Thoughts on mini storage investment?

[Lukas Zupan]

Hey guys, this is my first question posted, so hopefully it's in the right place!

I am really new to the real estate game, (mere months) and so far have only partnered with local investors who flip and hold SFR's... Despite only working the residential side of things so far, I have been trying to educate myself on all matters commercial as well, and at least be familiar with terminology and the differences etc...

So to my questions really, I recently met with a gentleman who I talked with (a commercial builder and investor) who said he has designed and built several mini storage facilities (primarily outdoor space). We got started talking and he told me about a deal where from land acquisition to turnkey build costs the whole project would be wrapped up in 3.5 million. Now, from what I've learned leveraging single family property acquisition with a 15 year note, or even a 10 year note is like...really amazing. The cashflow as he illustrated for this type of investment for the specific factors on this facility would proceed to net 90k/mo. Now from all i've learned...Those numbers are...insane. Like, too good to be true insane.

Does anyone have experience with the mini storage market who can give some incite? I really don't know much about it at all except when people say "oh, its a cash cow" "oh, its recession-proof" etc... Are those kinds of returns even remotely feasible? Is there any credibility to these numbers? And also, any ideas on the best way to finance a deal like this. Would you have to go in with the lender as equity partners, or would someone be willing to simply gain 8-15% simple interest on their money...?

Thanks everyone,

Lukas