Does anyone have advice where to learn more about self storage units as an investment? I have only a very basic knowledge of them and would like to do more research before jumping in.

@Sam Guarnieri - This is a very general question to answer. However, if you are looking for places to get educated on self storage you should check out Scott Meyers courses. He is the expert in the industry and also at self storage education.  

@Sam Guarnieri I have heard a lot of good things about Scott Meyers' Self Storage Academy. I am planning on going to the one in January. He also has a lot of great content on his site. 

Mark helm also has a lot of videos out there as well as a book that goes through self storage investing. 

Search for 3 mile domination videos. They do a lot of management how-to videos. They also wrote a great book called "self storage domination" which is amazing.

This forum has provided me a lot of value in learning self storage...just search self storage in the forums/blogs/etc.

I would go as far as getting a part-time job at a facility to really learn how to run a facility...thats what I did. I have learned more in the past 6 months working there then I have from the books/videos/forums combined....and get paid!

Hope that helps. Feel free to reach out. Love networking with self storage people. 

hello this is my first post and diving into learning more about property investment. Any good books you all can recommend on self storage units and commercial property investment please? 

3miledomination- self storage domination

Mark helm- creating wealth through self storage

For multi-fam and general commercial RE education...

Ken mccleroy- abc's of reapl estate investing. He also has one on property management. Both great books.

Originally posted by @Mike Carr :

3miledomination- self storage domination

Mark helm- creating wealth through self storage

For multi-fam and general commercial RE education...

Ken mccleroy- abc's of reapl estate investing. He also has one on property management. Both great books.

Thoughts on Scott Meyers' training program?

looks great. A lot of success stories from his students. I haven't been to one but I will soon. I like the fact that he will partner with students after taking the class. 

Scott Meyers has another academy coming up in January in Orlando. I just bought my second facility in Michigan. Looking forward to getting insights from a professional. Price is not outrageous and flights and rooms are reasonable too.

We own several facilities and my favorite resources are.....

Inside Self Storage
-they have a magazine subscription, a nice and informative website, and they do a major trade show in Vegas once a year.

Texas Self Storage Association
-look and see if your State has an association.

Trachte Building Systems
-they are a Self Storage steel building supplier but they have an incredible website with tons of free information about venturing into Self Storage ownership / investing.

Hope that helps!

http://www.selfstoragetalk.com

Hello,

Wondering how to get started investing in self-storage units. I'm an experienced investor with residential rental properties and small apartment units. Really looking to liquidate these properties and do a 1031 Exchange into some self-storage units. I know absolutely nothing about how to look for location, competition, value, condition, P & L statements, growth, price, etc.

Would appreciate very much any pointers, tips, etc. re how to get started.

Many thx in advance.

Colleen, I can say very confidently, that Scott Meyers is a great place to start.

Scott's program is very good. There is a lot of great information. But here's the deal - it doesn't matter how good the program is if you don't take action on it. Go to the class with the intent to take action! Scott and his team do offer a mentoring program. If you are the type of person that is comfortable gathering information and reaching out to other experts then I would say to not do the mentoring program. But if you want to be lead to water then the mentoring might be for you.

I purchased Scott's course Memorial Day weekend 2017 and attended a class in September (which is part of the course purchase price). Well worth the money in my opinion. I have a facility under contract set to close early 2018. 

Don't let this be the course that you purchase and let sit on your shelf - you'll regret it.

Sam,

Not sure if you mentioned being active or passive.  I've taken Scott Myers 3-day course and definitely a good place to start if you are new and looking to be active.  I took it not to be active from an operator standpoint but to learn more about the industry as I looked to partner / syndicate w/operators in this niche as I had a growing investor base interested in learning about it.  Here's a high level blog on its attractions.  I also think a good place to learn and earn is being a passive investor with experienced syndicates that offer self storage investment opportunities.  

https://www.biggerpockets.com/blogs/9145/54155-sel...

Scott's program is very good. I have been to several of them, as I speak at them, and I have seen consistent real world information there. The people who teach are experienced self storage folks and not just people trying to sell you something.

Some of the other websites mentioned on here are great too. There is also another resource for learning about the industry at
https://www.liveoakbank.com/small-business-loans/self-storage-loans/self-storage-knowledge-bank-form/.

Scott's academy can help put it al together from what to look for in a property, how to create value, how to finance and how to operate.

I have a client that knows all about this- they are currently developing multiple self storage units across the country - about a $40 million deal. Sure he would be happy to chat with you about self storage

Even though I've been in the industry for quite a while, I'm always learning new things about the industry all over the world with every day that I'm on the forum. We can always stand to learn more about the industry since I reckon that it's going to continue to do well for a number of years to come. I imagine that we're all going to want to know how to better manage all the different situations that could pop up if we're going to put money down into purchasing a whole facility for the passive income. What I'm actually interested to know in here, is what everybody means by investing in self storage. Are they actually running / managing operations, or hiring managers to do the work?

When I talk about investing in self storage, I am speaking about being an OWNER. I see myself as the asset manager but  am not doing much of the day to day stuff required. I use a remote management system that I've developed over the years. All that said, I ay primarily in the value add space so I do have a good bit of hands on during the transition into ownership and early months of ownership while the operational overhaul is put in place. I find this to be the highest and best use of my time.