We paid back the 401K loan in 8 months and best yet paid all the interest back to myself vs. the bank.Aug 2023 - I went to my local bank and got approved for a HELOC on my primary residence. 

So it takes comprehensive knowledge of the market trends, zoning laws, the local municipalities approval process, survey cost, subsoil conditions, irrigation requirements, development cost, utilities (gas, power and internet), city water or well water, city sewer or POSW to name just a few...A builder developed the farm field next to our SD, bought it for $1.5M and wanted to build 25 homes as a conservancy subdivision.

This property is in shenandoah valley, so my plan is to findout from the local county office/health dept.

@Luke Spencer I am not on the management side but I can tell you it took 2+ years to fill 300 units at one of our facilities and the other just hit 300 units in 12/13 months so it really depends on the demographics, and local housing market trend, the more people moving in and out the higher the demand for storage.I think if you're looking at a saturated market then the upfront cash to turn the warehouse into self storage is not a good idea but then again, maybe those operators are on back roads ( low visibility ) and don't push google ads well.

This strategy aligns well with the buy-and-hold model.Leverage Local Expertise: Partner with professionals like real estate agents familiar with rental markets and property managers who understand tenant needs.

Nevertheless I am local now and I have that real estate desire (which never went away).

Going to start by checking into local REÍ meetups and talking to some friends and family that are doing what I’d like to.

If they send to you then you take docs to local bank and sign with a notary. 

I'd rather invest with the local 26 year old who lives in their second house-hack, drives their 10 year old car, and is raising their first small apartment syndication that they will self-manage, putting their own money into the deal, than some 45-year old guru who's secret sauce turned out to be their ability to charm on TikTok, but really, their approach to deals ended up being the "secret" to transforming $300M in real estate into $215M between 2021 and 2025.  

Hi Isaiah, I am based in Fort Lauderdale and can speak to the local market directly.