Magnum Self Storage

This review is long, looooong over due (yep, almost a year, but better late than never…). As part of the Midwestern bandwagon move to the Pacific Northwest, we relocated from a 2,200 sq. ft. 2 bed, 2 bath condo into a tiny 500 sq. ft. apartment in Ballard. We had a weekend to find a place to live, knowing we would need to downsize our living space and rely on storage. Storage facilities were limited in Ballard due to it’s quick growth and large amount of transplants like myself. We stopped in to see what seven different facilities offered in the area, and Magnum matched it’s name (with the exception of a affordable price!).
Magnum has been family owned since 1976 by Michael Hall who is talkative, extremely friendly and always helpful. What was welcomed is that he requires NO pre-​paid discount deposit, start-​up charges, or administrative fee since we were already tight on money. We paid for our unit 3 months in advance for a pre-​paid discount, which is well worth it.
A few book-​keeping notes:
–They offer a large variety of unit sizes: 3×5 ($ 41/​mo), 5×5 ($ 56/​mo), 5×7.5 ($ 78/​mo), 5×10 ($ 91/​mo), 10×10 ($ 149/​mo), and 10×12 ($ 173/​mo).
–They are closed on Mondays. Yet, they’re open fairly long hours to fit around your busy schedule (Tuesday-​Sunday 9 am — 7 pm).
–All units are ground level, making it easy to go in or out.
–None of the units are air conditioned or heated, plus make sure your items are raised off the concrete floor in case there is the unlikely situation of a Salmon Bay flood (raised wood pallets are provided for free).
–There are multiple entrances with large garage doors on Shilshole with parking set aside just for moving in/​out. Just be sure to back-​in park.
–While this definitely is far from being the cleanest storage option, it’s very affordable. There are concrete floors and a large storage area set aside for the owners that looks like it’s straight out of the show Hoarders. All in all, it does the trick!
–If you end up renting, be sure to sign/​buzz in and out so security can be maintained. There are cameras all over the place for our benefit.
–If you befriend Michael, he will also do you the favor of offering parking for free in his parking lot to stroll Ballard’s downtown on busy days when there’s no parking to be found (such as the Sunday farmer’s market). Their location could not be any more convenient.
Thanks Magnum Storage!

Magnum is the best deal in town for your average storage needs. They came highly recommended by a coworker who grew up in Seattle. I was a little weary about them at first because the building looks old and it makes you wonder about the maintenance, leaks, pests, etc. I called around to get quotes from several places in the area, but none could offer a better rate. I stopped by to check it out, and found the place to be ok for my needs. The security is excellent due to the set up of the building and the fact that the entrance is watched all the time. There is even a 5% discount for paying three months at a time. There are no silly fees or contracts here, just old fashioned checks and cash, no credit cards I don’t think. I periodically check on my things when I come to pay rent, but there has been absolutely no damage, or pests, mold, mildew or anything. I store mostly books, luggage, and old blankets, decorations, etc. Overall I’m extremely satisfied. Do not judge a book by it’s cover, this place is great! There is also a parking lot right on Ballard Avenue, so it’s easy to find parking when you just have a trunk full of stuff to load /​unload.

I’ve had a space at Magnum for years, and have loved it since the beginning. I feel a relieving sense of security about my things.
The Hall family, who own and run the business, are quite security conscious and take good care of the facility. They’re helpful above and beyond the call of duty. I am so grateful to have my storage space here.

I love Magnum Storage. I’ve been a customer for years. And, I have experience with several other storage places through my job and personal life. So I have some perspective about these kinds of businesses. Here’s what great about Magnum.
Flexible with payment etas: There has been several times in which my checks have arrived a couple days late. This is not a big deal for them. One time, I didn’t see their reminder notice in the mail and didn’t send in a check. Mike called me a couple weeks later to ask about it. I was mortified about my oversight, but he was totally understanding. I sent in my check right away and they have never held that late payment against me in our future dealings. Everyone goofs up now and then, and they get that. They are all about keeping long term customers.
Security: This is not a ²⁴⁄₇ access storage facility that just anyone could access. They only key you have is the one to the lock on your storage unit. They have set business hours, and watch over the building like hawks. In order to get in, you have to stand in front of a video camera and press an intercom button. They only let you in once they have verified your identity at the door. They keep an eye on everyone moving around the building, and Mike typically comes up and says hi at least once during your visit. This is their way of getting to know their customers and also making sure that nothing fishy is going on. This is not the sort of place where someone could roam freely around and not be noticed. Your stuff is safe here.
Communication: This was actually a serious issue for me at a previous storage unit so it’s something that really matters. I won’t go into detail about that, but I’ll describe how great Mike’s communication is. A couple years back a city water pipe near the storage building burst during a really icy winter weekend. A small amount of water came through one of the walls of the building. Mike was totally on top of that. He made sure that the city fixed it and he called me because some of the water trickled close to my unit. He described the situation in great detail so I could decide whether I needed to visit right then. I didn’t have to. A few days later when the weather got better, I visited just to make sure everything was ok. It was. But Mike decided to give me a big piece of plywood to put down on the floor so I could store my stuff on top of it. He reasoned that he can’t control what happens with city water pipes. But if one nearby were to ever break again, any water that might trickle through wouldn’t be able to reach my boxes. I can see now that with the little amount of water that was involved, Mike could have chosen to remain quiet about the whole matter and not say anything. But he did the right thing by informing me. That’s how you build trust with your customers.
So at this point you might be wondering why this isn’t a 5 star review. The answer has to do with the building. It’s a huge old warehouse, exactly as the other review on here describes. I don’t mind that, but I can see how some folks would prefer a storage building that was built as a storage business from the get-​go. The huge old warehouse feel of the place is sort of creepy when you go in for the first couple of times. And yeah, if you are like me and you only go there a couple times a year it’s easy to get lost while searching for your unit. Mike typically strolls up and points the way, as if he has them all memorized or something. I suspect that he looks up the unit number during the security verification at the door. Anyway, just keep in mind that the convenience of having this huge storage facility right in the heart of Ballard outweighs the creep factor on your first visit.
And the rat traps? I’m always happy to see those. A previous storage unit that I used years ago let mice roam freely through my stuff, if you can believe it. So I’m totally happy with seeing those rat traps, believe me.

Self storage usually conjures up images of sterile bright orange roll down doors, but this is not your average self storage…
Facilities: Huge warehouse with dirty concrete floors and a literal labyrinth of makeshift plywood dividers forming the «storage units». I got lost but luckily I was with other people and just followed the sound of their voices, trying not to touch anything along the way. Be careful not to trip over the black rat traps labeled «Poison do not touch». I’m serious. There’s a «nicer area» where they’ve painted the units with bright colors and things look a little cleaner, and a not-​so-​nice area where the tops open up to the huge warehouse and are covered up by fencing material (not sure what it’s for though, rats can totally get through…)
Parking: they load-​unload in front, and then parking across the street which is DANGEROUS — back in angle parking on busy Shilshole — cars careening down the corner of 24^th and they don’t wait for you.
Service: This is where they get 2 stars — Mike is super nice and accommodating.
Prices: About $ 50/​mo for 5×5 the smallest unit — pretty average I think.