Consistency is the Answer to Finding Self-Storage Properties
Every market has self-storage facilities. Some are for sale for top dollar, some are family treasures that will never be sold, and some are in great need of being rescued. Your job is to find the properties that are being mismanaged or neglected and turn them into something spectacular. You never know when someone is going to want to sell their property. Time and circumstances change and as a result, owners decide to sell. Your job is to position yourself so that when they decide to sell you are the first person that they call. There are 3 things that you can do to position yourself in a way that you will hear about a property as soon as it is available.
- 1- Send out direct mailers on a regular basis to property owners.
- 2 - Make sure that you get familiar with their properties and with the owners. Take the time to get to know them and network with them in a way that will create a level of trust.
- 3 - Have a great team of Commercial Real Estate Agents looking for opportunities for you to invest in.
While each of these is a great way to find properties on its own, by doing all three, you increase your chances of hearing about a great opportunity first. So how do you successfully set up a mailing campaign? There are companies that will help you build a current mailing list of self-storage owners with properties that fit your investment criteria. Reach out to them and start building your mailing list. Make sure that you don’t just send out one mailer. That is a waste of time and money. You need to make sure that you have a system in place to remind owners that you exist so that when the right time comes, you are the one that they come to first. You also need to constantly update your mailing campaign.
Once you have sent out your letter, follow up with a phone call. Make sure that you know who you are calling and what their facility looks like. This is easy to do with Google Earth. You can see the facility as you are talking to the owners. Make sure that you take notes so that when you talk to them again in 6 months or a year, you can remember their dog’s name who won’t stop barking in the background. Build a relationship so that they want to talk to you next time instead of dodging your call.
Don’t forget to network with other owners online. Find discussion boards, talk to other property owners, answer questions that are posted. Position yourself as someone who is capable of buying a self-storage facility and successfully running that facility. The more people think you know, the more likely they are to come to you when the time is right to sell.
Finally, make sure that you are networking with commercial Real Estate agents in every market that you want to buy self-storage. These agents are marketing and building relationships too. They may end up with a listing that you weren’t able to get simply because they are a Realtor. By creating relationships where the Realtor knows that you are a ready and able buyer, you can make sure that you are one of the first people that they call after they get a self-storage listing.
Make sure that you are keeping the communication lines open with your Realtors. If you allow them to believe that you are no longer interested or that you may have found another property, you may not be in the top 5 of people that they call. Nurture that relationship so that they always know that you are in the market and ready to buy.
The most important thing that you can do is start. Don’t wait another day. If you don’t feel like you know how to do this then reach out. Find mentors and trainers who can walk you through the steps. Self-storage is a great investment. You can be a successful self-storage investor. Take the time to start building the relationships that you need in order to buy properties. As always, happy investing.
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