Self Storage Acquisition

[Kim Uhland]

Hello BP,

My background is in self storage (operations, development, acquisitions) but it’s been a while since I’ve been on the acquisitions side of things. My experience is at the corporate level so I’m hoping that you all can give me an idea of what a typical deal would look if I were to acquire something personally.

• LOI vs. Contract-ten years ago LOI's were prominent, is this still the case or are most buyers skipping straight to contract
• Financing structure-LTV, seller carry back (if any), rates
• Are most deals funded using conventional or SBA financing?
• Lending used to be so tight that you almost had to secure financing before isolating a property. Is this still the case or will I have a wide variety of options once I have a facility tied up?
• Will lenders consider funding a deal that is in a different state from my base of operations?
• I’m comfortable running the numbers, is it worthwhile to have a broker represent my side of the deal?

Any input is much appreciated.

Kim