All Forum Posts by: Brandon Hobbs

Agree with @Michael Wagner.  I have done the same.  Smaller facilities like this will operate just fine with an online portal and a call center.  There are companies that can handle both.  You could try and find out if one of the tenants is interested in being your "part time maintenance" person.  You can pay by the hour or I have actually created a schedule of rates before where they are paid a flat fee for certain activities.  If you do hire one of the tenants, don't trade out for rent.  They pay rent, you pay them as a 1099 sub.  It's much cleaner that way.  You can also try posting an add for part time work on Craigslist, or if it is a more rural community you can call some local churches and see if they know of a retired person that might be interested in helping, do the same with local hardware stores.   

SBA is good for the right situation but does have some drawbacks so it really depends on your plans for the property.  If you decide to go the SBA route, look at Live Oak Bank.  They specialize in SBA storage lending.

Happy to help further, feel free to reach out.

@Ronak Shah I can only speak to @Scott Meyers system. Have no knowledge of the other programs. I attended @Scott Meyers program approx 3 or 4 years ago. Learned how to find storage deals, analyze and value storage deals, and fund storage deals. To this day I still use the valuation spreadsheet that we were given to analyze properties. Have acquired multiple off market properties using the means and methods Scott teaches in his program. I have also used one of the lenders that was a presenter at Scott‘s academy and specializes in storage properties. Have also found @Scott Meyers to be helpful and available long after the academy was over.

@Nicholas Lohr Absolutely. Same concept and actually easier than SFR to track if you know how to analyze a P&L.

Agree with all of the previous comments.  We have been able to purchase a couple of facilities in Texas where we still have very compressed cap rates in storage.  That said we might look at 6 deals a week, and have only purchased 2 over the last 2 years.  So it takes a lot of work to find a deal worth pursuing.  The biggest headwind the industry faces is over supply.  Most of the major MSA's are already oversupplied with more inventory scheduled to be delivered over the next 12-18 months.  So, like @Michael Wagner previously mentioned you really have to do a deep dive on the local market of any facility you are looking at purchasing.  Yes there is money to be made, but it takes hustle and creativity to find deals that make sense.  IMO, there will be somewhat of a shopping spree to take advantage of in approx. 12-24 months.  We are getting things in order to take advantage of those opportunities when they come, while "sticking to our guns" on the deals we are looking at now by staying conservative. 

Take a look at Scott Meyers program for some good education.

Hey Todd, it depends on your market and your investment criteria.  Is this your first commercial property?  First storage facility?  Are you talking about buying an existing facility or development?  Are you looking for yield?  Cash flow?  Upside?  @Ron Fletcher is spot on about saturation.  There are formulas that will help you calculate the demand for storage in your area.  Storage is a very hot asset class and there is saturation going on in many markets that is resulting in lower occupancy and concessions.  When I got started, I got into an existing smaller facility that I was 100% positive would cash flow from day one.  If you are looking to get into the storage business I would highly suggest checking out Scott Meyers courses on self storage investing.  Best of luck!

Sean, in addition to being a commercial investor I am also in the mold remediation business.  Have been for 20 years.  I now live and work in Austin TX but I am originally from the panhandle, and am still hold an active mold license in FL.  I am very familiar with most of the contractors and mold consultants in your area.  I am also certified in water damage restoration.  A remediation contractor should not be performing any testing or assessments.  There are laws on the process.  I'm happy to offer assistance but would be difficult to do over this platform.  Feel free to message me directly and we could set up a phone call.     

@Gloria Grotjan

I am in agreement with @Scott Meyers and @David Thompson.  Regional banks love self storage.  Also check out Live Oak Bank in North Carolina who specializes in Self Storage lending.  They specialize in SBA lending and have very favorable lending criteria on Self Storage properties.  I have used Live Oak in the past and they are great to deal with.  Feel free to reach out to me directly if you would like some real world advise.  

@John Rutherford

I live in the Austin TX area now but am a Florida Panhandle native, lived there for 15+ years and have seen first hand the need for affordable housing.  I was just there last week.  Affordable housing continues to be a huge opportunity all throughout the panhandle.  Please reach out to me if you have any deals worth pursuing.  I am looking to invest anywhere between PCB and Pensacola.  Good luck.

@Jeff Banky 

I live in Austin, but I'm a big fan of Killeen and I'm actively pursuing opportunities in Killeen.  It's not a sexy market but it's a solid rental market.  Ft Hood is huge and is not going anywhere.  It is a linear blue collar/military market, similar to Memphis.  It's not a strong appreciation market but it is a good cash flow market.  I own a self storage property in this market and looking to purchase a multifamily property in the Killeen area sooner than later.  Feel free to reach out, I am happy to give you a local's input.

Looking for suggestions for a class/seminar on syndication.  Was scheduled to attend the Secrets of Successful Syndication seminar that the Real Estate Guys host in Dallas but have a schedule conflict.