The Mississippi Self Storage Owners Association (MSSSOA) recently elected officers for 2010. The new officers are: 

• President: Kevin Wells, The Space Place, McComb, Miss.
• Vice President: Dave Gordon, East Dedeaux Self Storage, Gulfport, Miss.
• Treasurer: Harold Dawley, AALCO Self Storage, Pass Christian, Miss.
• Secretary: Rick Ward, Outback Self Storage, Hattiesburg, Miss.

Other board members are Vicki Boutwell, Kyle Cook, Clyde Hollis, Richard Newman, Sam Smith-Vaniz and Doug Weston III.
 
Based in Madison, Miss., MSSSOA provides a range of benefits to self-storage owners and operators in the state including legislative representation, legal counsel, a quarterly newsletter, educational networking mixers, an annual conference and tradeshow, a standardized lease form, and more.
 
Source: Jackson Clarion Ledger, People in Business

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American Self Storage in Yuma, Ariz., is now under the management of Professional Self Storage Management LLC, which manages 41 self-storage facilities in Arizona, California, Colorado and Texas.

American Self Storage’s managers include Jim and Tina Oldfather, and Andrew Thompson on weekends. The facility is open every day.

Professional Self Storage Management is a Tucson, Ariz.-based company that provides consulting services including due diligence, feasibility studies, development and self-storage facility management.
Source:  Yuma Sun,  American Self Storage Under Management of New Company

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Police are looking into several recent thefts at a Public Storage facility in Simi Valley, Calif. About 20 units have been robbed in the past two months.

Katie Dragoo, whose 10-by-5-foot unit contained a collection of Coca-Cola memorabilia, art books, antique furniture and other belongings, discovered her possessions were missing Feb. 8, just a couple of weeks after she rented the unit.

A Public Storage spokesperson said the company is cooperating with police in the investigation.

Source: VStar.com,Simi Police Looking Into Storage Facility Thefts

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A group of residents in Pearl River, N.Y., continue to fight the development of a commercial park that would include two self-storage buildings and a warehouse. The proposed development area contains 10 wooded acres off Route 304.

The opposition began two years ago, shortly after Orangetown’s Planning Board approved the plans and the Zoning Board of Appeals granted a variance for the proposed project by the developer, Edmund Lane.

Residents formed a coalition, Residents United to Save Hillside, and claimed the development would intensify flooding, increase noise and decrease the area’s aesthetics.

The group sued the town’s zoning and planning boards and the developer in May 2008, but it was dismissed in December because the lawsuit wasn’t initiated within the required 30 days of the boards’ approvals. Residents United to Save Hillside have filed a notice of appeals. 

Source:  LoHud.com,  Pearl River Residents Keep Fighting Commercial Park

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Lost credit card receipts from a Texas gym and health store catering to military personnel were recently discovered in dozens of plastic bags next to a dumpster at a self-storage facility.

A customer noticed the bags, which contained receipts complete with account numbers, expiration dates and cardholder signatures from purchases at Force Fitness, which has three locations on military bases. Each bag was labeled with a month and year. Many of the receipts were dated for more than four years ago.

In a written statement, the attorney representing Force Fitness claims the credit card receipts were lost during a recent move. The letter did not indicate how long ago the receipts were lost, or when the company first became aware they were missing. The matter is now under military investigation.

Source:  Ken5,  Soldiers Put at Risk After Business Loses Receipts

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Founded in 1994, Accent Building Restoration Inc. (ABR) has grown from a small painting contractor into a nationwide, cosmetic-restoration company specializing in property painting, floor covering, office remodels, tenant improvements and other light-construction projects. ABR also operates a repair and maintenance division that provides quick turnaround of emergency and routine maintenance and repairs.

Operating under the same management since its inception, ABR now has more than 200 employees working in most major metropolitan areas. As a general contractor, the Cerritos, Calif.-based company specializes in the cosmetic remodeling and refurbishing of commercial and retail properties. While it services a wide range of commercial and retail clients, including big-box retailers, restaurants and convenience stores, 75 percent of its clients are self-storage operators. 

“We developed a strong presence in the self-storage industry starting in 1997,” says President Andy Fawcett.  

Company Services Evolve

In the early years, ABR’s primary focus was large exterior painting projects. That soon changed as a growing customer base began asking about other services. “Older buildings needed more than just a fresh coat of paint, so we work at improving the image and updating the general appearance,” Fawcett says. That could include everything from installing, servicing and painting roll-up doors to graphic imagining, office remodels and unit conversions.

Although a general contractor, ABR doesn’t usually replace or repair roofs, asphalt or other non-cosmetic construction aspects of a property. The company’s specialty is helping older self-storage facilities compete with newer properties by upgrading and updating their overall image.  “One of the main selling points of a self-storage property is security. If a property looks old, dated and dilapidated, there’s a general sense that it isn't as secure as a well-tended facility,” Fawcett says.

