Advice for running an out of state self storage facility

[Dan Selleck]

Just recently sold our home and thinking about getting into self storage. The only problem is we live in a *very* expensive part of the country, so our only option would be to purchase and manage a facility out of state.

We have some options from our home state (which is much cheaper), but this would be our first storage facility, so I'd love feedback from the community or resources I could leverage in order to make a better decision.

Thanks in advance.

[Josh Anderson]

If you want to be as hands off as possible you’ll want to look for a 150+ unit facility to be able to afford an onsite manager. I have a small facility that i bought out of state, but its only 77 units so I take all the calls. To take care of the site walks and overlooking late units I hired a local high school kid and pay him $50/trip to got the facility. He sends me pictures everytime he goes so I can confirm what he’s doing. Helps me maintain the property from far while giving him some easy money and learning about the industry.