Self-Storage Newbie - 30 Days to Launch

[Ryder Meehan]

Greetings BP Self-Storage gurus,

I'm a 5 year active multi-family investor and landlord but am closing on my first self-storage in about 30 days.  I picked it up for a song when looking for commercial as my bandwidth managing residential is getting stretch with my day job commitments.  

Here's the basckground: It's a $100K small, 60-unit facility that has been terribly managed.  Only 10 units are occupied and current on rent with just 1 move in the last 2 years.  Every other facility in town in 85%+ full.  It's run down - many of the doors are hard-to-impossible to open, it needs painting and marketing in non-existent.

I live in San Francisco and it's in Bonham, Texas so I'm hiring for a local part-time manager paid on a commission basis.  Maintenance is already schedule for the doors and painting so marketing and "features" are where I'm seeking wisdom.  Current prices are 20% below the competition.

 want to fill those 50 units and fill them fast at market rate.  Bonham is a small country town of around 10,000 people.  I'm thinking website launch, newspaper classifieds, Craigslist, Google AdWords geo-targeted to the city, a large storefront signage and building personal relationships visiting realtors, local businesses that might need storage and banks.

Beyond maintenance I could add features like security cameras, moving supplies retail, and graveling the area around the units - currently it's just grass.

Here's the advice I would love: when you take over a facility, what are the first things you do to promote it?  What works the best, especially if you are in rural and less tech-saavy market.  What features do you find most appealing to clients?  What should I plan for in the weeks leading up to taking the keys and what should I do after taking over?

Thank you!