All Forum Posts by: Scott Meyers

The three-day event teaches real estate investors and entrepreneurs how to find, evaluate, finance, purchase, develop and manage Self Storage Facilities Nationwide using real world case studies and analysis. Please visit www.selfstorageinvesting.com

Hey Frank!

I'm partial to Self Storage for obvious reasons.  To mention just a few: historically recession-resistant, simple business model (buy it by the gallon & rent it by the shot), similar to multi-family but with a much lower expense ratio, and is typically always in demand (unless you come across a market that is overbuilt and therefore over-supplied).

Please let me know if I can be of any help.

Good luck!

Scott 

Hey Ronald!

Welcome.  I live right outside Indianapolis. Please let me know if I can be of any help.

Take care.

Scott

Hey Taylor!

Please note that there are a few ways to get the knowledge you'll need in Self Storage investing. You can certainly piece together the articles, blogs, and videos from your local & national Self Storage Association, or through Inside Self Storage, or You-Tube (and soon Bitchute) Videos.

Also, there are many, many articles in BIGGER POCKETS over the years giving good information. Yes, AJ is a wealth of information, as is Michael Wagner & Henry Clark, and Scott Krone is, of course, an authority & expert too.

If you go this route, please note that just about everything you need to know & do basically falls in these 4 categories: Finding, Evaluating, Purchasing, & Managing Existing Self Storage Facilities. I say that because 1) it's true, and 2) unless you have a system, the information is NOT going to come at you structured, and so you're not lost, keep your bearings by realizing that is the roadmap simply stated. If you add in Development & Conversions plus the 4 listed above, that runs the full gamut.

And in the end, there are a handful of us who have a structured process and system that works (but only if you work).

Please let me know if I can be of any help.

Good luck!

Scott

Dee, as Zach mentioned, there's too little info to know if it's a good deal without seeing the actual NOI. It may be too late now, but you should make sure you REALLY understand the nuances of how to calculate the True NOI of a Self-Storage Facility. We have helped many people avoid making big mistakes when taking the owner's P & L, (which is NEVER 100% accurate) and get to within dollars of the actual NOI.

Just my $.02 as I review the thread - But this is what we do - we educate people.  And sometimes, it's too late, and the market provides the education....

Either way, Keep us posted and let us know how it's progressing and how we can help from here. 

Talk soon. 

Hey @Emali Taylor!

Sure, there's always Pros & Cons, unintended consequences, tradeoffs, etc.  

Investing, like a job, can be summed up this way: you have to do what makes the most sense for you and your family and causes the least amount of headache & heartache.  

Certainly, there are some "do-overs" I'd like to have and/or things I wish perhaps we'd done different, but all of that is water under the bridge now. So over the long haul - no regrets.  For me, the juice has indeed been worth the squeeze.

I like my life (specifically the work/life balance), I like my family, and I love Self Storage.  (Not necessarily in that order though.)

Please let me know if I can be of any help.

Scott

Hey Dean!

You should join the specific State Self Storage Association that your facility is in and then use the one they recommend.

Self Storage is basically the same model  & concept nationwide, however there are certainly specific rules & laws that differ from state to state.  In the end, the SSA for your respective state ought to be considered the final authority.  

Good luck!

Scott 

Hey Jon!

(And thank you @Ronak Shah for the shout-out.)

There are a few ways to get the knowledge you'll need in Self Storage investing.  You can piece together articles, blogs, and videos from your local & national Self Storage Association; Inside Self Storage; and You-Tube Videos.

Also, there are many, many articles in BIGGER POCKETS over the years giving good information.  Henry Clark has recently been blowing up the forums with all kinds of details and sharing of his knowledge and experience.  And Scott Krone is an authority & expert too.

If you go this route, please note that just about everything you need to know & do basically falls in these 4 categories: Finding, Evaluating, Purchasing, & Managing Existing Self Storage Facilities. I say that because 1) it's true, and 2) unless you have a system, the information is NOT going to come at you structured, and so you're not lost, keep your bearings by realizing that is the roadmap simply stated. If you add in Development & Conversions plus the 4 listed above, that runs the full gamut.  

And in the end, there are a handful of us who have a structured process and system that works (but only if you work) - e.g. Mark Helm, Mike Wagner, AJ Osborne, and of course myself.  I'm more partial to the latter, but I'm sure one would expect that, right?

Please let me know if I can be of any help.

Good luck!

Scott

Hey Emali!

Self Storage has indeed been good to me and my family. We use to invest in residential and then multi-family but made the switch about 15 years ago and never looked back.

Granted some folks would say that you ought to hedge your bets through several Asset Classes and there is certainly some validity to that, but I (and many others) are quite bullish on Self Storage, and it is what I solely focus on.

Self Storage is historically Recession-Resistant, so it does well in both good times & downturns.  In the end, we're in the transition & trauma business (death, divorce, downsizing, moving).

Plus, there are no toilets, tenants, or trash.  And the pricing model is similar to Apartments & such, but it has a lower expense ratio (~30-35% vs. ~50%).  And did I mention the reduction in headaches and heartache by not having tenants, toilets, or trash?

Please let me know if I can be of any help.

Good luck!

Scott 

Hey Mark!

(And thank you @Taylor L. for the shout-out.)

I like to say that there are 11 Ways to Fill your Lead Funnel, but in the end they boil down to two: On-Market & Off-Market.  They each have their Pros & Cons.

With Off-Market you want to talk to as many Owners as you can and find those who are serious about Selling (Death, Divorce, or Done).  You can do this through Mailers, Phone Calls, & Site Visits.  (I'd do all three, in that order.)

With all Marketing, there's a tradeoff between time and money. You can do things that cost more money and take less time (e.g. renting a Billboard is a very good example of a lot money and minimal time.  * * * Please Note that I am NOT saying you should advertise on a billboard, this is just an illustration to show the trade off between time and money. * * *)

And "driving for dollars" would be an example of minimal money (just gas $) but lots of time.  

Try to split the difference.  Certainly a site visit is going to be quite effective, as in the end this IS a "people-business" so you'll basically need to get eyeball to eyeball with the Owner.  If it's in town, that's great, but if you're making a day-trip out of it and travelling a ways to get to the particular market, will the Owner even be there?  Do they want to sell?  And so forth...

If you can cull this list beforehand, Site Visits will be quite effective. Then it just comes down to stopping by with permission or unannounced - what's your comfort zone?  Again, each has its Pros & Cons.  

Everyone has their comfort level, but in the end - "Fortune favors the bold!".

I hope this helps.

Good luck!

Scott