Cook Beginnings: Why We Offer a Rental Option

One of the keys in business is to not only pay attention to the market, but to listen to your customers. What are they saying, what struggles are they facing, what options are they choosing over you? When we started Cook Portable Warehouses, we sort of fell into it because of some excess lumber we had. You can read that story here.

But, the story was just getting started.

Even from that first building, we were listening to our very first customer as he described the customizations he wanted like the siding color and roof style. From that moment, we’ve continued to offer custom options, but along the way we discovered our customers needed something else.

“You look around and you see a lot of storage units. So we decided to try and find a way to lease storage to our customers so they can have storage in their backyard instead of in the storage unit across town,” Greg Cook, co-founder and president said.

Here’s what we saw: people needed storage, but they didn’t always have the money right then to get the storage space they needed. So they chose a monthly rental option instead.

The only problem is those rental facilities didn’t offer any ownership. We wanted to offer both: a great storage solution and an affordable price.

We started to provide storage solutions for colleges, businesses, farms and homes when and where they needed it at a price that fit into the budget. We knew we built a great building, but not everyone can purchase out-right and some don’t even need to purchase at all. We were proud to offer a new option with increased flexibility.

When that idea took off, we then realized some may want to do more than just lease it and return it. What if they wanted to eventually purchase it? So now we offer a Rent-to-Own Program, in other words a lease with an option to purchase.

“We actually own the building and you’re leasing it from us, you’re renting the right to put your things in it for the time being,” Greg explained. “The biggest misconception to all of that is that there’s an interest rate that you’re paying. There’s really not any interest, you’re leasing with the right to purchase any time you want. Now, not 100% of your rent goes toward the purchase price, but at any given moment, a percentage of your rental payments that you’ve paid can apply to the purchase price.”

We love offering this option because it provides flexibility for our customers that they didn’t have before. If you decide after a month that you no longer need the shed, then we’ll come pick it up. If 6 months into your lease you realize it’s just not big enough, we’ll let you trade up to a larger shed. Or you can wait till the end of your contract and then you’ll own it. It’s all yours. Either way, your credit doesn’t suffer.

Our Rent-to-Own Program is offered on all of our sheds whether you purchase a pre-owned shed, off the lot or a custom build. See all the RTO details.

Long-term storage needs are fulfilled and your budget is still intact. With a storage unit, you’ll never own it, it’s inconveniently located and at the end, you’ll just have a pile of receipts. Why spend money on a non-investment when there’s a better option?

We’ve made more than a few changes over the decades. As we say, in 1984, we didn’t build the best building. Why? Because we didn’t know how yet. We built a great building then, but we build an even better one today. See why we say that here.

If you’re ready to get the storage solution you need at a price that fits the budget, learn more about our rent-to-own program today!