As part of its total service approach, the company also offers design and visualization services to help guide self-storage operators in the process of updating a facility. Designers can take photos of an existing property and modify them to show color changes, architectural details or other curb-appeal aesthetics.

ABR also offers maintenance contracts for scheduled maintenance or on an “on call” basis, fixing roll-up doors and gate operators, removing graffiti, and handling plumbing and electrical repairs. “We provide any of the common maintenance items and services required by a property to keep it functioning for day-to-day business,” Fawcett says.

This alleviates the need to hire maintenance staff or depend on office workers to upkeep the property and make repairs. “We have expert service techs that do this day in and day out,” Fawcett says. “They’re familiar with the storage industry and the repair items. The quality of the workmanship exceeds what’s normally provided by a handyman who isn’t experienced in doing the work that we do.” 

Building Relationships

ABR offers a 24-hour turnaround on many services to allow uninterrupted operation of a facility. For example, if a door is off track, the company can fix it within 24 hours to minimize security risks and tenant disruption. “It’s often more cost-effective than having an on-staff maintenance person,” Fawcett says.

While many maintenance-type companies hire subcontractors, all of ABR’s techs are on-staff trained personnel. “Rather than being a phone operation that has a rolodex of subcontractors from different markets, each with varying degrees of experience and specialty traits, we train our people to be familiar with the specific needs of the self-storage industry,” Fawcett says.

This gives the company control over when the work is completed and ensures a consistent quality of workmanship. “We’re not trying to subcontract to the cheapest person available or to someone who’s never done a certain type of repair—sending a handyman out hoping he can fix something,” Fawcett says.

It also allows ABR to develop relationships with property owners. “They see the same maintenance person coming out time and time again, and develop a relationship,” Fawcett explains. “We keep a portfolio and detailed description of each property on file so we know exactly what equipment is on the property and when the last time services were completed.”

Employee training has been a huge part of the company’s success. ABR brings branch managers from around the country to the company’s headquarters for ongoing training. It also sends employees to train with vendors to be certified on a variety of products and equipment.

ABR has experienced steady growth over the last decade, adding one to two branches a year. More satellite offices are on the horizon, and the company is continually adding services to its portfolio. In 2009, ABR began concentrating on the repair of gates and security systems.

“We really started out as a painting contractor but have developed into a full-service cosmetic restoration company,” Fawcett says. “Our motto is ‘more services from one source’ to help make life simple.” 

For more information, call 866.498.7391; visit www.abrusa.com.

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Janus International Corp., a manufacturer of self-storage, commercial and industrial rolling-steel doors for a wide variety of markets, now offers a large array of standard size rolling-steel doors as stock items at two of its locations—Anaheim, Calif., and Surprise, Ariz.

“We are continuously looking to meet the demands of our customers, and stocking rolling-steel items allows them instant access to our products with no production waiting time,” said Dan Beckley, vice president of the rolling-steel division.

The Houston facility will continue to manufacture Janus’ complete line of sheet doors, with rolling-steel stock item options available in the future. All Janus products are available at the Temple, Ga., headquarters.

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One of the most important aspects of your self-storage operation is the rental agreement. It not only binds the customer to certain stipulations—rent, late fees, move-out, trash, etc.—but can protect your business in case of a lawsuit. When was the last time you reviewed your rental agreement? Also, do you understand what all the terms in the document mean?
 
The rental agreement forms the landlord-tenant basis of your relationship with every customer storing at your facility. It eliminates the creation of a bailment, and establishes all the rights and remedies between the parties. In essence, it’s central to every aspect of your business.

When was the last time you reviewed your rental agreement? Maybe you read it thoroughly when it was initially drafted by your lawyer. That may, however, have been many years ago. Perhaps you also periodically review it to ensure you haven’t overlooked any important changes to the business laws in your state (including your state’s lien law) or updates to modern business practices. Some operators may have never read through their rental agreement at all, placing complete faith in their attorney to cover what’s required.

Self-storage operators are not lawyers, and rental agreements are chock full of unfamiliar and often archaic technical language, or “legalese.” Many rental agreements contain long, convoluted paragraphs designed to cover every eventuality under the sun. If an operator cannot be expected to understand all the legal implications of a rental agreement, can you have any hope employees and tenants do?

And there lies the rub, because employees and customers are the people who work with rental agreements on a daily basis. Therefore, it’s important the documents they use be written in a way they can all understand. 

Of course, many operators take the position that the lease is the lease, and if the tenant doesn’t sign it and agree to abide by it, then he doesn’t get a unit. It’s sort of like buying a new house or car―if you want the money, you’ll sign all the loan forms without exception. Why bother trying to understand the terms?

Consider how many homeowners who’ve recently lost homes to foreclosure because they didn’t fully understand all the implications of the documents they signed. Under that theory, understanding the rental agreement is secondary. This is all well and good until a dispute rises between the operator and the tenant. And, unfortunately, it might!
 
