The price of Space
If an entrepreneur managed to find a way to sell you time; he’d be beyond wealthy. Since that isn’t possible (yet), they’ve taken to selling you space. Space for private individuals to store whatever they like: from outdated vintage boots to a secret laboratory, is sold or rented at rates per square feet by storage space companies.
Self-storage space is a booming business in America. It doesn’t matter how many are available in a city or how much innovation is present in the business model; space sells. Units are quickly snapped up and if you own a storage facility, you can be sure to make money.
Whilst there are those who lament the rise of storage space usage as the advent of crass consumerism – where people have so much ‘stuff’, they actually need to rent more space to keep it all – if the popularity of self-storage spaces are anything to go by, there is a vast majority who are all for it. Though for some, hoarding is the reason, for others the ridiculous price of properties in cities make owning a decently sized home out of reach.
Thus, they rent rooms to live in and storage facilities to keep their belongings until they are able to afford a proper abode. For some it’s a temporary measure before moving.
Spaces around the world
Prices of storage space will differ greatly depending on the area of the facility and what they offer. For most; the basic requirement is cleanliness, accessibility and security.
In the US, storage giants Public Storage have over 2000 facilities in the country from Connecticut to Washington. Prices are different depending on area, size of unit and facilities. For instance, the smallest 5x5 basic unit in Bridgeport, Connecticut rents for USD$105 per month; units in Las Vegas start at USD$34 per month and in taxed for space Brooklyn, New York, rentals start at USD$106 per month.
Across the pond in the UK, Henfield self-storage also boasts many locations across the UK.
Rentals are on a weekly basis. The smallest 20 square foot unit in London will cost you £9.69 a week (approximately £38.76 a month).
Over in Asia, 5x5 unit goes for ¥6500 in Okinawa, Japan and our neighbours in Singapore pay SGD$141.42 for a similar sized space.
Getting spaced out in KL
Just last year, Kuala Lumpur saw the opening of the very first self-storage facility in Malaysia. As home rental rates continue to sky-rocket, an extra storage facility may be just what space stretched KL-ites need.
The pioneer in self-storage facilities in Malaysia is Extra Space. The company opened its doors here in March 2012. The facility is located in Chan Sow Lin and features regular units, air-conditioned units and wine cellars for the wine enthusiasts. The smallest regular unit is 4.9x4.9 and goes for RM309 per month; the largest, a 20-ft container costs RM1050 per month. For air-conditioned units, be ready to pay RM337 for a 3.3x7.9 sized unit and RM576 for a 6.9x7.2 unit.
The wine cellars start at RM206 which can hold up to 42 cases. The largest holds a whopping 120 cases and costs RM588 per month.
Whichever you’re signing up for though, be ready to pay an initial administrative fee of RM20 and RM10 for stamp duty. Insurance for every RM1000 is RM3. Minimum storage is two months.
If you are thinking of getting extra space for your wine bottles or hobby collections, you might want to consider getting a self-storage room. Just ensure, as with any money commitment decision, that you’ve factored it into your budget.
Price comparison
Just for fun, here’s a quick comparison of how much a storage space costs in New York, London and Kuala Lumpur. Of course, units in the US and UK require all year round climate control to deal with drastic temperature shifts in a four season environment. As such, the calculations below consider a unit in Kuala Lumpur with air-conditioning.
*To get this low rate in London, you will have to sign up for 12 months and pay in full upon signing up.
Picture courtesy of ExtraSpace.
This was brought you by Diana Chai from RinggitPlus.com. RinggitPlus compares credit cards, debit cards, balance transfers and personal loans to help Malaysians get more for their money.
