Where Should You Start If You Want to Invest in Self-Storage?

The first thing that you should do if you want to invest in self-storage is do a self-storage self-assessment. You need to know where you are at so that you know what you need to do and learn in order to achieve your goals. If you haven’t set any goals yet, it might make it hard to create a road map to get there.

Whenever you are starting something new, you need to take stock of your current situation. In this case, what real estate experience do you have? Is any of that experience commercial real estate or is it all residential. There is a big difference between the two.

If you have no commercial real estate experience, then you need to start building a commercial team. While you are building that team, you need to ask them what the differences are. Talk to your lender. Find out how commercial lending works. Find out what you can do to maximize your purchasing power. Find out how long it takes to get commercial financing and find out about SBA loans and other programs that are available to help you get started.

You also need to find a new real estate agent. Your residential agent is not equipped to help you with commercial real estate. They may have access to some of the properties through the MLS, but they won’t know the ins and outs of commercial real estate. If you want them to continue to work with you, have them bring in a commercial Realtor to train them on the first few transactions.

You are going to need a different team to help you with your self-storage projects. You typically don’t get a feasibility study to flip a house. If you are going to buy a self-storage property you may need a feasibility study in order to get your financing approved. You will need one to convince investors to invest in your project. There are great companies out there who can get you great studies.

Once you know where your weaknesses are, then you can start to find ways to turn those weaknesses into strengths. Just like any new job, you should consider training. Most people get at least a week, if not longer, of on the job training with a mentor before they are left on their own. If you can’t find a local mentor, consider finding a national trainer who can help you navigate the ins and outs of self-storage. You don’t have to do this alone.

Now that you know what your weaknesses are, what are your strengths? What are you good at? If you have been successful in residential real estate, you are probably good at marketing and networking. You will continue to do these; you will just change who you are targeting.

As you break down where you want to get to, then you can start creating a plan of how to get there. Allow yourself to be new. This is a new adventure. You are going to find lots of ways not to be successful while you are learning how to be successful. Find great mentors who can get you through the learning curve faster and as always, happy investing.