Protecting Your Business

Consider this example: Let’s say a tenant returns to your facility after an extended absence and is behind on his rent. While his stored property hasn’t yet been auctioned, you’ve denied him access to his unit either by overlock or at the entry gate.

Although this possibility is mentioned in the rental agreement, it’s buried in a seven-line, eight-point-type, single-space paragraph titled “default” on page three. Maybe the tenant actually attempted to read and understand the agreement when it was signed ... until his eyes glazed over, and the manager was not able to explain all the terms in the first 10 overstuffed paragraphs, let alone the one in question.

So the tenant confronts the manager and angrily asks for an explanation. The manager tries to explain. The tenant is inconvenienced. Embarrassed. Voices are raised. Hopefully, the tenant pays what’s due and things move on. Perhaps not. Maybe the tenant remains angry and moves out soon thereafter. In either case, damage has been done. At best, the relationship has been harmed; at worst, it’s been lost.

On the other hand, suppose the rental agreement contained the following stand-alone sentence: “If you do not pay your rent on time, we may deny you access to your unit by putting our lock on it.” Clear, much easier to read and not hidden in gobs of verbiage. The same protection for you, but at least now the tenant understands where he stands before a dispute arises. Less anger, less chance of losing a customer.
 
Using Plain Language

One of the ways to lessen or eliminate these problems is to rewrite your rental agreement in what is known as plain language.The use of plain language documents is a nationwide movement that began in the 1970s and is now widely used by governments and businesses throughout the world. Many documents the U.S. government uses have been written in plain language.

Some states require that consumer contracts be written in plain language. For example, Pennsylvania mandates that contracts made for the “lease of real property” be written this way. California, Connecticut and New York have plain-language statutes. There’s clearly a trend toward easier-to-understand legal documents.

Plain language doesn’t require an operator to “dumb down” the rental agreement. Rather, you use it to clearly, confidently and effectively communicate the terms of the agreement to the people who matter most: your employees and customers. If everyone understands what they’re signing, there are fewer questions about the nature of the relationship they’re entering.

In some instances, storage operators will create a separate plain-language guide to help their employees and customers better understand the terms of the rental agreement. But wouldn’t it be simpler to revise the rental agreement itself rather than develop an ancillary document to explain it?

More important, it’s relatively simple to rewrite your rental agreement in plain language without sacrificing its legal value.You don’t have to load up the agreement with technical language to make it valid. In fact, using a minimum of legalese will make the contract more valuable because it will be more understandable to all.

How do you convert a rental agreement to one that’s more understandable using plain language?  Here are a few tips to make it easier to read and understand:

• Consider your audience. Write your documents for them.
• Put all of the language in first person. Using terms “we” and “you” are easier to understand than “the party of the first part” or “tenant.” Of course, you should identify who the parties are in the beginning of the agreement.
• Use short sentences and paragraphs.
• Use fewer positive and easier-to-understand words.
• Start off each paragraph with a clear heading. Avoid putting more than one main idea into a single paragraph.
• Use a readable typeface. Ten-point type is much easier to read than eight-point. If you use fewer words, you can afford to make them bigger and easier to read.
• Use more “white space” to separate paragraphs in the rental agreement.
• Be direct and include only essential information. Avoid ambiguities.
• Logically group related information into adjoining paragraphs, placing the more important information first.
• Use technical and legal language with care.

Keep Some Legalese

Of course, it’s essential that some legal language remain in your rental agreement. A good example is the term “lien.” A self-storage lien is a legal interest storage operators have in the property stored by their customers to insure rental payments. This lien is a creation of state law and available in almost every state.  Because of its singular importance to the effective operation of your business, and because it’s not something a customer will routinely be affected by, it’s a good idea to include the term in your lease and explain in simple terms what it means.

Other legal terms such as “indemnity,” “hold harmless” and “default” are vital as well. What’s important to remember, however, is that if you do include these and other legal terms, you should define what they mean in a manner that’s well-understood.

When properly done, revising your rental agreement through the use of plain language can provide many benefits. For example, an agreement that’s easy to understand requires less time to explain at the outset. First, it’s likely your employees will spend less valuable time following up with customers after mistakes are made and recurring questions arise. This frees them to work on more important tasks. Many self-storage operators pride themselves on top-notch customer service. Providing an easy to understand rental agreement clearly fits into this trend.

In addition to making it easier for customers to understand their relationship with your business, it might have an environmental effect was well. Shorter, more concise rental agreements take less paper. Saving trees and happy customers, that’s what plain language is all about.
 
Bernard Fensterwald III is a consulting attorney with 25-plus years of experience. He’s licensed to practice law in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. He’s also a principal in U-Store Management, a Washington, D.C.-based self-storage company, and a past president of the Washington Area Self Storage Association. To reach him, e-mail [email protected]; visit www.fensterwald.weebly.com. 

To learn more about self-storage rental agreements and other legal issues, take advantage of the comprehensive education program at the Inside Self-Storage World Expo. Click here for show details.

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