The only magic answer to find a Self-Storage Facility is Consistency

There are self-storage facilities in every market, the key is finding them. Most sellers realize what an amazing asset these properties are, and they have no intention of selling them. However, on occasion time or circumstances change and owners end up being willing to sell. You just need to position yourself to be in the right place at the right time.

There are 3 things that you can do to make sure that you know when an owner decides to sell their self-storage facility. You can send out direct mailers to every self-storage facility owner in your marketplace, you can network with other self-storage owners, and you can make sure that you have commercial Realtors in your area watching for potential properties.

Each one of these things will help you find potential deals, doing all three of them will increase your odds of finding a property and doing them consistently will help ensure that you hear about a property either before it comes on the market or as soon as it comes on the market.

If you really want to be successful in self-storage, you need to set up a marketing campaign to self-storage owners in your area. You need to consistently send out marketing materials to these owners to remind them that you are in the market and when they are ready, you want to buy their self-storage facility. If you have not already seen our marketing campaign, you want to. We have a 6%-8% return on our mailers because we have a tried and true letter, and we are consistent. If you are not marketing, you are not in business.

You should also be networking with other owners. If you don’t have any networking groups in your area, network online. There are self-storage chat rooms where you can meet other owners. Circumstances change and often people need to sell. You can be the first to know when you are networking and talking to other owners. You have sent them a mailer, don’t be afraid to follow up with a phone call. You can chat with them about the joys of owning self-storage and some of the not so fun aspects too. This is a great way to build a relationship, but ultimately, let them know that if they ever want to sell, you want to buy.

Finally, you need to put out feelers with the local commercial Realtors that specialize in self-storage. They will have a different marketing plan than you. They will attract different potential sellers than you will. By letting all of these Realtors know what you are looking for, you will be at the top of their list of people to call when they get a new listing or hear about a new property coming on the market. Make sure that you consistently follow up with these agents, so they know that you are still in the market. Otherwise, they may think that you have already found a property.

The important thing to take away from this article is don’t just do it once. You need to have a daily or weekly system in place. You need to be consistent in your mailers. You need to set time aside daily so that you can network with other owners daily. You need to have an initial conversation with a Realtor and then follow up with them so they know you are serious and that you are still looking. When you are consistent, you will get results. As always, happy investing.