During these cold snowy months, what safeguards do you put in place to ensure that the units in your facility aren't being used as temporary shelter for the homeless? 

Earlier this week at a Colorado facility, two homeless men were sadly killed by what investigators are referring to as a "warming fire" inside a storage unit. Full story can be found here.

I'm hoping that your contract specifically states that habitation of the units within your facility is prohibited. But the bigger question is, what are you doing to make sure that those rules are being followed? Are vacant units kept locked? Do you walk your grounds periodically throughout the day? Do you actually keep an eye on your camera system to watch as people come and go during business hours? Are the hallways to your climate controlled buildings locked after hours? 

Homelessness is a sad and very serious issue. It may be tempting to turn a blind eye to those seeking shelter during these cold, snowy winter months. But I assure you, this is not a good idea. Our facilities are not built to be habitable. As you can see, the results can be deadly. Be vigilant. Know what is happening at your property at all times. 

As most of you will remember, we tackled the huge task of updating our 30 year old lien laws back in 2011. One of the items we were successful in changing was the newspaper lien notice requirements from two notices to one. 

It looks as though the proposed lien law changes from the New Mexico SSA has caught the attention of the newspaper industry within the state. 

Click here for more details by John Egan on The Storage Facilitator blog.

Everyone has heard about the couple from Marietta Georgia that was recently murdered after responding to a Craigslist ad for a classic car. 

Here is a story that hits even closer to home. Nashville to be exact. A TNSSA member received a call from a manager in one of their Nashville locations about an apparent Craigslist scam. Read her story below:

This is the email I received from one of my managers yesterday. We are in Nashville, TN so this could happen anywhere...

I just got a call from a lady that said she is buying a car from Craigslist and was told it is parked here in parking spot 31. She lives 3 hours away from here. She was told by these scammers, that Amazon has the car wrapped and ready for shipping once the payment is made, so she could not even see the car. I told her about the couple from Marietta Georgia and told her to report them and DO NOT DRIVE OR MEET ANYONE! What has this world come to? Oh, and in parking spot 31, there is a boat and it is NOT for sale! 

Please share this with everyone you know in our industry. I was floored and wanted to pass along...... 

Be alert! Keep a watchful eye on your property and tenants! This situation in Nashville could have ended very differently!

~Melissa

March 11-13, 2015 

Gaylord National Harbor

Register Today!!

Two big events are just around the corner with SSA! 

29th Annual Executive Ski Workshop ~ January 19-22, 2015

2015 SSA Spring Conference and Trade Show ~ March 11-13, 2015

Check out the list of upcoming events here!

Check out the great Legal Seminar Promo that U-Haul Self Storage Affiliate Network has e-blasted to their contacts!

If you haven't registered for the Legal Seminar there's still time! Pre-register and pay online for a discount!

Can a K-9 Unit really improve security at your facility? We'll be having this discussion and more at our 6th Annual Legal Seminar on October 14th in Murfreesboro. Make plans now to attend this day-long event! 

Click here for early registration and save!

To read more about the idea of K-9 units at your facility check out the link for the article from the selfstorage.com blog below. 

Can a K-9 Unit Improve Security at Your Storage Facility? 

On May 4^th, 2014, Stephanie Tharpe received an email she had been hoping for.

“Congratulations!  

Your speaker proposal for the 2014 SSA Fall Conference & Tradeshow entitled ‘Manager Incentive and Retention’ was accepted as a Concurrent Session by the SSA Education Committee.”

Stephanie stated “I was thrilled. I would love nothing more than to represent the owners and managers of our great state of Tennessee. Our Association is growing and offering so much to our members. I am delighted at this opportunity.”

Stephanie has been in the moving and storage industry since 1996. She joined A+ Storage of Tennessee, LLC in 2010 as a site manager and was promoted in 2013 to full time District Sales Manager.

Her accomplishments include serving as a Moderator for Self Storage Talk (SST), the industry’s largest online community.  She has been a featured blogger for Inside Self Storage (ISS) and a contributor for the Tennessee Self Storage Association Newsletter. Stephanie was in the top three submissions for the “Best in Self Storage” Marketing contest in 2009 and was featured in the ISS Magazine.

In 2012 Stephanie was honored by the Tennessee Self Storage Association (TNSSA) as its Manager of the Year. And in 2014, she was a featured speaker at the ISS World Expo sponsored by Inside Self Storage in Las Vegas.

The accomplishments of her staff include Betsi Jackson, Manager of A+ Storage Fortress, who was named the 2013 TNSSA Manager of the Year.  J.B. Sills, Manager of A+ Storage in Spring Hill, won a contest sponsored by Chateau Products and Virgo Publishing for his community service. He was awarded a free trip to Las Vegas for the Spring ISS Trade Show in 2014.

In 2010 she implemented an Annual Award Ceremony for her staff. With 16 years in the industry; her passion is to focus on the accomplishments, education and needs of property managers.

The 2014 SSA Fall Conference is September 9 – 12, 2014 and will be held at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas.  There are currently early bird discounts being offered. Visit http://www.selfstorageevents.org/index.php to register.  Details of Stephanie’s Session time and date will be in our next newsletter. 

Southeast Management Company, a third party management & consulting company and owner of storage facilities in the southeastern US, held its 3rd annual team member retreat in Florence, SC on February 21st and 22nd. The event included a social get-together on Friday evening and a full day of team building meetings on Saturday. This year's event featured an interactive speaker on Saturday assisting the team members in expanding Southeast Management Company's culture and style in better recognizing the customer’s storage experience. Recent trends by many storage facilities using remote call centers and web-based customer interaction create the possibility of reducing customer satisfaction and personal assistance. Southeast Management Company is dedicated to providing the best customer service and is implementing a number of new procedures and policies to enhance the experience of our customers. This year's event was centered on the theme of "Listen 2014" stressing the desire and goal to make sure each and every customer has a positive experience with assurances that the customer's needs are always taken care of in a pleasant and fulfilling manner. The meetings concluded on Saturday with an awards presentation to individual team members for their significant achievements in performance in 2013. Southeast Management Company is Virginia based with a regional office in North Carolina and currently manages and owns storage facilities from Virginia to Florida. The company stresses team member empowerment and confidence so each and every member feels appreciated and is provided the tools to reach and obtain their personal goals. To learn about our consulting services, property management services or employment opportunies, please visit our website at www.southeastmanagementcompany.com. or call March Chase, VP of Operations, at 804-436-2596.