Rental Property Investor · Mercer Island, WA · Member since 2008 · 22k+ posts · 14k+ votes
17y
You need a good locatiion with good demand and limited ability to build more. They're cheap to build, so if the demand is there, someone will build another. Minimal utilities, low (in theory) expenses, no toilets. You need a full time onsite manager. If someone calls and nobody answers, they go to the next listing in the phone book. Since the tenants don't talk to each other like in apartments, you can experiment with pricing more easily. Need a good mix of units that's aligned with local demand. If a tenant doesn't pay, you overlock their unit. A month later you cut the lock and auction their stuff.
Investor · Austin, TX · Member since 2013 · 933 posts · 1k+ votes
8y
We invest in both niches comfortably knowing that there are operators who know how to acquire, operate and create value in both MF, SS and MPHs. Our experience is there are definitely similar deductions you see in MF such as property taxes, interest on loan and depreciation on the building.
Self storage during the last financial crisis held up better than MF and just shy of MPHs which the latter actually was the only niche that experienced an increase in NOI. The operator in SS we work with (top 25 in U.S.) across their portfolio made money during 2009. Here's a couple links to learning more about the track records of these niches and how they hold up in tough times...including 5 reasons we like SS.