Moving is a big deal – an average move can take anywhere from eight to 22 weeks from the start of preparation to unpacking your last box. If you’re selling your home and want to get the best possible price, experts agree that it’s best to declutter, donate, pack, purge, and store items you won’t need.
A study by the National Association of Realtors revealed that,
Eighty-three percent of buyers’ agents said staging a home made it easier for a buyer to visualize the property as a future home.
In addition to this the same study showed, “Twenty-eight percent of sellers’ agents said they staged all sellers’ homes prior to listing them for sale” and the most common rooms to be staged included the living room, kitchen, master bedroom, and dining room.
—> Read more: Redecorating Your Home Before the Sale: 2 Pine Ridge Drive Case Study
Specialists like your realtor, a professional stager, and a storage company can help you save time and money by helping make the staging portion of your journey a seamless stepping-stone in the moving process.
Staging not only involves positioning your furniture just so, it can also involve removing items from the home, renting new items for display, and finding somewhere to store the items while your home is on the market. That’s where experts like Leslie Kellen, Director of Operations Partner, at XYZ Storage come in, having offered Torontonians storage solutions that work for over 20 years, including their highly popular mobile storage options. Here’s how it works.
Figuring Out What You’ll Need
Storage doesn’t just start when you’re showing your home, it can also be a great way to keep items safely out of the way during a renovation or keeping out of season, or seldom used items like tools, hockey equipment, or holiday decorations from cluttering up your staged home. Leslie says how much you’ll need to store, completely depends on the individual and what is in the home:
For example, empty nesters may have some art and sofas and not a lot more, while young families with kids tend to have a lot more items that need to be stowed away.
Leslie estimates that those with family members and all their things at home should expect to store around 20 to 40 percent of what’s in their home, whereas empty nesters may only need storage for five to 10 percent of their belongings.
Those downsizing their homes may need longer term storage and tend to use their storage space like another closet or garage, keeping their unit forever.
Leslie also adds that freelance professionals or those with home or limited office storage space will often rent a storage unit to house items like tools, trade show display items, professional records, signage, and more.
How Long Am I Going To Need Storage?
How long you’ll need storage depends on how long the staging process takes, how long the home is on the market, along with when and where you’re going. Leslie suggests for a robust real estate market, like in Toronto, the storage needs could be as short as 30-60 days or significantly longer. He adds,
This is a good reason to use mobile storage. That way everything packed up during the storage process can simply be delivered and unloaded at your new home.
A major piece of advice Leslie has to offer is that things, particularly in terms of renovations and moving, often take longer than anticipated so budget for needing extra time.
Knowing that things don’t always happen on schedule is why XYZ Storage provides storage that is prorated to the day. People don’t need it in a perfect 30-day cycle. A lot of storage companies will charge for 4 weeks and not a month, so you’re paying for 28 days on 4-week cycles and that pricing isn’t a true month. This is why we have straight forward pricing, but if you move out before, we offer a refund. We are the only company in Canada that offers this.
Why Mobile Storage Makes Sense In Toronto
Mobile storage is useful for both homeowners and real estate professionals. Often stagers have set furniture that they store in mobile units to be delivered to homes as needed. Time is saved because you can have more than one container and divide your belongings accordingly, and the choice of having items delivered through mobile storage allows for people to save cost on, or avoid having to book movers altogether.
Mobile storage allows you to have a container delivered to you when you need it. The container can be dropped off at your home for a few hours or days. Live in a condo? Not a problem, your mobile delivery can be booked for the short period of time you have access to the loading dock and then is taken away at the end of the timeslot.
Mobile Storage offered by XYZ Storage
Picking The Right Storage Location
People who are moving may wonder if they’re better off booking a storage unit near their current home or their new one. Thankfully, Leslie has some advice,
If you’re using storage because you’re moving and have things staged, but you might still need to access seasonal items, you’ll want it to be close to your current home, so you won’t have to drive very far. On the other hand, if you’re going to be looking at using it as long-term storage and won’t be coming and going prior to the move it makes sense to put it near their new home. Those who use mobile storage then can have it transitioned to a standard storage system near their new home.
What To Pay
Units at XYZ Storage start as low as 25 dollars a month with these small units being perfect for storing luggage or offseason sporting equipment. Full-sized garage spaces are over 300 square feet and can fit the contents of an entire home. Mobile storage units are 5 feet (width), 8 feet (long) X7 feet (height) and start at around $150 per month for one container, with the more containers you rent, the less expensive the container, with drop off fees at an additional price. Keep an eye out and call for specials. Leslie notes,
We have seasonal specials, specials for students, dorms, and those in student housing because we know we have a huge influx of students needing storage for the summer, as well as for those taking extended periods of time travelling.
Getting Started With Storage
Storage centres like XYZ Storage offer both traditional and innovative options at all six of its facilities. This includes packing and moving supplies, truck rentals, mobile self storage, as well as advice on solutions that will work best for you and your family.
Leslie understands that the needs for storage can be emotional saying,
When someone needs storage it’s usually either for something really exciting like marriage, school, a new home or job opportunity. On the other end of the spectrum it can be for something difficult like having to move a family member into assisted living. So, we’re not just offering storage we’re also providing advice.
