Facility Facelift

Low-Cost Spruce-Ups For A Fresh Look

Have you ever looked at the repairs and maintenance section of your facility budget for the upcoming year and wonder “What do I need to do next year?” Maybe you use last year’s number, increases it a bit, and quickly move to the next line. I suggest that you spend a little time and put some thought into what your customers see in that budget line item. Let’s take it from the beginning on how a typical rental takes place at our facilities.

Your potential customer drives by your property everyday on the way to and from work. What do they see? Is your store tidy, clean, and inviting? Is there ever anything different? You are sending a powerful message to every person who casually glances at your facility. Here are five items customers and passers-by will be sure to notice about the exterior of your facility:

1. Landscaping—Is the lawn neatly mowed and manicured? Are you shrubs freshly mulched each year and trimmed neatly? Do you plant seasonal flowers with lots of color three to four times per year? It makes a huge difference to your customers; it says you care about your property and by extension you care about their property when it is stored with you. Make sure the weeds are trimmed week­ly and the fence lines and building edges are sprayed regularly. Take care of all the grounds, especially the back where a tenant might see when touring the property. Fix the snow plow marks from the winter months. For a few hundred dollars a year you can make a significant difference in the appearance.

2. Signage—Check out your sign. Make sure it is fresh and modern. Do all the bulbs work? Trim the shrubbery so it can be seen. Replace the panels if they are old and discolored. Add a reader board to enable you to display a different message each week. Make sure all your banners are straight and tight. Move the yard signs each week. Buy a small reader board sign and put it out at the edge of your driveway each day to sell your specials. If your main sign is not lit at night, look into low-cost solar options that will provide enough illumination to see your sign in the evening hours. Check the signage ordinances to see if you can add additional signs. A new 4-by-8 wood sign with vinyl letters can cost as little as $500. How about a new mailbox? Make it a big one with signage. You prob­ably don’t need a municipality per­mit and it will attract attention.

3. Lighting—Have you recently driven by the facility at night? You must do this at least once a quarter. Ensure that all the light bulbs are working; replace those that are not lit. Is there enough light on the property to instill a sense of security within tenants and deter bad guys? Can you read your posted phone number and operating hours? Remember: If you have an American flag, you must keep it lit at all times or take it down at night; in addition, you must replace it as soon as it starts to show any wear. As men­tioned before, there are great solar options available today that will save you the cost of running elec­trical conduit. Use energy efficient bulbs to save on your utility bills.

4. Exterior—One of the lowest cost ways to spruce up your property is painting. Paint the curbs into your driveway often (convenience stores do it every two months). Paint the bollards or get bollard covers for a fresh look. Check on the condition of your gate and fence and paint them if necessary. Power washing can also make a property shine. Over the years, dirt and grime will build up on your office and build­ings. I suggest power washing your facility every two years.

5. Potholes And Cracks—There is nothing more unattractive than pot holes and alligator cracking in your driveways. Paving and con­crete driveways are very expensive to replace, so take care of them each year by fixing the cracks and potholes when they are still small. Re-seal asphalt drives and power wash concrete drives. Sweep off all debris and keep them clean.

It’s a typical Saturday morning. Your potential customer is loung­ing around the house and all of the sudden his wife says “Honey, I saw this sign at the storage place saying ‘your car called, it wants its garage back.’ Why don’t we get all this stuff out of our garage so we can park inside it again?” So, off he goes to check it out. He pulls into your driveway, parks the car on your freshly sealed driveway, steps out, admires the landscaping, and into your office he goes. What does he see, hear, and (subconsciously, most importantly) smell? Here are several items in the facility’s office that your potential customer willbe aware:

• Lighting. Change your lighting fixtures to the modern type with energy efficient bulbs. Make sure there are enough to make it bright, light, and cheery, even on the most dreary winter day. Highlight the retail merchandise with lighting. Give your man­ager a well-lit work space. Does your office have enough natural light? In most cases, windows can be added for a reasonable price. Natural light makes your manager and customers feel bet­ter when they are in the space, giving those in the office a sense of security when they can see what is happening outside. Make sure that your entrance door is at least half glass. Finally, you must remember to clean the windows regularly.

• Paint. New paint screams fresh to the eyes and nose. Make it a bright but tasteful color. If you have a drop ceiling in the office you can replace those tiles easily and it will be much brighter.

• Signage—Look at your inte­rior signage. Is it all negative (telling you that you will be charged for bad checks, your every move is being recorded, when the next auction is, what not to do, etc.)? Be positive instead! Tell them about your no-fee guarantee with automatic credit card payments, etc. Make sure to thank your customers for their business with a sign on the door going out and on your gate too!

• Carpet. If applicable, vacuum them regularly. Clean your carpets twice a year with a carpet cleaning machine or service. Does it need replaced? In this economy, floor­ing providers have great deals. Again, the smell of new carpet is great for the senses!

• Bathroom—Check out the bath­room. This is a great test of how well a property is run. Is it clean and tidy? Does it look and smell nice? Are there lots of supplies for the manager and customers? Replace any old fixtures with new, water saving ones. Replace any flooring or molding that is peeling or worn. In addition, con­sider installing a hand dryer to save on paper towel costs. Most importantly, don’t forget to con­trol the odors with air fresheners and sweet smelling cleaners—no one wants to hold their nose to use the bathroom!

• Cookies—I’m not talking about the Internet ones, but rather the real ones baking in the toaster oven in the back. Cookies are a perfect treat to offer at your facil­ity—customers love the smell; kids love to eat them (as do par­ents); and everybody feels great when cookies are baking because they are a comfort food.
Now that our customers are fully impressed with our office, let’s go on the tour of the property and show them their new unit. We have touched on a lot of low-cost, outdoor improve­ments that can be made. Here are two more areas to cover:

• Self-storage buildings—Make sure all your buildings are clean, inside and out. Power wash them when necessary; paint them if they need it. Everbrite makes a great product that you can use to restore faded door curtains. It can be painted or sprayed on, and it really does work! It will give you more years of good looking doors without needing to replace them.

• Interior hallways and doors —Have your manager or main­tenance person wipe down the interior hallways and doors on a regular basis. Use the white glove test to know when things need to be dusted. Scrub the concrete hallways and wax them. This is cheap to do; it makes them easier to clean and they look much better.

Wipe down all the cobwebs in the corners and on the ceilings. Look up and down when you do your inspections. Are all of your units in rentable condition? Run the unavailable unit report on your software for the list. Fix any broken doors, stuck hasps, or dented hallways. Make sure you are ready for business when your customers are. You can add dia­mond plate corner and kick plate protectors to spruce up the inte­riors and to cover any scratches and/or dented areas.

The visitor apparently likes the unit that you showed him as he is now one of your tenants. Still, after he signs the lease, ask him why he chose your facility. You may learn something above and beyond what we have dis­cussed with this one simple question. Discovering why a tenant has rented a unit at your facility can help you further improve the site. You should also encourage anonymous comments by having a suggestion box present in the rental office. I hope that this article has inspired you to implement several low-cost ideas at your facility that can make a big difference in the new year. Happy renting!

John H. Gilliland is the President of York, Pa.-based Investment Real Estate, LLC.