I know most clients I speak to, just like a garage, mostly for storage lol It's really up to the buyers and for that price range, they honestly can't be too nit-picky. 

Then put an offer at asking to tie it up for a feasibility period.

I have found 25 Storage Units I can purchase for 125000, with 20 units rented out.

If you actually have to work one on one with people and dig deep into their situations, touching millions is not feasible nor is it some personal goal of mine.  

The third was a self storage program and because I know nothing about that market I learned a ton from it.

Is that feasible?  

In the second year, landlords can't charge more than one month's rent as a security deposit.Also in PA, landlords must put security deposits over $100 into an interest-bearing account and pay the interest to the tenant after the 3rd year of occupancy.You can charge an up front pet fee or pet deposit and you can charge for parking, storage, utilities, or other amenities that you rent separately.It will depend on your situation, but I hope this helps in general!

If that isn't feasible for his situation I'd recommend looking for rentals in the southern/middle part of the country where price points are much easier and the laws are landlord friendly.

When he applied for the garage permit he included this statement to the city certifying that the coach house was neither commercial or residential and only used for storage. 

I’m an investor with capital and was presented a potential deal to purchase an off market 83 unit self storage facility.