FAQs

The following is a list of the most Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about the StorPod web site and service. If you have a question that isn’t answered below please email us on contact@StorPod.com and we’ll do our best to help!

Using Storpod

Tenants

Landlords

Affiliates

Using StorPod

Q. What is StorPod and StorPod.com?
A. StorPod.com is a service which introduces landlords and tenant – those who have idle space, with those who need it. The site allows users to make initial contact, inquire about available space (and about the goods to be stored), negotiate rental durations and costs and more.

Q. How much does it cost?
A. Searching for a property, registration on the system and contacting landlords are all services that are free of charge. If you want to advertise properties to rent to others, we call you a Landlord and you will need to pay a system access fee. Private Landlords pay JUST £12.25 DURING JULY ONLY (usually £24.50) per year and Commercial Landlords pay JUST £150.00 DURING JULY ONLY (usually £250.00) per year.

Q. How do I protect myself against scams and fraud?
A. StorPod.com is the only domain we use for this service. We will only ever communicate with you using email addresses ending in @storpod.com. If you receive email which you think is fraudulent, send it to abuse@StorPod.com.

StorPod ONLY charges for annual subscriptions at rates posted on our web site. If you are concerned about other charges apparently coming from us, please let us know.

StorPod DOES NOT verify tenant or landlords and we do NOT monitor credit-worthiness, the types of possessions stored or any other information. We provide an introductory service and our users must do their own due diligence.

Q. How can I contact another StorPod user?
A. At present the StorPod internal messaging service is only used for prospective tenant and landlords contacting each other to arrange for hiring of space. To send a message, you must know the other user’s profile name (this will generally happen because you have tried to contact a landlord). Click on Mailbox, then the envelope – the screen will refresh to a new message window. Enter the profile name in the corresponding field, followed by a subject and the message body. Click Send Mail to send the message to the other StorPod user.

Tenants

Q. Why do I need self-storage?
A. The main reason for requiring self-storage is that you have too many possessions to fill your available property. Take some of the following examples of possessions we store away.

Private individuals:

non-seasonal clothing and sports equipment (skis and skates during the summer and roller blades and bicycles during the winter)
non-seasonal vehicles (like a motorbike or boat during winter and a snowplow during summer)
suitcases and other bulky possessions
souvenirs and mementos that you want to keep, but simply up space
furniture that you can’t use while you’re renovating or moving home
student books and clothing during summer break
all the stuff from the spare bedroom – to free up space to rent out!

Businesses:

old papers, brochures, filing cabinets
specialised equipment such as for building or manufacturing
exhibition displays

Q. How do I find and assess the right storage location?
A. Different people and businesses will have different needs, but you should consider the following:

size and shape: be it for bulky or neatly-packed items
security: is the facility properly locked? Do you require CCTV? Do visitors need to sign in?
presentation: is the facility clean and dry?
accessibility: can you park nearby? Is there a ramp or lift / elevator? Are there restricted hours of operation?
location: how far is the facility to you? Is it easy to find by car, taxi, van or public transport?
price: is it within your budget? Can you negotiate?

Q. Who should I check with prior to storing my stuff?
A. Just as with any storage facility, you are entrusting your possessions to the owner of a property over which you have no control, so the following tips may be helpful.

If you are storing confidential documents, consider shredding them, or securing them in strong lockable boxes.
Computer equipment – particularly harddrives and data tapes – should be encrypted and backed up.
If there is value to your items, contact your home insurance and see if they’ll cover you at someone else’s facility – get their reply in writing and keep this in a safe place.
Make detailed notes about the items that you are storing. Take photos of your possessions, ensuring that the photos are clear and well-lit. Not only will the photos help remind you of what you’ve got in storage, but they could be useful for insurance purposes.
If you’re moving to a different state / province / country, do you need any special paperwork for any of the items you’re moving?

Q. How should I pack my things?
A. Here are some helpful ideas for when it comes to packing:

If you have quite a lot to store, you should pack everything in separate boxes.
Place all kitchen items in one box, all bathroom items in another and so on.
Write a list of all items on a colour-coded paper and taping this list to the outside of each box – this will help you access something quickly, or place boxes in the right rooms when it comes time to unpack.
Take photos of the contents of each box as an aide memoire.
For inexpensive wrapping, visit your local grocery store for empty boxes, and go to a dollar or pound shop for bubble wrap and strong tape.
For commercial grade materials, you can order these from our carefully selected merchants as advertised throughout the StorPod web site.
Important: give yourself plenty of time to pack and move. Ensure you get some help so that you do not do yourself physical injury!

Q. Do I need a contract?
A. Some landlords are quite experienced with offering written contracts which clearly set the roles and responsibilities between tenant and landlord. Others are very informal and happy to strike a deal on a conversation and a handshake. Only you can decide your comfort level and how much you actually want to have in writing. StorPod suggests that you have a short agreement in place in an email or on a piece of paper, and which outlines basic terms such as where you’re renting space from, the landlord’s name, start date, cost and payment frequency.

Q. How do I pay for storage space?
A. Payment amount, frequency, deposits and other terms are between you and the landlord directly. You should negotiate these prior to starting your storage term and receive a receipt for any payments you make. StorPod does not process rental payments and does not take a commission from any payments made.

Landlords

Q. Why would I want to keep someone else’s stuff at my place?
A. Everyone has different reasons and objectives for hosting someone else’s property, but consider the following:

Extra revenue source just by putting to use some idle property
Doing a good deed for someone who is in need of space
Helping the environment – put existing space to use rather than forcing the build of someplace new
Tax advantages – perhaps your local tax office will allow you to deduct improvements to your property against your income tax.

