It’s estimated there are between 45,000 and 52,000 self-storage facilities in the U.S. -- more than the number of McDonald's, Walmarts, and Pizza Huts around the country combined.
On average, Americans spend almost $40 billion a year on storage units, which led Neighbor co-founder Joseph Woodbury to ask, “Why are we building literally billions of dollars in extra space storage when we already have space in our neighborhoods?”
Think of Neighbor like Airbnb, but instead of offering up your home for people to stay in, you offer up any extra space for people to store their belongings -- and you get paid every month.
“We had two parts to our garage, and we have one part that we don’t even use,” Jacksonville homeowner Jeffrey Pardine said. “We had a few things in there, and I thought, 'Maybe if I clean it up, maybe we can do something with it.'”
Pardine found the website Neighbor.com less than a year ago. He signed up, and within a week he had a renter -- and an extra $30 going into his pocket every month.
Woodbury said the idea for Neighbor started in 2017 when he and a friend needed to store some stuff for only a couple of months.
“I felt so much safer with my items in a nice garage with a person I trusted, and it’s a lot cheaper for me,” Woodbury said. “What if we could do this for everyone?”
News4Jax compared Neighbor's prices to three storage locations in Jacksonville, focusing on a 5x5 unit.
- Public Storage had an online special at $31 a month with the first month only $1.
- My Neighborhood Storage Center had a web rate of $59 with 50% off for three months.
- Self-Storage was the most expensive at about $74 a month, plus half off the first month.
- Neighbor offers the same amount of space on average -- for just $8 a month.
Pardine said that affordable price comes with security included.
“One of the assurances I offer to my customer is that our property is protected by cameras. We have Safe Touch. We have a fenced-in backyard, and we can lock this door with our house key so it can remain locked,” Pardine said.
It’s not just the renters who are protected. A homeowner can deny someone access to their home.
“They’re able to see 100% of what is stored in their space,” Woodbury said. “They're able to see the reservation request and they have 48 hours to consider that and to accept or deny it.”
Neighbor is nationwide and is available in quite a few cities across Florida.
Becoming a renter or rentee is as easy as making an account on the website. Enter your city, the amount of space you want, and that’s it.
Neighbor offers insurance for the homeowner up to $2 million. Renters are covered up to $25,000.
Neighbor even takes care of payments, including if someone doesn’t pay up.
Since Neighbor first started, homeowners have earned anything from $1,000 to $25,000 a year.
“Probably the phrase that we get the most is, 'Why has this not always existed?'” Woodbury said.
To learn more, visit Neighbor’s website: https://www.neighbor.com.