affect each party. Therefore, the courts have upheld the rights of the contracting parties to waive the right of class-actions in an arbitration venue.

Essentially, by using arbitration with a class-action waiver, self-storage operators are able to resolve disputes with aggrieved customers without the threat of minor disputes turning into massive class-action claims. For matters that are small and can be contained within the monetary jurisdictional limit of local small-claims courts, the parties can still resolve their dispute in small claims. Generally, small-claims courts don’t permit class-action filings.

Here’s a sample arbitration provision that could be considered for a self-storage rental agreement:

ARBITRATION: In the event of any dispute between the parties, the parties agree that all claims shall be resolved by final and binding arbitration in front of a single mutually agreeable arbitrator. Each party shall bear its own costs and fees, including travel expenses, out-of-pocket expenses (including, but not limited to, copying and telephone), witness fees, and attorneys' fees and expenses. The fees and expenses of the arbitrator, and all other costs and expenses incurred in connection with the arbitration, shall be shared and borne equally by the Owner and Occupant. The decision of the arbitrator shall be final and binding. Arbitration shall be commenced by making written demand on the other party by certified mail within the appropriate prescriptive periods (statute of limitations) set by law. The demanding Party must provide the other Party a demand for arbitration that includes a statement of the basis for the dispute, the names and addresses of the Parties involved, and the amount of monetary damages involved and/or any other remedy sought. The parties shall select the arbitration company from a list of approved arbitration companies located within 15 miles of the Facility. The arbitration will be conducted under the arbitration company’s rules in effect at the time of arbitration. THE PARTIES AGREE THAT BY ENTERING INTO THIS AGREEMENT, THEY ARE EXPRESSLY WAIVING THEIR RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL AND THEIR RIGHT TO BRING OR PARTICIPATE IN ANY CLASS ACTION OR MULTI-PLAINTIFF ACTION IN COURT OR THROUGH ARBITRATION AND AGREE THAT THIS WAIVER IS AN ESSENTIAL TERM OF THIS ARBITRATION CLAUSE. For Claims that do not exceed the jurisdictional limit of small claims court, Owner and Occupant agree to bring Claims in small-claims court instead of arbitration. The rules of the small-claims court shall apply.

Mandatory Tenant Insurance

After years of anxiety over making tenant insurance a requirement for self-storage customers, many operators are beginning to recognize their right to impose an insurance requirement on their tenants. To be clear, you can’t require your tenants to purchase the tenant-insurance product sold at your facilities; but you can require, as a condition of tenancy, that they provide proof of some type of coverage over the goods they’re storing in their units.

Requiring tenants to carry insurance on stored belongings is good for the customer as well as the operator. First, since self-storage is a non-bailment contract, operators generally aren’t liable for the risk of loss or damage to a tenant’s stored goods. Therefore, if something does occur, tenants benefit by having insurance to cover the loss. Without the requirement, many wouldn’t bother to insure their property.

Second, if a tenant is uninsured and can’t recover for the loss, he’ll most likely seek remuneration from the operator. Although this may not seem fair or right, it’s common for any party who has suffered a loss to sue the landlord of the property. Implementing the insurance requirement reduces the level of potential claims and litigation against the operator.

Here’s a good example of a provision with the requirement for proof of insurance:

INSURANCE: THE OWNER DOES NOT PROVIDE ANY TYPE OF INSURANCE WHICH WOULD PROTECT THE OCCUPANT’S PERSONAL PROPERTY FROM LOSS BY FIRE, THEFT, OR ANY OTHER TYPE OF CASUALTY LOSS. IT IS THE OCCUPANT’S RESPONSIBILITY TO OBTAIN SUCH INSURANCE. Occupant, at Occupant’s expense, shall maintain a policy of fire, extended coverage endorsement, burglary, vandalism and malicious mischief insurance for the actual cash value of stored property. Insurance on Occupant’s property is a material condition of this agreement and is for the benefit of both Occupant and Owner. Failure to carry the required insurance is a breach of this agreement and Occupant assumes all risk of loss to stored property that would be covered by such insurance. Occupant expressly agrees that the insurance company providing such insurance shall not be subrogated to any claim of Occupant against Owner, Owner's agents or employees for loss of or damage to stored property. Occupant shall provide evidence of the required insurance coverage in the form, of a certificate of insurance or declaration page (the “Insurance Policy”). Owner shall keep a copy of the Insurance Policy at all times, and Occupant shall be responsible for ensuring that the Insurance Policy does not expire and remains active during the term of this rental agreement. 

Though these three provisions represent the hottest talking points as self-storage operators review their rental agreements for next year, there are other issues to consider. You must educate yourself on any state legislative changes that affect your self-storage statute, as they can often impact the language needed in rental agreements. Therefore, an annual lease review can be helpful. It can even sometimes prevent significant operator liability.

Scott Zucker is a partner in the law firm Weissmann Zucker Euster Morochnik P.C. in Atlanta, which specializes in business litigation with an emphasis on real estate, landlord-tenant and construction law. Zucker is a frequent speaker at self-storage industry events, author of “Legal Topics in Self-storage: A Sourcebook for Owners and Managers,” and a partner in the Self-Storage Legal Network, a subscription-based legal service for storage owners and managers. For more information, call 404.364.4626; e-mail [email protected]; visit www.wzlegal.com.

