First-Time Self‑Storage Buyer Looking for Opportunities
New to Real Estate · Stuart, FL · Member since 2019 · 6 posts · 3 votes
First-Time Self‑Storage Buyer Looking for Opportunities
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Jay TolugantiPro Member
Investor · Clearwater, FL · Member since 2025 · 225 posts · 78 votesIf I were you, I would first invest in learning about underwriting a self stoage facility and understand the factors like location, environmental study, competition, rate wars, evictions etc. SBA loan comes with huge responsibility.
10 Replies
- 5moJay TolugantiPro MemberInvestor · Clearwater, FL · Member since 2025 · 225 posts · 78 votes
If I were you, I would first invest in learning about underwriting a self stoage facility and understand the factors like location, environmental study, competition, rate wars, evictions etc. SBA loan comes with huge responsibility.
- 5moJ CastroBusiness MemberLender · Florida · Member since 2025 · 673 posts · 240 votes
Hey @Anthony Colachicco, welcome to BP!
Great to see you focusing on self-storage—Florida is competitive, but the smaller rural/suburban markets can actually be where the better entry points are if you underwrite them correctly.A few things to keep in mind as you work through SBA financing:
- SBA 7(a) / 504 loans can be great for storage assets, but expect stricter underwriting on occupancy, historical financials, and seller documentation
- Lenders will care more about stabilized NOI and actual rent roll than listing projections
- Rural facilities can pencil well, but you need to be extra careful on demand drivers (population, highway access, marina proximity, RV traffic, etc.)
On the deal side, what tends to work best for first-time buyers:
- Smaller, lightly distressed or under-managed facilities (not heavy repositioning)
- Assets with clear upside through rent increases or occupancy improvement
- Avoiding facilities with “story deals” but weak actual income history
Also worth noting—many first deals in this space are won through owner financing or off-market listings, not MLS competition.
You’re thinking about the right asset class, just make sure your first deal is more about stability + simple upside, not heavy turnaround risk.
If you want, happy to help you sanity-check a deal or financing structure before you move forward.
- 5moRonald RohdePro MemberAttorney · Dallas, TX · Member since 2016 · 5k+ posts · 2k+ votes
What do you consider small amount of capital?
Read all your legal docs, check title and survey. zoning is critical too
- New to Real Estate · Stuart, FL · Member since 2019 · 6 posts · 3 votes4mo
Quote from @Ronald Rohde:
What do you consider small amount of capital?
Read all your legal docs, check title and survey. zoning is critical too
I have $75k I would like to use, but up to $130k.
- NY, FL · Member since 2026 · 2 posts · 1 vote4mo
Hey Anthony, I'm also a first timer looking into getting involved in purchasing a self-storage in SoFlo. If you're interested in connecting, I'm happy to get in touch.
- 4moHenry ClarkPro MemberDeveloper · Member since 2020 · 4k+ posts · 4k+ votes
OP. Read my post Self Storage Will They Come? As you look at existing properties or land for development do this study to check the market.
Recommend you work this Backwards. Don't answer. How much Down payment can you do? If say $100,000 at SBA 10% down, then you can do a $1mm deal all in. If Commercial loan at 25% then $400,000 deal all in. This will help you focus on the size of properties you're looking for and not waste people's time.
Storage is all about Zoning. So, learn you're zoning in each area before getting too deep. Also look at Conditional and Special Use variances on those properties.
Took a quick look in Florida, you should be able to find many more. Again, determine your deal size first and then zoning.
Ocala, Fl listing doesnt seem correct, otherwise looks like a great deal. 12.3 acres $895,000 with Contractor bays and covered parking already built. New 2025. For Boat and RV parking Daytona Beach which is an hour away would still be in your customer market.
Vero Beach, Fl 6.14 Acres $929,000 This would be for development, but closer to the market. But again zoning.
Oxford, Fl 4.93 acres $899,900. Already has a NNN tenant. Would be a great place for RV parking or Boat/RV storage location. Although a beautiful site and has a $60,000 per year tenant. Storage should be in the $300k to $500k range if you can fit 250 parking spots at $100 to $200 per spot. Though isolated. Near lots of lakes and housing.
Set up how to do deal analysis then start challenging the model with different rental rates, occupancy levels and units.
Start small and Make Your Big Mistakes Early.
Look up one of my Self Storage Parking posts.
