What’s the best way to find a JV Partner for Self Storage

[Brandon Jack Reneau]

This will be my first commercial and development deal. I have the land and plan to build  Boat and RV storage and potentially some other self storage products. We're about 1 mile from the lake and the feasibility studies look great. I have a hunch that the best route for me to take is to partner with some self storage development experience....

If you've done a JV how did you find your partner?

Are there any red flags that I should be aware of? 

[Jeremy Horton]

I've considered partnering in my self storage project as well - but I decided against it. I want full ownership of the property and decision making. I would potentially be open to partnering in the future with local owners (which I think may be a possibility)

Similar position as you - have the land, did my own feasibility study, spreadsheets as far as income/expenses. I just don't quite have the cash yet or risk tolerance to pull the trigger on full climate control self storage. It is a lot more involved than what meets the eye - dynamic pricing (or at the minimum keeping up with competitors pricing), discounts, CRM, contracts, website, SEO and that doesn't even get into the building itself. 

I'll likely go a cheaper route to get my systems in place - open parking with a gate and all that. Then from there go to canopy parking. Then climate control. Then expand the climate control. 

@Henry Clark is the pro on self-storage. Knows about it and has done it repeatedly. I would get a Word document going then go through Henry's posts and take notes on what he says on all the main categories. Then adjust a little depending on your market/location. That's personally what I'm doing anyway - you need to be a "pro" before you start in my opinion.