All Forum Posts by: Mike Carr

Thanks for posting the articles Jonathan and breaking them down.

Not to hijack the thread but how has everyone's strategies changed moving forward? Wait for only the extremely good deals and stay cash heavy?  Plan to hold longer than usual?  

Read this thread a couple of times. Extremely motivating to push further and do big things. I'm in the beginning phases of syndicating self storage. Your posts have been great to read. I'm not far from Glen Mills so if you ever want to get lunch/coffee let me know. Congrats on the success. 

Sitelink is very easy to work with and handles just about everything. You can set up a corporate account that can manage and access multiple facilities. 

I had a flip fall through. The numbers were thin but I fell in love with the house and area. My gut was never fully in the project either. When it fell through I realized how I could have been burned by a few variables going south. I learned quickly that gut instincts are important and to never fall in love with the house/area...rather, fall in love with the numbers. 

  Absolute gold. Thanks for your insight. Definitely helped.

In your experience, what is the average asset management fee?

Check out "trachte". They sell micro units and packages to build units. Also, make sure that basement is completely dry and stays dry. I would make it a requirement for the renters insurance to cover everything they are storing...that would take the risk off of you in the event some water gets in the basement. Also consider keeping a dehumidifier running at all times. 

If you can find a spot outside then I would consider a shipping container thats already fitted with roll up doors....simple Google search to find a company who does that. It's not a fixed building so no permits should be necessary...since its pretty much a large shed. 

I would be worried about finding a management company or even a new manager if the current one leaves. I would also be concerned about an exit strategy. Not sure how long you plan on holding this but not as many buyers look in small towns so it has the possibility of sitting on market for a long time.

On a positive note...im guessing you could raise rents and not have as many move outs because of how far the competition is away from you. 

I have some questions on handling and structuring multiple syndications. (Im in the process of learning syndication structure so excuse my ignorance on the subject.)

Once I get a few deals going at the same time I will need employees to handle paperwork, marketing, management, organization, etc. I plan on having them under one LLC. This LLC will also find properties for future syndications and assist each facility with day to day management. This LLC will not hold any properties or have equity in any properties...just for finding, organizing, and managing. Each facility will be held in a different LLC.... I will be the GP and the investors bringing the money will be the LP's.

1. Should I use my personal name as the GP or use an LLC as the GP in each deal? If its the LLC that's suggested to be used, should the main LLC with the employees be a Series LLC. That way I can use a seperate branch of that llc as the GP in each deal.

2. As far as taking an asset management fee. Should that flow directly to me (the GP) or to the main LLC with the employees...because that is technically doing the asset management part. My thoughts process is: whichever entity is taking the asset management fee will be treated like a 3rd party company to the LLC holding the property.

3. Should the main LLC with employees be an S corp?

Also, my current set up looks like this: an LLC that holds a few SFR rentals and an S corp that manages them.

Hope this isn't too confusing. Thanks for any help.

I've been following the big companies to see which states they are focusing on and it's really all over the place. Gems can be found anywhere...a poorly managed facility can bring in great money once the right systems are in place in any market. An experienced investor told me to focus on my local market for the first few deals because it will be easier to maintain control and build the necessary systems to properly manage it. Once those systems are established, then it will be easier to move to other markets. If you are looking for emerging markets, also look at where the big investors in multifamily  are putting their money. Hope that helps. I plan on attending one of Scott Meyers events as well. 

Mark, I am not trying to be greedy by any means. That is the structure I have seen plenty of times in self storage. The deals we're all funded quickly. Maybe they did target unsophisticated investors. Either way, I'm just trying to keep up with industry standard from what I have been exposed to.