Is anyone buying self-storage buildings/properties?

Question

I'm a newbie and have just started to explore investing in self-storage units.  Has anyone had success with these?  How do you evaluate them?  Per door? Using rental calculator?  Thanks.

Ann Marie Giglio · Answer

Thank you Kris Bennett. These are both great resources and I appreciate your tip!

Ann Marie Giglio · Answer

Thank you Jan Kerr, Kris Bennett, and Michael Wagner!  You have each been a big help!

Peggy Liu · Answer

What are everyone's thoughts about the new service called Neighbor.com?  It's like Airbnb but for storages.

Paul Moore · Answer

Hey Ann,

So I'm in the weird position of writing a popular book on multifamily investing humbly called The Perfect Investment (2016)... doing a BP podcast on that topic... then making a switch to self-storage! I love self-storage, and like Scott Meyers and others here, am so glad to have discovered it. So many advantages over other asset classes.

I attended 3 of Scott's events in 2018, and my fund now focuses on self-storage and mobile home parks. Feel free to reach out if you want to talk about why I love these asset classes.

Kris Bennett · Answer

@Ann Marie Giglio hey Ann it will be worth you’re time to check both Michael Wagner’s YouTube channel The Storage Rebellion, and Scott Meyers website. They provide good info for people starting out.

Michael Wagner · Answer

Storage is all we focus on these days. Made the switch from residential multi family 8 years ago and haven't looked back. I'd recommend you set up "self storage" as a keyword alert here in BP. There's also a lot of good discussion already in the forums so searched for specifics SS topics will give you tons of free education! You might also appreciate a small blog I post here on BP:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

Scott Meyers · Answer

I might be a little late to the party this morning, but I've been a huge fan of Self Storage for nearly two decades - to the point of using it as my primary RE investment and having divested myself of all the single- and multi-family assets I accumulated in the 1990s.

It is a fantastic investment and asset class, and like these other folks have said, it's often a misunderstood asset class.  People often want to think of them solely as businesses when they are, truly, real estate.  I love it - pure and simple.  No tenants, no toilets, and no trash!

Kris Bennett · Answer

@Ann Marie Giglio self-storage is typically evaluated on a per square foot basis (similar to per door for apartments), such as asking price per square foot, or rent per square foot for a 10x10. But a per square foot doesn’t tell an investor anything about the financial return of the property, just like per door doesn’t either. It’s only a back of the envelope method for comparing deals.

I’d recommend signing up on a couple of storage broker websites and downloading the offering memorandums for a couple of deals. That will help you get familiarized with how they’re underwritten and other jargon. Good luck!

Jan Kerr · Answer

@Ann Marie Giglio Hi Ann, Self Storage Units can be a good investment becasue depending on their size they can generate a lot of cash flow vs the level of management they require. The one thing I wanted to remind you of, is that these are businesses in and of themselves. Though they requuire less mamagement than a tenant occupied rental, there are laws in each state specifying when you have a certain number of units or more, you may be required to have "On Site, Live in Management".  Evaluate them based on what cash flow they will generate like a rental. Investigate local rental rates and vacancy rates and talk to managers to see if you can determine what kinds of costs they incurr monthly. Good luck!