- 4moJim ThomasPro MemberProperty Manager · Orlando, FL · Member since 2025 · 27 posts · 6 votes
As demand for last-mile logistics and independent trucking grows, “tuck” (truck) parking has become a quietly lucrative niche that real estate investors can no longer ignore. I started thinking about what might serve as a true comparison product to self-storage, and one emerging answer is truck parking—particularly models like Truck Parking Club that mirror storage’s pay-for-space simplicity. Compared to building a traditional self-storage facility—which requires significant capital, zoning hurdles, and long development timelines—Truck Parking Club offers a faster, lower-barrier way to monetize underutilized land while testing demand. For investors in Ocala, Florida, where freight corridors and agricultural transport are active year-round, the need for secure, flexible truck parking is especially strong, and platforms like this are already gaining traction. Anyone working a deal with the Truck Parking Club in Florida would love to connect.
- New to Real Estate · Stuart, FL · Member since 2019 · 6 posts · 3 votes4mo
Quote from @Jim Thomas:
As demand for last-mile logistics and independent trucking grows, “tuck” (truck) parking has become a quietly lucrative niche that real estate investors can no longer ignore. I started thinking about what might serve as a true comparison product to self-storage, and one emerging answer is truck parking—particularly models like Truck Parking Club that mirror storage’s pay-for-space simplicity. Compared to building a traditional self-storage facility—which requires significant capital, zoning hurdles, and long development timelines—Truck Parking Club offers a faster, lower-barrier way to monetize underutilized land while testing demand. For investors in Ocala, Florida, where freight corridors and agricultural transport are active year-round, the need for secure, flexible truck parking is especially strong, and platforms like this are already gaining traction. Anyone working a deal with the Truck Parking Club in Florida would love to connect.
Thanks for the input Jim and I totally agree, I am currently in the trucking business myself on the auction side and there is a real challenge for truck parking across the nation.
- 4moRonald RohdePro MemberAttorney · Dallas, TX · Member since 2016 · 5k+ posts · 2k+ votes
Quote from @Jim Thomas:
As demand for last-mile logistics and independent trucking grows, “tuck” (truck) parking has become a quietly lucrative niche that real estate investors can no longer ignore. I started thinking about what might serve as a true comparison product to self-storage, and one emerging answer is truck parking—particularly models like Truck Parking Club that mirror storage’s pay-for-space simplicity. Compared to building a traditional self-storage facility—which requires significant capital, zoning hurdles, and long development timelines—Truck Parking Club offers a faster, lower-barrier way to monetize underutilized land while testing demand. For investors in Ocala, Florida, where freight corridors and agricultural transport are active year-round, the need for secure, flexible truck parking is especially strong, and platforms like this are already gaining traction. Anyone working a deal with the Truck Parking Club in Florida would love to connect.
I own several truck parking sites. Its definitely growing demand, but truckers are cheap too. They don't want to pay much more than $300 for infill monthly spaces. Its still a gross lease multi tenant management play.
I post a ton online about this YT, etc.
- Member since 2024 · 144 posts · 27 votes3mo
Investing in rural Florida self-storage or boat/RV yards is an exceptional way to break into the commercial asset class with a limited down payment. Rural yards are high-yield gems because they attract coastal boat owners fleeing strict metropolitan HOA parking rules, and the initial land acquisition cost basis is low.
Your plan to utilize an SBA loan is the perfect leverage play—an SBA 7(a) loan allows you to acquire these cash-flowing assets with only 10% down payment, and you can even roll future unit expansion or fencing construction costs straight into the primary mortgage.
Your biggest value-add in these rural towns will be transitioning mom-and-pop properties onto a Fully Remote Tech Stack. By integrating software like Storable with automated electronic gates, the system will text tenants and lock out delinquents automatically, letting you run a highly profitable Florida asset from your phone with zero on-site payroll. Prioritize concrete block or heavily wind-rated steel structures to protect your pro forma from the Florida insurance crisis, audit the historical bank deposits to ensure the physical occupancy matches the actual cash flowing in, and you will be in an excellent position to scale. If your bank's SBA underwriting pipeline stalls, look into cross-collateralizing the asset via an Alternative Commercial DSCR Loan under an LLC, which qualifies the property strictly on its net cash flow rather than your personal DTI to guarantee a rapid close.
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