New Business in Town, October 2, 2013 Company offers rent-to-own sheds By LINDA EAST BRADY Standard-Examiner staff Need a place to shelter the family sedan, a barn to stow the hay or a bunkhouse where weary hands can catch some Z's? But lacking the cash flow to raise a building? Well, there's a new concept out there: Rent-to-own buildings. Old Hickory Sheds, with new locations in Ogden, Hyde Park and Brigham City, offers a wide array of portable rent-to-own buildings — an idea new to these parts. How is this a better deal than rentable cargo containers, or the sheds you pick up and assemble from the local home improvement store? Ogden Old Hickory dealer/ manager Damon Hull said it is about quality and affordability. He recently had a customer who previously rented an 8-by-10 cargo container-style unit for $190 a month. "I got her into a 10-by-20 for the same price — and the big difference there is that at the end of a couple of years, it'll be all hers," Hull said. Prices range from about $1,600 ($73.84 per month over three years) for an 8-by-8 basic economy barn to about $11,000 ($509.03 per month for three years) for a 14-by-40 lofted barn. Custom packages vary. A security deposit — $100 for an 8-by-10, on up to $700 for a 14-foot- wide unit — is needed with the first month's rent. Customers can turn in the unit anytime after a one- to four- month period, depending on the unit. Outstanding balances can be paid off in full at any time. The company was a pioneer in the field in 1997 when it started in the Eastern United States. Now the rent- Manager Damon Hull stands on the porch of one of his rent-to-own units at Old Hickory Sheds, 1264 W. 12th St., Ogden. to-own portable building idea is well- established east of the Mississippi. Only in the last year or so did this idea move westward into Utah, Wyoming, Idaho and Washington. Units sold in Utah are built in Jerome, Idaho. The company uses blueprints and Mennonite/Amish barn-raising techniques, making them sturdy enough to bear the weight of Utah's plentiful snowload. "We can do anything from a 30-pound (per square foot) load to 140-pound — typically twice as much as you'd need for this area," Hull said. Old Hickory Sheds can also be customized with windows, porches, specialty doors and other features. LINDA EAST BRADY/Standard-Examiner For more information, go to www.01dHickorySheds.com. Contact reporter Linda East Brady at 801-625-4279 or Ibrady® standard.net. Follow her on Twitter at @LindaEastBrady.