Unless you happen to live next door to a storage facility, chances are that you will have to travel a little (or a lot) when you need to find self storage space.
But a new online service has just added hundreds of new storage locations throughout Australia (maybe even in your suburb or street), and the number is rising every day!
Now, anyone with spare space in their home, business, shed or garage can rent that space out to anyone who wants it! And the best part is that there’s a good chance there is someone in your neighbourhood who has space to rent out right now!! Because this storage space is private, you can typically pick up some space for heavily discounted rates – often half the price that the big guys are asking!
“The idea came to me when I travelled overseas” says Damon Russell, founder of SpaceOut. “I was able to leave my stuff at a mate’s place and I thought it would be great if anyone needing storage space could do the same”.
From a Space seeker’s point of view, this service really opens up the field. Regular self storage can cost an arm and a leg – in Brisbane and Melbourne for example, it costs between $350 and $750 per month for a space the size of a single car garage! Sydney costs are even higher. Private storage however, offers the chance to make significant savings.
The flip side to all this is that average Aussies who do have space, can now turn it into a regular cash income they would not otherwise have had access to. Roger H of Carseldine who rents half his garage out says “I think it’s a great opportunity for average people to save some serious cash. I personally like the fact that I can save someone $200 a month on their storage costs – that’s over $1,000 a year for them – and the rental income for the space sure helps my family out too.”
“We get a lot of great feedback from people telling us how easy the site is to use” says Russell, “You just locate the area where you’re looking for storage on the website’s map, send a message through the site message system (protecting both parties’ identities) saying you want to look at the space and the owner gets back to you. It’s simple, and many people are actually surprised that it is that easy to find cheap, local storage space.”
SpaceOut is turning heads overseas too. This Australia first concept has been attracting a lot of attention in many countries that could use the service including the US and Europe, and this Aussie innovation will be expanding overseas to give this opportunity to as many people as possible. The service is currently completely free, but is likely to start charging a nominal fee for listings in the near future. It seems like now is the time to get onboard if you’re looking for storage.
Feedback about the site shows that many users have been telling their friends and family about SpaceOut too, either to find or to provide space – this a sure sign that people see the benefits and potential for this type of service. To start searching for space, SpaceOut can be found at www.SpaceOut.com.au. You can search for space from the homepage, and SpaceOut also lists office and parking spaces.
