I know you had the total gross rents being boosted by ~$500 a month.

There are many owners who perform all responsibilities of owning a property, from paying the taxes to cleaning the toilets, etc. 

Properties that are not performing well might fall into foreclosure but I really don't think we will see the full blown real estate crash that we experienced in 2008.

At this point, I realized that I was in position to potentially make a quick $20,000 by performing a similar strategy that the wholesaler was trying to do.

Here's why:Over the last three recessions (2008, 2001, 1990-1991), multifamily has performed well compared to other asset classes and single-family housing.

@Nicholas Gray1) Potentially look into performing cost seg on your property to see if it makes sense $$2) Why are you not working with a CPA on your questions?!

I think for my first attempt at the self storage game would be to buy a existing facility that is poorly performing, but in a good area.

As such, generally an attorney is better suited to assist you with this (especially since it could be considered the "unauthorized practice of law" in California if a CPA performed this for you). 

It sounds like your reserve is only increasing if you have outstanding invoices or they are expecting invoices for work performed.

We made two short trips there in May and September to check on the place and to perform maintenance (10 days total between the 2 trips).Things were going so well that we decided to build a second STR.