All Forum Posts by: Joshua Watts

@Nik Moushon

Thanks Nik!! In the town with the strip center that I am working on average standard self storage is around .50 cents per sq foot and climate control is about .75 cents per sq foot. Small units cost more per sq foot but the larger units are less per foot.

@Justin Frank

Hi Justin thanks for your nice comments and questions. My post are my way of giving back and to inspire others. Anyone can do this I did not have a rich uncle that gave me tons (or any) money to get started. Just do what I did and start small and grow your real estate portfolio of properties and as you grow you will learn the trade. Also do what I do and read and learn all you can about real estate and specialize in one area of real estate and get really good at it. (I specialize in single family homes up to small apartment buildings (under 50 units) and self storage)

To be honest I don't even know how many storage units I will end up having nor do I really care....Sound crazy don't it.... What I focus on is net rentable sq feet,  my unit break down, and my average price per square foot. I want to know I have a good unit break down (that is a good mix of units that way I don't end up having a lot of small units or large units that I can not rent out because everyone wants larger or smaller units that I did not build. Make sense?)

When doing something like this you can expect 70% coverage. So in my case the building is 24,000 sq feet and I will be able to install about 18,500 sq feet of rentable space. (a little over 70% this time but good rule of thumb) My average price per sq foot is .75 cents. You see you never really care about how many doors there is. Another rule of thumb is someone in the city will want a little smaller unit and outside the city your bigger unit will come into play. Phase one is completely installing all of the climate controls units in the 24,000 sq foot building and adding parking outside. After phase one is 80% full we will have good cash flow (around a 13% cap rate) Phase 2 is outdoor units and RV/boat cover parking after phase 2 is 80% we will have really good cash flow with a cap at around 15-17%.

As for a demand/feasibility study I did not. But I do know that we turn down around 150 people or so last summer because we were 100% full and there has not been any self storage added in the area.

Here is an update on my strip center self storage redevelopment. Everything is going well the center has been completely clean out and now I only have four walls, a roof, and floor. (we still have the ac(s) on the roof and the main electric panel) The city is making us install some firewalls that way I will not have to install a sprinkler system. I meet with an engineering company that way I can get some drawing on the firewalls. Until I get the drawing my GC will not be able to pull a building permit. So I am hoping the engineering company does not take to long. Other than that phase one of the project includes outside parking yet again the city is thinking they want me to have the planing commission approve the parking lot or at least have the city planner sign off on it. With that being said so far the city has been good to work with and they seem to be willing to let me do what I would like to so far on the project. At the same time I am getting pricing with my subcontractors and working with my self storage design guy due to the units having to move around because of the firewalls. See below for a picture. 

I would be  interested in going. 

@Justin Frank

Thanks man. I enjoy sharing and hope it helps others to become inspired. Anyone  can do this if they set there mind to it and keep there eyes open. 

I enjoy self storage. Good luck to you! Who was your supplier on the RV site components?

Here is after I completed the project

Investment Info:

Single-family residence buy & hold investment in Jasper.

Purchase price: $150,000

Cash invested: $35,000

Bought a house in a good neighborhood with owner financing with 2% interest and a 30 year amortization with a 10 year balloon payment. The house has 2400 sq feet 4 bedrooms and 3 full baths with 5.5 acres of land. I paid seller 20% down and had to make about $35,000.00 in repairs. After cutting down 150 trees, installing a new driveway, a new roof, and smaller things I was able to rent out the house for $1,500.00 per month. Here is a before and after pictures of the project.

What made you interested in investing in this type of deal?

We specialize in single family homes up to small apartment complexes along with self storage.

How did you find this deal and how did you negotiate it?

This house has sit empty for years when I noticed that the owner rented it. Well that did not last long (He said that they did not pay him for months). After he finally removed the renters I saw the owner mowing the two foot tall grass and we made an offer on the spot.

How did you finance this deal?

Owner financing 20% down 2% interest!

How did you add value to the deal?

$35,000 in repairs and cleaning then rented house out.

What was the outcome?

Buy and hold 800 cash flow.

Lessons learned? Challenges?

Cutting down 150 trees is hard work.

Did you work with any real estate professionals (agents, lenders, etc.) that you'd recommend to others?

No I did not work with a real estate agent. Cold call well cold drive by owner in yard

@Jesse Harris

Your question was. "Would you care to tell what your down payment was?"

I don't mind sharing the details at all. My down payment was other real estate that I own worth $975,000.00. The bank asked for 20% down yet I had little money but I did have real estate that was paid off. So what the bank (some banks that is) will do is give you 80% credit to the valve of the real estate that you pledge. My $975,000.00 in real estate is like $780,000.00 cash to the bank. I needed 772,200.00 down to close the deal. I hope this helps everyone to understand if not feel free to add a comment or question. Also if you are just starting your real estate investing remember you don't have to sell to trade up. This tactic also works if you don't have your real estate all the way paid off. By not selling you don't have to paid the tax that comes with selling and you are able to build your real estate empire faster.

@Scott Meyers

Thanks for the comment! I just New if  I was able to buy this place I could make a good profit. It was completely miss priced.