Rental Property Investor · Winter Garden, FL · Member since 2013 · 46 posts · 22 votes
Hi everyone, I currently have a short term rental and long term rental properties and I am interested in self storage facilities. I am located in CT and they are very hard to come by so I am exploring remote facilities. My short term rentals are remote and I run them all from my cell phone, and I believe that I would easily be able to do all the remote aspects of self storage without issue. My question is around the needs of local boots on the ground support for things like lockouts, new tenants, etc., how does everyone who remote manages go about finding someone to do that type of work for them? In the short term game my cleaner doubles as my maintenance person and they are my eyes and ears for all things support but I wasn't sure how that works in the self storage business.
@Michael Stokes Yes, there are a number of really good 3rd Party Management companies in the industry. There’s a company in York, PA called Storage Asset Management (SAM) and they’re the largest privately held management company in the industry. However, 3rd Party Management costs 6% of revenue or typically a minima of $24k + the cost of the employee.
I would also look into Freedom Storage Management and Red Dot Storage for 3rd Party Management. Both of these groups offer a remote management style which will reduce onsite staffing expenses.
Thanks, @Zach Quick, that is helpful. Some of the properties I have observed do not have gates, is that something that would generally cross the property off your list for being a good candidate for remote management?
Hi everyone, I currently have a short term rental and long term rental properties and I am interested in self storage facilities. I am located in CT and they are very hard to come by so I am exploring remote facilities. My short term rentals are remote and I run them all from my cell phone, and I believe that I would easily be able to do all the remote aspects of self storage without issue. My question is around the needs of local boots on the ground support for things like lockouts, new tenants, etc., how does everyone who remote manages go about finding someone to do that type of work for them? In the short term game my cleaner doubles as my maintenance person and they are my eyes and ears for all things support but I wasn't sure how that works in the self storage business.
Any guidance is appreciated. Thanks in advance!
-Mike
To piggy back on this, are there many management companies for self storage? Also, how do they typically charge?
I figure an on site employee or two may be more common, but if it's a smaller facility I didn't know if there were resources for smaller facilities.
Thats a good question. In my research I have found companies that can act as a call center as part of the software they offer to handle gate codes, leases, etc. but I haven't stumbled upon a company that offered boots on the ground. Would be interested to hear if they exist as well.
@Michael Stokes Yes, there are a number of really good 3rd Party Management companies in the industry. There’s a company in York, PA called Storage Asset Management (SAM) and they’re the largest privately held management company in the industry. However, 3rd Party Management costs 6% of revenue or typically a minima of $24k + the cost of the employee.
I would also look into Freedom Storage Management and Red Dot Storage for 3rd Party Management. Both of these groups offer a remote management style which will reduce onsite staffing expenses.
I'll second what @Kevin Bledsoe posted and throw in Bob Copper's outfit for doing remote 3rd party management. I'd encourage you to learn the business yourself and try it yourself first though, just my two cents.
@Jon Kelly Depends on the area generally speaking, but cameras and a gate/keypad and good lighting is usually just fine.
Honestly revenue is more important than unit count in my opinion but generally speaking 200 units would probably be a part-time boots on the ground situation for me, however if that's 200 units that is climate controlled in a very urban area that may be different...
Remote Management of Storage facilities is what my company, The Storage Manager, does. Our model for facilities is for very low labor on site and the operations are truly run from my experienced team in centralized center. While best designed for 75-400 unit facilities, this style can be utilized by even large Class A facilities in some markets.
Most Storage Management companies charge based on a percentage of income. That way they can say they have a vested interest in collections, rentals, late fees, etc. Most include some form of marketing, Call Centers, and Accounting services.
Like every business, there is a lot of variety in pricing, features, and control. If you want to become active in Storage, there is a management company for you.
How are you guys handling the padlock side of remote management? I was just thinking through the logistics of having someone like a landscaper or retired person managing the move in and lock out and how it would work if there were individual keys for each unit? I am sure there is a simpler logistical way this works but I haven’t quite figured that out yet!
With regard to non-pay, most facilities use a set of padlocks that are keyed alike for simplicity. That way, the landscaper or retired person only needs one key.
At move in, most tenants bring their own lock or are provided a new one by the facility. For liability reasons, 99.9% of facilities do not rent or loan locks.
For move in I assume the doors are kept locked? Is it common to use a coded padlock so the tenant could move in immediately (after the code is provided) and they just lock the padlock up somewhere for the remote manager to pick up for the next time to store? I was thinking it would be simpler to have the part time worker always just come once per week to handle any tasks, so lock outs have to wait to get unlocked but wouldn’t want to make move ins wait if they paid up.
Some people leave their empty units unlocked. Makes more sense if it is a gated facility. We use disposable tags on empty units. Keeps them somewhat secure and without the hassle of locking and unlocking units.
"For move in I assume the doors
are kept locked? Is it common to use a coded padlock so the tenant could
move in immediately (after the code is provided) and they just lock the
padlock up somewhere for the remote manager to pick up for the next
time to store? I was thinking it would be simpler to have the part time
worker always just come once per week to handle any tasks, so lock outs
have to wait to get unlocked but wouldn’t want to make move ins wait if
they paid up.""
Look into DeVinci locks for this type of setup. Davinci sells combination padlocks that have a serial # that the customer or a call center can reference via DaVinci's web portal and the lock code can be given to the customer. You must have compatible management software, but it works very well. When the customer removes the lock (move-in or overlock) they place the lock in a drop box on the way out. We have used Devinci at our facility for two years now with great success.
Look into the Inside Self Storage trade show It is a great place for prospective owners to get a great basic education.