Q. How much does StorPod service cost?
A. Registering as a StorPod member and configuring your property(ies) is free of charge. However when you want your property(ies) available for search by potential tenants, you must pay a subscription fee. Private landlords pay JUST £12.25 DURING JULY ONLY (usually £24.50) to list up to 3 properties. Commercial landlords pay JUST £150.00 DURING JULY ONLY (usually £250.00) to list unlimited properties.

Q. How do I pay for StorPod service?
A. StorPod accepts all major credit and debit cards through PayPal. (You do not need to have a PayPal account to use StorPod.) When you want to make your properties available to other StorPod users to search, we will direct you to a payment screen. Once your payment has cleared, your properties will be made available to prospective tenants.

Q. How can I ensure my property is ready for rent?
A. Consider your property from your tenant’s perspective – would you rent it out? Examine it for the following:

signs of damp or other damage in need of repair
fresh coat of paint
bare electrical sockets or light fixtures that need to be sealed
cracks in windows or frames
a lock on the door, handy fire extinguisher, smoke alarm, other security alarm
a detailed description available including floor plan, number of square feet / meters available, height
ease of access
one big space that can be subdivided, or just a small space
how much time you want to use it for storage and how much notice you’re prepared to give to the tenant before you convert it to another purpose
how much extra weight your floor can sustain

Q. How many properties can I list?
A. If you are a Private Landlord (i.e you do not derive your primary income from property), you can list up to 3 properties.

If you are a Commercial Landlord (i.e. most or all of your income comes from property), you can list unlimited number of properties. Estate agents and existing self-storage facilities can use this facility too!

Q. Can I show photos of my property? In what format? And how many?
A. Yes! We encourage you to show photos! You can upload 5 photos per property. Please ensure the photos are .jpg format and less than 1 meg in size. We will resize these and instantly display them as thumbnails with your property. You can even upload a floor plan as a photo!

We audit photos periodically and will remove inappropriate photos without warning. We will ban users who are repeat offenders.

Q. Who owns the copyright on my photos?
A. We do not claim any rights to your photos. We will place a small watermark text on your photo with out web site details to help prevent against unauthorised copying and circulation of your photo.

From time to time we may select your property (including one or more corresponding photos) to use in promotion of the StorPod service. We may or may not be able give you advance notice of this.

Q. What should I do about photos and my privacy?
A. As StorPod requires you to list a postal / zip code and a street, you should be cautious about revealing too much information about your home or office and private possessions. Try to take photos that describe the storage area only. Photos should be in good light to show space and quality, but should not reveal your possessions, or other aspects of your property – front of your house, garden area or people. In the interest of privacy of our users we periodically audit posted photos and remove those which we deem to compromise our users’ privacy.

Q. Who should I check with before storing someone else’s stuff?
A. Your property remains under your control at all times and you decide how much of it can be used for storage, who has access to it and when. Don’t allow yourself to be pressured to accept arrangements that are not suitable.

Check with your insurance policy about coverage. If you’re a tenant in your property, check with your landlord to ensure your contract allows sublets. In both cases, get the replies in writing and keep this in a safe place!

Q. How do I verify that a tenant is genuine?
A. You should consider exchanging emails first to ascertain the nature of goods the tenant wants to store and for how long s/he needs space. You can do this through StorPod or through your own email programme. Perhaps you might want to meet in person at a neutral area (like a café) or at the tenant’s place to get an idea of the things they want to store. Be clear about your payment terms – you can tell the tenant how frequently you want them to pay, when, how and how much and whether you want a deposit. You may stipulate that you want to see their items when they actually bring these to your site.

Q. Don’t I need a contract to offer space?
A. This is entirely up to you – if you’re an experienced landlord you will likely have some contractual documentation available to use. At the very least, have an email discussion or signed letter to agree the terms of rental (start and end dates, prices, when money is due, and related issues). StorPod is only an introductory service and we do not offer any legal advice or provide contracts.

Q. Does StorPod take any booking or arrangement fee?
A. No. We do NOT charge up front for actual storage space bookings and no tenant can “pre-pay” any rental fee to us. Any fees you charge are completely between yourself and your tenant. If you are up-to-date with your membership subscription, we will not invoice you for any commissions or other fees.

Affiliates

Q. How do I register as an Affiliate?
A. Simply visit www.StorPod.com and click on the Registration page. Complete all of your details and choose a profile name. That’s it! You’re done!

Q. How much can I make as an Affiliate?
A. The sky’s the limit on this one – earn as much as you like! We will pay you £ 5.00 for every Private Landlord you refer to us and £ 25.00 for every Commercial Landlord you refer to us. Remember, a landlord has to provide us with your Profile Name (on registration), fully pay for the relevant subscription and stay with us for at least 7 days in order for you to qualify for your Affiliate commission.

Q. How do I get paid?
A. At the beginning of every month we calculate the qualifying commissions our Affiliates earned in the preceeding month. By the 15th, we issue payment through PayPal. You need to have a PayPal account registered in your user profile with us. If you want to be paid by other means (such as a bank transfer) or if you register incorrect PayPal details we may charge you an administration fee. If you do not have a PayPal account, you can register for one for free here
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Q. What do I need to do?
A. Just tell everyone you know about StorPod.com! If you know someone who has property that they could convert to rentable space, let them know. This could be someone with an extra bedroom, an attic, garden shed, garage, office, shop with a storage room, existing landlord, estate agent or self-storage facility. Just make sure they tell us your Profile Name when they register so that we know to send you your commissions!

Q. Is advertising allowed?
A. Yes, in a limited way. We will not pay for any of your advertising costs. We support you by making downloadable postcards available which you may print off and distribute (at your own cost). Click after the web site address to enter your profile name before printing. We also have groups established on such sites as Facebook and Twitter; we will only provide support for groups that we control. If you have a specific advertising idea please send us an email.