I am an inspiring REI with a little bit of personal experience in acquiring and flipping properties, I started this in my early 20's and the decisions blessed me into early homeownership. I am now looking to start moving into it in the better sense of a profession to keep the momentum going!

I have had a deep-seated interest in self storage for the past several years ever since I learned about it through my husband's prior occupation of being a storage District Manager for the Southwest region. But like many, we have been stuck in the "where/how do I start?" phase. Over the course of 2023, he lead the charge in some attempts to secure a deal, one privately and one through an investor, but they never really left the "analysis" stage very long story short. So I consider them practice rounds ;)

We are also part of the Arizona Self Storage Association which has been a massive plethora of valuable insight and information; several connections we made through the Association have been absolutely near-endless of resources and so helpful! (Fun fact, we ran a local moving company together and had originally joined the ASSA for business development and lead generation purposes)

I just started analyzing (and am very much on the verge of proceeding with!) my first deal of 2024 and trying again in self-storage. I'm looking at a raw property as I am okay with doing some hoofwork (and frankly, I am trying to be as budget-conciuos as possible). I'm currently in contact with a realtor on one that is loaded with potential - immediately off of a major freeway exit ramp with the ability for signage facing the freeway with the potential of being a medium-sized facility. It's in mixed zoning, and I have already confirmed with county I can rezone it to commercial and received all the instruction on how to move forward with that process. I already received the flood reports and the risk is low (nearly non existent). It's priced right, and I will be owner carrying.

Quick stats without oversharing, it's in a small low-density residential area and there's a U-haul self storage with motor vehicle storage nearby. The vicinity has projected mid and high density growth of 30,000 people in the next coming years which for this area, is quite a boom.

Now. The are some avenues I am considering with this deal.

1. Rezone it, obtain site plans and permit to build the facility, and flip it with the approved plans. (short-mid term)

2. All of the above but instead of selling, move through with construction, fill vacancy, then sell

3. Same as #2 but continue holding

4. Same as #1 but working with an existing large company in their partnership programs to complete the project and collect royalties (basic research and industry knowledge, could take anywhere between 2-4 years before royalties are received)

I know all are profitable, and obviously in these scenarios (or REI as a whole!) committing long term yields more results. With where I stand now, anything beyond #1 I will need some financial backing from an investor and generally speaking, a good team to fully and properly execute (which I am 100% open to)! I'm feeling the most with #1 as I would love a quick ROI and frankly, the least amount of risk. However the rest still sound great, too and I haven't written anything off.

I'm going to pop into the ASSA and see what I can conjure up there, but I definitley wanted to introduce myself on BP as well! I'm feeling really excited about this no matter which avenue I take with it, and I fully hope I meet some amazing people along the way! I'd love to hear your thoughts and pick some brains as I'm always willing to learn ;)

Phoenix, Arizona

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