Self Storage- What is the best City in the US to do Self Storage?
We have 8 locations in 5 towns/cities. We use a 40 mile radius in which to build or buy. So I have never wondered what town/city was the best in the US to invest in, all this time. Helping some folks out, I named a few. Later thought I didn't really give them any affirmable information. Being a former CPA, Controller and CFO, I sat down and developed an analysis.
As I was building a "great and wonderful" template, I stopped; I realized there are really only a couple of overarching factors. Unit Price, Land Price, and on the expense side Property taxes. Will let you research Property Taxes. Generally speaking all other Capex costs and Expenses are the same no matter what market you are in.
At the very bottom of this template is a ratio of Annual Revenue versus Total Capex. These are actual cities I have researched before.
- Only one of them has large REITS in them. Populations 60,000 to 1,000,000. Large REITS will buy you out once they reach your town.
-Two of them, the market really doesn't use Sparefoot. This means both, you would be number 1 in marketing using Sparefoot, and two, they don't need extra marketing because they are full.
- Three of these, zoned land is readily available.
- If we weren't done investing in new Locations, I would be building in Location 1 and 3. 4 is good also.
No I didn't really answer which town/city in the US is the best. But I have only so much money and these 4 look great. This is not an investment analysis, but a market analysis tool. There are several more factors once you pick the city you want to invest in. Demand versus supply. You have the format, now do your data analysis.
| Loc 1 | Loc 2 | Loc 3 | Loc 4 | |
| Units | Price | Price | Price | Price |
| 10x10 | 150 | 90 | no sparefoot | 130 |
| 10 x15 | 270 | 100 | 220 | |
| 10 x 20 | 300 | 125 | 220 | |
| Units | Number | Number | Number | Number |
| 10x10 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| 10 x15 | 200 | 200 | 200 | 200 |
| 10 x 20 | 200 | 200 | 200 | 200 |
| Revenue | 1404000 | 561600 | #VALUE! | 1087200 |
| Occupancy | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.9 |
| Act Revenue | 1263600 | 505440 | #VALUE! | 978480 |
| Building unit cost | 4200 | 4200 | 4200 | 4200 |
| Land 4 acres | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| $/acre | 100000 | 200000 | 100000 | 200000 |
| Fence | 50000 | 50000 | 50000 | 50000 |
| Auto gate | 25000 | 25000 | 25000 | 25000 |
| Electric | 70000 | 70000 | 70000 | 70000 |
| Security | 60000 | 60000 | 60000 | 60000 |
| buildings | 1764000 | 1764000 | 1764000 | 1764000 |
| Water???? | ||||
| Office???? | ||||
| Hydrant???? | ||||
| Storm pond?? | ||||
| Total | 2369000 | 2769000 | 2369000 | 2769000 |
| Ratio Rev/cost | 53.3% | 18.3% | #VALUE! | 35.3% |
Start small and Make Your Big Mistakes Early.