Compass Self Storage, LLC, is at it again. It is projected that they will continue along in this same manner in the foreseeable future. And what is it that they are doing again? Why growing, that’s what – and growing at a remarkable rate.

The company has recently purchased a self storage property in Memphis, Tennessee, at 6780 Country Park Drive. [More]

It is often thanks to the kindness of strangers that many people get past difficult situations in life. And those in the power to help in a direct way, sometimes self storage operators and owners, are thankfully often among the first to act. One such person was Detroit, Mich., businessman Glenn Wash who owns Schaefer Lyndon Self Storage and reached out to help a man who faces losing his home. [More]

Amsdell Cos., a Cleveland-based self storage investment company is rapidly growing its portfolio in metro Detroit, Mich. The company purchased properties in Flat Rock, Fraser and Shelby Township. It has added to three other Michigan self storage facilities and one Pittsburgh, Pa. facility purchased by them since August. [More]

Summer thunderstorm season has hit -- with a vengeance. Severe storms, possible tornadoes, and more flash floods are predicted to hit the Milwaukee and Flagstaff areas again this evening, as well as Ann Arbor, Michigan and Des Moines, Iowa. St. Louis and Hannibal, Missouri are still recovering from flash flooding earlier this week. The Mississippi River is said to be at a “minor flood stage” in the St. Louis region. How can residents prepare for more storms and flooding? [More]

The American Moving and Storage Association reported today that Americans were shipping 4.2 percent more household goods during the first five months of this year than during the same period in 2009. (AMSA is a storage and moving trade association, and puts consumers in touch with professional movers through its Mover Referral Service.) When AMSA looked only at items shipped by consumers, the shipments were up by 11.2 percent. During 2008 and 2009, shipping dropped dramatically, by 21.5 percent in 2009 and 18.2 percent in 2008.

The statistics suggest that more Americans are moving from one home to another again, which means that the housing market may start to pick up. Relocation tends to stimulate consumer spending in general, because people who are moving spend more money on take-out food, renovations, and household items for the new home. [More]

In an attempt to balance their states' budgets, Michigan and North Carolina have been considering a tax on services, including self storage, for several months. Now Pennsylvania's Governor wants Pennsylvania to follow suit. Pennsylvania Governor Ed Rendell announced earlier this month that he wants to lower Pennsylvania's sales tax from six percent to four percent, but apply it to more purchases, including sales of services such as self storage.

Only a few special kinds of sales would remain free of sales tax in Pennsylvania if Rendell's budget plan is approved by the legislature. The last remaining untaxed sales goods would be food, clothing, drugs, manufacturing, and sales by nonprofit groups. In addition to self storage, other services that would be taxed under Rendell's budget plan include home appraisals, engineering, accounting, legal services, and consulting. Nearly all services would be taxed in Pennsylvania -- health care services and educational tuition, however, would remain untaxed. [More]

The thunderstorms that rolled into southwest Michigan late Monday night and early Tuesday morning, in addition to knocking out power to hundreds of people and turning over a semi-truck as its driver slept, also caused extensive damage at a Kalamazoo area self storage facility, Cloverleaf RV and Self Storage of Schoolcraft.

The storms are not, at this point, thought to have generated tornados in the area, but gusts of wind were reported up to 72 miles per hour in the Schoolcraft area, and one National Weather Service surveyor commented to Kalamazoo's News Channel 3 that the damage was consistent with 80-mile-per-hour winds. The winds knocked down power lines providing power to about 7,000 customers of Midwest Energy Cooperative and about 9,700 customers of Consumers Energy during the worst of the storm, and left live power lines lying across Michigan roads. A 70,000 pound semi-trailer full of fabricated metal driven by Alan Cowherd was tipped over by the winds (Cowherd, who was parked and sleeping in the cab at the time, was unhurt). In nearby Vicksburg, a silo was knocked over. And, at Cloverleaf RV, about a dozen RVs were badly damaged. [More]

Michigan self storage facilities barely avoiding being subjected to a sales tax in December 2007, when Michigan’s legislature passed a six percent service sales tax and then repealed the tax only a few hours after it went into effect. Instead Michigan legislators decided to add a 21.99 percent surcharge to the state’s new business tax.

But now Michigan’s self storage industry faces the likelihood that the legislature will pass the service sales tax again. Michigan is projecting that in its upcoming fiscal year, starting in October, the state will have a $1.7 billion budget deficit. Governor Jennifer Granholm wants to reinstate the service sales tax to help make up the difference. She told the Michigan Public Radio Network this week that legislators, most of whom are up for reelection in November, would be better off agreeing to a service sales tax now than taking the risk of having to shut down the government for lack of money, a month before the general election. In October 2007, Michigan’s government had to partially shut down for four hours. [More]

In recent weeks, several towns arou nd the United States have begun to limit the use of portable storage containers in front yards and driveways, by requiring residents to get permits, limiting the time period the containers can be used, and in some cases, banning their use. The Zeeland, Michigan City Council is looking at the possibility of banning the use of utility trailers in front yards and driveways for more than 48 hours at a time. In Morris Township, New Jersey, the Township Committee is considering banning PODS (portable on-demand storage) containers unless the homeowner first obtains a permit for their use. The Blue Springs, Missouri Planning Commission has already voted to ban the use of portable storage containers in front yards. [More]

Michigan's Governor, Jennifer Granholm, proposed yesterday that Michigan's sales tax be extended to cover consumer services, including self-storage. Granholm hopes to see the sales tax reduced from six percent to 5.5 percent. The change would raise another $550 million in revenue for the state of Michigan. Under Granholm's plan, the money would be used to help pay for public education, making it possible for Michigan schools to maintain their current level of spending. Michigan's Senate Fiscal Agency, which is a nonpartisan organization, previously announced that Michigan's school aid budget will have a $423 million deficit if more money is not raised. Michigan's general fund, likewise, will have a $1.2 billion deficit. Over the last two years, Michigan's general fund has dropped by $2 billion.

This is not the first time Michigan has considered extending its sales tax. A similar attempt was made two years ago, but was defeated as a result of lobbying and advocacy by the national Self Storage Association and the Self Storage Association of Michigan (SSAM). [More]