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So I'm on a few email lists, and I often hear the question "does anyone know of a place that can store X boxes until I'm ready to move into a new place (mostly, on the hoboken list I am on). And i'm wondering - i have very little clutter in my house, my basement is empty. I could easily store boxes for people. Storage facilities are all well and good with climate control, insurance, and all the bells and whistles. But would you pay someone in NJ to just store it in their basement or attic, if it was neatly kept, off the floor to protect against water, etc? What would you pay, if anything?
I would be very hesitant to do this on both sides. Insurance is the first thing I would think about. What if my items got damaged? Who is responsible for that? And as the person offering the service I would have the same concern? I doubt someone's homeowners insurance would cover them for running a storage facility out of their house. Also, what types of items are people going to be storing? Perhaps things they didn't want in a public facility. I can think of a lot more reasons I wouldn't do this on both sides.
I would be very hesitant to do this on both sides. Insurance is the first thing I would think about. What if my items got damaged? Who is responsible for that? And as the person offering the service I would have the same concern? I doubt someone's homeowners insurance would cover them for running a storage facility out of their house. Also, what types of items are people going to be storing? Perhaps things they didn't want in a public facility. I can think of a lot more reasons I wouldn't do this on both sides.
Speaking for myself, I would not entrust my possessions to someone who would merely place them in his/her basement. If I wanted to place things in storage, I would want them in a locked storage facility that was not subject to...inspection...by others.
But, beyond that personal preference, I believe that anyone trying to run this type of operation out of his/her home would be exposing themselves to potential legal issues (in the event of theft or damage), and would incur problems with their homeowner's insurance company if it was discovered that something like this was being done in the home.
Like other people said, there could be insurance problems or just the fact that someone could get really angry if something happened to their stuff.
On a more casual basis, if you knew the person, you could do it. I used to let my next door neighbor, who rented a room in a house where everyone just rented rooms, store his extra furniture in my garage in exchange for him mowing my lawn.
I would also think it would be a problem for them to have ready access to their stuff. With storage facilities, you get a key to the unit and can access it freely. How are you going to handle that part of it?
This might work on a limited basis if you live near a college and some students want/need to store some stuff over the summer. But too many problems for mainstream storage customers.
That's funny, there used to be a website called Homstie that was all about renting out extra space to friends. I listed a spare closet on there in 2008 and got a renter for $30/mo. It's basically going to need to be a discount from a simliar sized space at a local storage facility, mainly because of the insurance and access concerns that other posters touched on.
I would be very hesitant to do this on both sides. Insurance is the first thing I would think about. What if my items got damaged? Who is responsible for that? And as the person offering the service I would have the same concern? I doubt someone's homeowners insurance would cover them for running a storage facility out of their house. Also, what types of items are people going to be storing? Perhaps things they didn't want in a public facility. I can think of a lot more reasons I wouldn't do this on both sides.
yeah - the insurance issue is a concern. i would think it's an arrangement where you understood that your stuff is "at risk" moreso than in a storage facility. i was thinking of people who just want a few rubbermaid containers stored somewhere in between packing/moving. not like this would be a formal business venture. so is insurance the only thing that would stop you from doing it?
Like other people said, there could be insurance problems or just the fact that someone could get really angry if something happened to their stuff.
On a more casual basis, if you knew the person, you could do it. I used to let my next door neighbor, who rented a room in a house where everyone just rented rooms, store his extra furniture in my garage in exchange for him mowing my lawn.
exactly. obviously people would have to understand that my basement is not a locked climate controlled storage container. but it just seems like so many people on a few community boards i'm on are always looking for a place to put some stuff for short periods of time (a couple of months at most), but don't want to pay $60/month for a storage unit.
it was just a random thought i had. wanted to see what people thought.
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