All Forum Posts by: Lance Langenhoven

Hi Amit, 

Well, on this property I have 44 units and I'm able to add probably about another 35 units. So, that's one opportunity. The purchase cap rate was 10% however the rents were way below market so I'm able to raise them. 

Typically, for well run sites the cap rate is going to be closer to 8%. 

Regards,

Lance. 

Self-Storage is an incredible investment and definitely one that you should investigate. It's kind of like multi-family except you don't have to deal with the three T's - tenants, toilets & trash! 

If a tenant in an apartment moves out you have some serious clean-up & fix up to do which costs a bunch typically. When a tenant in storage moves out you almost don't even have to sweep the space but, hey, maybe you'll sweep it clean and presto! You're done! Ready for the next tenant. 

It's also way less risky than buying retail shopping centers. For $2M USD you can purchase (in the Houston area) a strip center with maybe 7 tenants. If one moves out you have a 15% vacancy. If you spent $2M USD buying a self-storage property you would have probably 200 to 300 tenants. So, if one moves out you have a 0.5% vacancy! 

Self-Storage is also MUCH cheaper to develop from scratch compared to both apartment buildings and retail shopping centers. You can also develop it in areas where there is no public water or sewer service so you have far more options to buy cheap land. 

I personally own a boat & rv storage property and I LOVE the business. Can't wait to add to my portfolio!  I own www.CapitolHillStorage.com. 

If anyone is interested in buying or selling Self-Storage in Texas, let me know.... we specialize in brokering those types of deals - www.TheSelfStorageProfessionals.com. 

I'm a commercial broker in The Woodlands, TX. I work a LOT with self-storage and even own my own boat & rv storage property - www.CapitolHillStorage.com. 

But, I have about 2,400 self storage investors & owners that I network with and a bunch of them are looking to expand and buy more. So, I'm actively looking for more self storage properties to sell. 

So, if you know someone that is looking to sell their self-storage property, please could you connect us. Our companies self-storage site is: www.TheSelfStorageProfessionals.com. 

Thanks for your help! 

Regards,

Lance. 

832-483 8655. 

Hi, 

I joined Bigger Pockets today!

Looks like a great site.

I LOVE real estate brokerage and particularly real estate investing. I started out in residential brokerage but graduated to commercial real estate brokerage and also commercial investing.

My favorite investment is land. Why? Well, I've been watching my clients buy and sell many investments over the years and the ones making the biggest returns have been the ones that bought land.  By far. It was not even close. Also, they had almost zero management hassles. No tenants, toilets or trash! But, land does not provide income usually so it's not easy to buy with all cash every time.

So, my next favorite investment after that is self storage. Why? Well, it's kind of lIke multi-family in that you can have 100's of tenants but you don't have the three T's. For a $2,000,000 investment in a retail strip center you would be lucky if you had 7 tenants. So, if one vacated you would have a 15% vacancy. For the same money in self storage you could have 200 tenants. So, if one left you would only have a 0.5 % vacancy. Also, a new tenant in a retail strip center typically asks for TI (Tenant Improvements) which can be expensive. In self storage you simply sweep out the space and you're ready for the next guy. Repairs after a tenant moves out of a multi-family unit can also be costly affecting your returns. 

I've personally invested in a boat and rv storage property and I LOVE the deal. I bought it at a 10% cap rate January 2016 and the rents are soon going up by about 25% because they were so low!!! See www.CapitolHillStorage.com. 

As a broker we've also created a special niche focusing specifically on self storage... www.TheSelfStorageProfessionals.com. 

Our main company brokerage site is www.TheProfessionalsGrp.com.

Looking forward to connecting!

Regards, 

Lance.