All Forum Posts by: Michael Wagner

 HI Jason,

I echo the thoughts of the other posters.  SS is an excellent business.  Without exaggeration, it has changed my life beyond what I could describe here.  It definitely can be a ticket to FREEDOM.  You can check out my BP blog below for an overview but I would also recommend you check out the videos mentioned above and consider the SS workshop in Cincinatti.  I have been before and was so impressed that I am going to this one too.  Once you've read the other posts/blogs on here or checked out the Videos, feel free to pose specific questions here for members to chime in on.  

 Regarding the "no shows". I found the same thing to be true of apartments as well.  I also struggled with when I first got into storage.  ONe thing that I have found to be helpful is to incorporate the following into my "pitch".  I make sure to tell people that the reason we are able to beat the competition on price is that we don't pay someone to man the office 60 hours per week but instead we do everything by appointment.  I then ask them to kindly call me if something comes up and they need to cancel as we are making a special trip to meet them.  This has helped dramatically reduce the number of no shows from around 25% to less than 10%.

The financing is a big part of it and there are tons of forums on here that talk about how you can creatively fund deals with less than 20% down on this website. Use the search function and peruse til you are blue in the face. There's a lot more to managing a rental portfolio than buying it though, especially if you are still going to be half a world away. Where does your interest in apartment complexes come from? Have you looked at other REI niches, mobile home, self storage, parking lots, 2-4 family, etc, etc, etc? I chose to start in 2-4 family because of the low barrier to entry and lower (comparatively speaking) risk. Losing a $50K house would suck but it would suck a lot less than losing a $500K complex. Anyways, just some things to think about. REI is not "mailbox money" (at least not initially). You have to get very smart and then work very hard and usually the paychecks don't start rolling in right away so you have to be willing to work for deferred compensation at first.

 My guess is that each of the small 5 x 5 units had its own lock? If not, then the only conceivable way for that to work would be for it to be accessed only with an employee present so as to ensure that customers dont mess with other people's stuff.  This is technically warehousing though rather than self storage and brings with it liability and insurance issues which require attention.  Self storage is advantageous over warehousing because the owner/employees do not have access to the customer's belongings.  Because of this insurance costs are far less for storage.

I'm looking to connect with storage owners in the Greater Cincinnati Area.  Any fellow BP'ers fall into that category or know someone who does?

 Kevin,  The articles of organization is your official filing document.  BEyond that, the only thing that NYS cares about is that you publish and file the affidavit of publication (which you must renew for $8 every two years).  The "bylaws" you mentioned are officially called and Operating Agreement and it is an internal document that lists the members, roles and responsibilities etc.  Because you are a sole member, it is pretty simple to put together.  Guessing you can find a template on line that you could plug and play which would be good enough for banks etc.  No sense paying an atty a bunch of money for one.  Let me know if you have trouble finding one and I might be able to scare one up and share with you.

 The small towns outside of the city offer can offer good returns.  I think the City vs. suburbs argument is more true when you talk about penfield, webster, fairport vs. the city.  Once you get out into the more rural areas, it can work.  I have a 4 family in Newark that rents for $1820 per month. Cash flow works on that one.  My challenge is now that I live in Victor, the distance makes it a pain.  My manager handles all my city properties but this one is too far away for him so it falls back onto me to manage.  

 Hey Jesse,

First, Thank you for your service.  

Second, your planned path into real estate mimics what I did pretty closely.  I started out with residential units and then transitioned to self storage which is where I focus all my efforts now.  I am in Victor NY and would love to meet up when you are back in town.  Feel free to contact me as the time nears if you want to set something up.  

Mike

 Any luck finding what you were looking for?  BP'ers love updates:)

I am considering teaching a class at the Rochester Brainery (if they will have me:).  The topic would be an overview of self storage investing.  Just throwing this out there to the local BP community to see if there is any real interest.  Is self storage investing something you would want to spend an evening getting smart on?  Details to be determined.  This is just a feeler to gauge potential interest. Hope to hear from friends and strangers alike. Your honesty is appreciated and no offense will be taken.