While the economy might be bouncing back, the amount of money the average person has free to spend has remained static, with many people living pay check to pay check. Now, new research by Deloitte Real Estate has revealed that Londoners could make significant savings by taking up self-storage rental and taking out a tenancy with one less room.
More often than not people have a guest room which is initially intended for friends and family to use, but since it’s used so sparingly it will generally become cluttered and is treated as storage space for those non-essential items. It is this kind of room that can be done away with by most people – that doesn’t meaning ridding yourself of all your possessions however.
By taking out self-storage you will be able to keep those possessions safe, this will give you an opportunity to seek out a smaller place to live. The sound of this idea makes most people balk, but check out the figures: A self-storage space of 50 square feet would cost around £32.50 a month while an extra bedroom in Hammersmith or Fulham can cost around £120. If you took out the self-storage option then you could have an annual saving of over a thousand pounds, with the report claiming that savings of £4500 annually can be made in different circumstances.
Of course the amount you save will vary depending on which part of London you live in, but since most prices in London are high (and getting higher) then it would seem silly not to take advantage of the savings on offer. This option won’t to everyone’s taste as the guest room in some apartments might actually serve a function other than as extra storage space.
Self-storage might seem off-putting at first, but with flexible terms available and access almost around the clock you can keep things safe, dry and protected. Most well run facilities will have a good CCTV circuit and security in place but you’ll always be able to pop in and grab the things you need should you need to.
London itself has more available self-storage space than you might think, 8.5 million square feet to be exact, while Manchester only has half a million square footage. It was previously revealed in consecutive reports that businesses are taking advantage of self-storage more than anyone else, and the average length of time someone takes out a unit for is around 41 weeks. Despite the VAT charges which were introduced, business is still reported to be strong, with many hopeful that ground lost will soon be recovered in the coming months.
The calculations used by Deloitte were based on the average amount of clutter which a person has in their guest room or spare room. With the average house size shrinking for new builds the space for clutter is falling inch by inch. Why not get in touch with Simply Storage today to find out how self-storage could save you a nice little bundle by allowing you to keep your non-essential possessions?