@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.

Hopefully, by year 3 the market will be good enough for a refinance as well!

If you haven’t already, I’d scope out the municipalities around town.. from what I read in The Economist, the Phoenix metropo area continues to rank high for job growth, which usually bodes well for new builds.

I appreciate it.john Your plan seems well-thought-out, but I’d keep a few things in mind.

Welcome, hope all is well

well if I ever make it to the Smokies to see what the draw is  I will rent a condo then :)  I am just guess but I suspect folks that go there want to be in the woods and hear the birds and maybe some local mtn views etc.. or some sort of privacy they never get at home out east were there is not very much public lands close to where they live in the big city. ????

If it would concentrate on rent collection only and do it well, it might be okay.

I believe I will just be taking over his insurance as well, or that is the intent.

As a matter of fact, far too many these days don't write contracts or stick to their price commitments after the project is well underway. 

I found houses that had not been well kept up.