Update 10/4/17 – The Mattapoisett, Mass., Zoning Board of Appeals unanimously approved a zoning request last month for the expansion of Village Self-Storage. Noyer, who also owns Coves End LLC, requested a special permit and a variance to construct a 60-by-20-foot storage building on a parcel that’s currently zoned residential. The building, which will comprise 1,200 feet of storage space, won’t be visible from U.S. Route 6, according to the source.

“It won’t be a deterrent to the town, and it’s a needed service,” said board member Ken Pacheco. “They run a great business over there. This makes sense. It’s needed.”

N. Douglas Schneider of N. Douglas Schneider & Associates Inc. represented Noyer during the Sept. 21 hearing.

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2/25/13 – A 40-unit self-storage facility has been approved by the planning board for Route 6 in Mattapoisett, Mass. Property owner Peter Noyer said Village Self-Storage will feature two single-story buildings on half an acre. He expects to begin construction on July 1, with a targeted opening by the end of August.

The half-acre parcel designated for self-storage is part of a larger 2-acre lot owned by Noyer. The full property currently consists of two houses, a sign business, a boat-storage facility and a gravel road. Noyer’s plan is to leave the two residences standing and replace the boat storage with the new storage buildings. One building will be 20-by-120 feet and the other 20-by-40 feet. The gravel road will provide facility access and be widened to 14 feet. An additional 20 feet of access will be added around the buildings.

Units will range from 5-by-5 to 10-by-20 feet, with six units suitable for storing vintage cars, Noyer said. The facility will also offer low-level, motion-detecting lighting and secure fencing. It will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Derrel’s Mini Storage is seeking approval to build a new self-storage facility in Visalia, Calif., but because of the location of the proposed site, it will require approval from the county as well as the cities of Tulare and Visalia. The 14-acre parcel south of Avenue 264 and east of Mooney Boulevard is currently zoned for agriculture and falls within Tulare’s urban-area boundary.

The Tulare County Board of Supervisors this week considered the proposal for the facility, which would be built in two phases and encompass 323,700 square feet of self-storage space. The project would also include 2,522 square feet of office space or a residential structure, according to the source.

As part of a 2013 county agreement, administrators will work with city officials to ensure the project is consistent with the public interest to provide economic opportunity, the soured reported.

Derrel's Mini Storage has more than 50 facilities in Coastal and Central California, including three in Visalia. The operator’s portfolio comprises approximately 11.28 million square feet of net rentable square feet in about 72,200 units. Company owner Derrel Ridenour last year donated $3 million in cash in addition to a previous gift of 4 acres of land to help Fresno County build a new animal shelter.

 

Self-Storage Data & Mapping Solutions (SSDMS), a cloud-based self-storage tracking service, is now available by subscription. Launched by data-driven marketing company Pac-Comm, the offering gives subscribers access to a database that tracks self-storage supply, facility openings, acquisitions and partnerships every 30 days.

“Real-time mapping” can be performed around any U.S. address in various distances between 0.5 and 500 miles, according to a press release. Mapping can also be drawn from an address based on five drive times ranging from three to 30 minutes.

The SSDMS system includes facility names, contact information and websites for more than 43,000 locations, the release stated. Beginning this month, data can be exported as reports in CSV or Excel formats. Competition maps can also be generated. Downloaded lists include facility websites, store hours and customer ratings.

Between August and September, SSDMS identified more than 250 new self-storage facilities across the nation, the release stated. It also recognized 65 facility closures and 680 changes to either ownership, brand or company name.

Subscriptions are available for as little as one month to several years. The service is being marketed to self-storage brokerages, investors, investment-research companies, market appraisers and operators interested in future development.

SSDMS is a division of McLean, Va.-based Pac-Comm, which specializes in “marketing-solution” programs as well as data processing, enhancement, hygiene and other data-related services.

Urbis Pty. Ltd., an Australia-based public-policy evaluation and consulting firm, has published its latest Urbis Storage Index (USI), which tracks self-storage demand, rental rates, occupancy and revenue along the East Coast of Australia and in Auckland, New Zealand. The USI monitors self-storage performance from more than 70 facilities in seven categorized zones. In general, performance has been relatively flat in Australia during the last six months, while storage demand in Auckland has shown steady progress over the last year.

In Australia, average occupancy for the six-month period to June 30 was about 87 percent, an increase of less than 1 percent from the previous period. Occupancy in the major markets of Melbourne and Sydney declined 0.64 percent and 0.13 percent, respectively. The Brisbane market showed marginal growth in occupancy at 1.73 percent, though in the city’s “outer zone” occupancy average is less than the national average at 82.3 percent.

Rental rates in Australia grew 2.1 percent in the 12 months ending June 30. The Australian Consumer Price Index grew 2.2 percent during the same period, according to Urbis.

Urbis predicts consumer demand for self-storage in Australia is likely to grow due to an increase in apartment dwellers. Growth in apartment living between 2011 and 2016 grew 25.5 percent in Brisbane, 18.9 percent in Sydney and 9.4 percent in Melbourne.

In Auckland, self-storage occupancy declined 1.14 percent during the 12-month period to June 30, though rental rates grew by 4.2 percent in the same period. Average occupancy was 90.5 percent during the year, outpacing the Australian markets in the index.

Urbis has tracked the storage industry in Australia and New Zealand since 2008. For more than 30 years, the company has provided market-evaluation, research and strategic-advisory services to several sectors including commercial, education, government, healthcare, industrial, residential, retail, telecommunications and tourism.