Multi-family apartment complex owners across the nation make the mistake of installing wire cage storage units instead of enclosed storage units simply because they believe that wire cages cost less. It seems like they don’t realize that the cost of installing secure storage bins on the property costs about the same as it does to install the wire cages. Although the cost of installing storage bins is comparable to installing wire cages, the perks of installing secure, private, solid storage units far outweigh the perks of having wire cages. Don’t believe it? Keep reading.
Problems With Wire Cage Storage Bins
One of the biggest problems that come with installing wire cage storage units is that they are not very attractive, except maybe to thieves. An area that is occupied by wire cages filled with odds and ends of all shapes and sizes not only looks bad, but it attracts people that are looking for things to steal. Wire cages are frail, easy to break into, and hard to protect. In many cases, when thieves know that there are apartments that provide wire cage storage for tenants, they will continually visit the storage area so that they can scope out any worthy items to steal.
Another problem with wire cage storage units is when potential tenants come and visit the property to see whether or not it is a nice, safe place to live, they may not feel very safe if they see wire cages. Wire boxes do not look safe, or secure. Sometimes tenants will store things inside of them that are very unattractive. If your potentially awesome future tenants see a mess like wire units filled with ugly stuff, they will most likely look elsewhere for somewhere to live.
Benefits of Enclosed Storage Units
It is no surprise that a whopping 97% of apartment residents prefer to have an enclosed storage solution on the premises. One of the greatest benefits that come from offering enclosed, secure storage bins to apartment residents is that they would much prefer having them and are more likely to choose a place to live that has them installed. Another benefit is that most of the residents would be willing to pay upwards of an extra $30 per month in order to have a private, secure storage unit. How likely would it be for residents to be willing to spend that much extra for a wire cage? Not very.
On top of the fact that residents will prefer storage bins, there are plenty of other benefits as well. For starters, enclosed storage bins don’t allow thieves to window shop. Since they are completely surrounded by hard metal walls, they are private and secure. Thieves can not see through the walls, nor can anybody else. If there are ugly items in there, the only people that can see them are the residents that have access to the bins. Closed storage bins offer:
- More privacy
- Better security
- Aesthetics
- Extra revenue
As we mentioned earlier, it costs about the same to install boxed storage bins as it does wire cages. It is easy to see that the bigger picture is that storage bins add a substantial amount of value to the property that has the potential to save money, and generate extra revenue.
Conclusion
It is obvious that installing storage bins is a much better option than wire cage storage bins. However, if you already have wire bins installed you can easily correct the issue by providing secure storage solutions instead. It is most likely that you will get the money back that you lost on your wire cages by the extra revenue you will get from your new storage bins. It is an option that could very well be worthwhile for you to explore.