ALABAMA SELF STORAGE

ALABAMA SELF STORAGE ASSOCIATION

Meeting Overview

July 6, 2005

President Keith Vaughan gave the opening welcome and brief overview of the meeting.

Mack Vann gave the invocation.

MD Smith spoke on the importance of creativity and change. There have been significant changes in the storage business. What was good enough five years ago, is not good enough today. We need to find new ways to make a profit. Write down ideas without judging them. This makes you creative. Pick easy topics, then go back and judge the value of them. You are more creative than you think you are. Think out of the box.

Bill Evans, Vice President & Attorney from Tuscaloosa, was then called to talk on some legal matters in storage. He commented that the Storage Association needs to be aware of the ever changing laws on storage matters in the State of Alabama. What necessarily applies in one state does not apply in Alabama. The Association can, collectively, put pressure on lawmakers, statewide and citywide, to change or keep laws affecting them. The Lien Law link is: http://alisdb.legislature.state.al.us/acas/CodeOfAlabama/1975/coatoc.htm

Once there, you have to click on Title 8, and then scroll down to sections 8-15-30 through 8-15-38. There are no direct links to the actual code section.

It was mentioned that every storage member should have a current copy of the Alabama Lien Law and that they should be aware of the Alabama statutes governing storage facilities.

He also suggested that every state has different rental agreements and that a draft agreement should be done and set as a standard for use in Alabama.

Terry Green, Summit Structures, gave general building information regarding storage complexes. Although the basic structures of mini storages have remained constant, there has been a price increase of 30% in the last few years. This is mainly due to costs of materials (concrete, metal, etc.) and code requirements.

As of August 1, 2005, Madison County will start enforcing code requirements on county storage units. The Storage Association needs to have a good relationship with code officials in order to have a positive influence when codes are enforced. The Association also needs a voice in Montgomery when laws are discussed and/or passed.

Damon Reed, GMAC Commercial Mortgage, gave an overview of the role GMAC plays in self storage lending, as well as guidelines and examples of million dollar deals across the country.

Mack Vann, Storyteller and featured speaker brought the meeting to a conclusion with three warm childhood stories from his book “Creek Bottom Home.”