Fairbanks offers a unique market with its own set of considerations.

The newest outdoor is still advertising 1st month free as they haven't filled up, and I spoke with the climate controlled owner/builder yesterday (he's a pretty big REI in the area), and he made it sound like he hadn't leased a single climate controlled unit since they opened a few weeks ago.I recently purchased a 140x45 warehouse with low ceilings and had debated doing self storage, but my market seems very saturated.

I'm in the Tampa market.  

@Manny Del ValGreat markets!

Are you in the Atlanta Market?

This will allow you to enter the market earlier with funds saved up.

What is the property appreciation in that market? 

Study the market.

Your realtor will be able to give you a much more detailed market specific answer but with house hacking and a VA loan it should be possible to get 0 out of pocket.

For all methods you would want to find a market that has strong employment rates, strong income rates for the market, and is a growing or an established market.