You might be wondering what we actually mean by military storage. No, we’re not talking about entire storage facilities that are staffed by and only accept military members as customers (though that would actually be kind of a cool idea). We’re talking about how storage facilities cater to the special needs of military customers and what you should consider if you’re in the military and looking for a storage unit in Dallas. Whether you’re moving to the Texas city to work at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort Worth or you already live and work there, there are a number of ways in which having a little extra space can make your life easier and a few tips for making your experience with storage even better. Read on to find out what we’re talking about.
Storage and You
While you can certainly look for storage in Fort Worth in addition to Dallas, it’s worthwhile to consider the area as a whole if you want to find the best deals. Another reason you might consider Dallas for storage is if you’re living in Dallas and commuting to Fort Worth or if you’re living in Dallas while you wait for on-base housing. There are 83 housing units available at Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Fort-Worth, and currently there’s a 6-12 month waiting list to get into one. If you’ve already put your name down and you’re currently waiting for a unit to open up, self-storage can make your situation a little more bearable. Whether you’re staying at a hotel, crashing with a friend or renting an apartment on a short-term basis, you can put your stuff in storage while you wait to move into the base. Use our
size guide to determine how much space you’ll need and then find a storage unit. After you’ve finally made your way to the top of the waiting list, you’ll be able to move your stuff out of storage and into your new place without breaking a contract so long as you’ve chosen a facility that offers month-to-month leases (this is the standard storage lease, so this shouldn’t be hard to find). If you’d still like to benefit from having extra space but don’t need such a big storage unit, talk to your storage facility manager about transferring to a smaller one.
Mobile Storage
Another option for this situation is portable storage or valet storage. This type of storage actually comes to you, so you don’t ever have to think about renting a moving truck or making a bunch of time consuming trips to a facility. If you opt for portable storage (simply filter your results on StorageFront by selecting “mobile storage”), a facility like PODS will bring the storage unit to you, give you time to fill it and then take it away. When you’re ready, they’ll bring it to your new place for unloading.
If You’re Deployed
Deployment brings to mind a lot of stress. We don’t think that your storage unit should contribute to that. As you’re planning for your move, you’ll find that you have to figure out how your responsibilities at home are going to be taken care of. Many of those responsibilities include paying bills. To make sure your storage unit gets paid for, opt for online bill pay so you’re not scrambling to mail a check from thousands of miles away. If your name isn’t the only one on your storage unit’s lease, you can also take the time to make sure that your bill is paid for by someone else.
Of course, stressful events and travel often result in unpaid bills. If you start to miss payments, your storage facility will attempt to contact you and anyone else on your lease multiple times before your unit is officially in default. Once your unit is in default, you won’t have access to it or the property itself until your bills have been paid. As you’ve seen on TV, this is also the time when your unit is potentially going to be entered into a storage auction.
But wait. If you’re a deployed military member, you storage facility doesn’t necessarily have the right to do this. Thanks to the
Servicemembers Civil Relief Act , it’s much, much harder for storage facilities to auction off the units of military members who are deployed (note that we didn’t say impossible). While you should certainly do everything you can to prevent this from happening, it’s nice to know your rights should you ever find yourself in this situation.
