Self Storage- What is the best City in the US to invest in?

We have 8 locations in 5 towns/cities. We use a 40 mile radius in which to build or buy. So I have never wondered what town/city was the best in the US to invest in, all this time. Helping some folks out, I named a few. Later thought I didn't really give them any affirmable information. Being a former CPA, Controller and CFO, I sat down and developed an analysis.

As I was building a "great and wonderful" template, I stopped; I realized there are really only a couple of overarching factors. Unit Price, Land Price, and on the expense side Property taxes. Will let you research Property Taxes. Generally speaking all other Capex costs and Expenses are the same no matter what market you are in.

At the very bottom of this template is a ratio of Annual Revenue versus Total Capex. These are actual cities I have researched before.

- Only one of them has large REITS in them. Populations 60,000 to 1,000,000. Large REITS will buy you out once they reach your town.

-Two of them, the market really doesn't use Sparefoot. This means both, you would be number 1 in marketing using Sparefoot, and two, they don't need extra marketing because they are full.

- Three of these, zoned land is readily available.

- If we weren't done investing in new Locations, I would be building in Location 1 and 3. 4 is good also.

No I didn't really answer which town/city in the US is the best. But I have only so much money and these 4 look great. This is not an investment analysis, but a market analysis tool. There are several more factors once you pick the city you want to invest in. Demand versus supply. You have the format, now do your data analysis.

Loc 1Loc 2Loc 3Loc 4UnitsPricePricePricePrice10x1015090no sparefoot13010 x15270100
22010 x 20300125
220




UnitsNumberNumberNumberNumber10x102020202010 x1520020020020010 x 20200200200200




Revenue1404000561600#VALUE!1087200Occupancy0.90.90.90.9




Act Revenue1263600505440#VALUE!978480




Building unit cost4200420042004200




Land 4 acres4444$/acre100000200000100000200000Fence50000500005000050000Auto gate25000250002500025000Electric70000700007000070000Security60000600006000060000buildings1764000176400017640001764000Water????



Office????



Hydrant????



Storm pond??








Total2369000276900023690002769000




Ratio Rev/cost53.3%18.3%#VALUE!35.3%

Start small and Make Your Big Mistakes Early.