All Forum Posts by: Tyler Hardy

I'm under contract on a piece of property that I plan on developing into an RV storage yard in Zebulon Georgia. I was going through the motions with Live Oak Bank but their requirements for the percentage of covered storage are making things less feasible. My plan was to hold off on covered until the price of steel levels out. I've now spoken with a number of other lenders and all seem to be leaning towards an SBA package. I love that this offers me 90% financing and the ability to roll in construction costs and even working capitol, but is this the best path? I'd love to find private financing but this is my first development and I'm sure that's not appealing to a private money lender. I talked with Lending One but they apparently only deal in residential property and stay away from commercial. Is the SBA 7(a) the best fit for me? Should I be exploring more creative financing methods? I know this is not a lot of info for such a complicated question, but it never hurts to ask.

Does anyone have any experience in solar lighting for a parking lot, or in this case, a boat and RV storage yard? With the cost and availability of wire and PVC I'm looking into this as an option. My first thoughts are that they would never be as bright as a wired in light but, will it do the job? Anyone have any good experience with a specific brand?

Keywords: self storage, outdoor, str, ltr, Georgia

@Henry Clark

My thoughts on the semi parking exactly. That model wouldn't work in my local area but there are a few areas closer to Atlanta that I've actually looked into. The plan there would be to offer semi-storage, but also overnight parking at a higher rate. That's definitely a "down the road" idea but I'm glad you brought it up.

@Henry Clark you never fail to disappoint with detailed and helpful information. Thank you.

My original plan to develop the small lot is to add parking mainly to test the market. The long-term goal is to eventually develop the entire 2 acres into self-storage specifically focusing on 10x10 and larger units because that's what's lacking in my area. As far as security goes, this property has the advantage of being directly across the street from the sheriff's office which helps. I've already talked to a friend of mine who does security systems about testing a smaller scale security system for this lot that could be upscaled for the larger lot. You mentioned the angel unit to me before and I think that's an amazing idea. As far as the cost of parking goes, and my area I'm seeing about the same, and in some cases more, price per square foot for parking as you normally see for self-storage because of the lack of availability in the area. Thanks again for your input! It's exactly what I'm looking for.

First off, I'd like to say that this is my first dealings in an investment property and yes, I know starting off with a plan of this scale is a little out of the norm. That being said, I'd like to see what you professionals think of my plan and the way I'm going about it. 

I've been putting things in place to develop a storage facility in my area (Pike County GA, i.e. Zebulon) focusing on boat, RV, and general parking storage. I've priced out the paving, fencing, buildings, grading, ect. that would be involved but I've not identified the specific land lot for this. I have a short list including the perfect site but I'm putting a plan in place to do things more methodically. 

My plan is this. There is a small self storage property in the same area as my intended park that is off market, but the owner is ready to sell (it was brought to me by a local broker). This property is a 2 acre lot with only 40, 10x10 units on the site. Nothing else is developed. It's at "full occupancy, and has been for years" as far as the broker is being told, which means this guy is not charging what he should and doesn't have any intention on raising rates. My plan is to purchase this property at around $165-$180k (he's asking $225k) and immediately raise rates and add 1 acre of parking. I've not been told his current rates since I'm not under contract yet (and yes, I called the number on the sign many times but he doesn't answer AT ALL). In adding parking, which is a major need in my area, and raising rates to the local average I should be able to double the NOI within a few months based on my numbers. I've already got a few people that have said they need a spot as soon as I get it available. Then I'm planning on using that increased profitability as leverage/collateral on my larger development. Which would be a 150-170 space parking storage with paved and unpaved, cover and uncovered parking. I'm targeting a mixed market clientele including RV's, boats, cars, and even local companies that I've spoken with just needing a place to park trailers which should give an income diversity throughout the year. Not just a full park in the fall and winter, and an empty park during the spring and summer that many boat and RV lots seem to have an issue with.

My thoughts are that starting small would give me a good test of the local market climate, using a smaller initial capitol investment as a stepping point to a larger amount of capitol (i.e. using the increased equity of the small property as leverage towards the larger park), and also more of the experience I would need to understand the industry as a whole. 

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this. Do you think funding would be an issue on any part of this? Are my thoughts correct on using the small park as leverage? Am I missing something? I've spoken with countless people in the industry in my area, as well as on this forum about this and they all agree that the large park is a great idea. But it's my method of funding it through the small property that I'd like some opinion on. Please don't hold back!

@Henry Clark

...........I can honestly say that I can't promise you that. Is there anything else on the table? Maybe something that doesn't affect my pride? .......or my dawgs?

@Henry Clark

@Bryan Mitchell

Thank you so much for such a detailed list of information! Feel like I would be looking back on this response even years from now. If you wouldn't mind, I'd love to get you on the phone at some point just to chat a little bit more about your business. I can send you a PM with my phone number. Thank you Bryan for putting Henry on this chain!

@Logan Hartle I actually thought about this idea from the very beginning but discounted it because I wouldn't be able to take advantage of the appreciation of the property. Now you've got me thinking more that this might be an option. Even if only to show proof of concept in my area. Thanks.

I'm in the planning stages now for an RV and boat storage facility in my area of Pike county Georgia. There's an urgent need and I know there's a large number of people in the area who have expressed that something needs to be built. I've already narrowed down a few pieces of property, but I'm wondering what sort of budget I should set for this type of a project?

The issue in my area is the dollar per acre. It looks like this property on a major highway is going to run around $30,000 an acre. That's much more than I think a storage facility can justify. The pricing in my area for this type of storage is generally $50 for outdoor storage, and $125 to $150 for covered storage with power for RVs and boats to maintain a trickle charge. I'm in the process of pricing out buildings for the covered areas but my plan was to open the facility as a simple outdoor lot to start bringing in some cash flow up front. Not to mention, build up the word of mouth in the area. Does anyone have experience in these types of facilities? Is there a certain size piece of property that I should be shooting for? Should I look for a cheaper property and focus on outdoor only, or swing for the fences and do a barge lot of nothing but covered? Any advice is good advice. Thanks for reading!

Keywords: Zebulon, Williamson, mini warehouse, Atlanta, Griffin, McDonough, Henry county, Spalding county, camper, trailer

@Jesse Krall I live in Pike County which is Zebulon, Williamson. There's a large number of people moving to this area to get away from the busy Henry and Fayette counties which means there's a huge influx of new construction, but a severe lack of retail properties. I've been debating on starting up a wholesaling effort in my area but don't really know the ins and outs. That being said, I've told plenty of wholesalers that they should be looking in this area because of a number of different factors. PM me and I'll give you some details.