It has profoundly impacted our life for the better, allowed us to meet amazing people that like us are very passionate about Real estate and we are very grateful for it.

Normally, for comparables, you want to look up recently sold properties within a half mile to a mile (the closer the better), in similar condition, square footage, amendities as the end product, and the same or similar bedroom/bathroom count.

Done and done.If you realize that those above topics are pretty much everything about Self Storage AND you learn those three (precursory will work, in-depth is better), you've got all your bases covered.  

You're better off picking the one you like early and negotiating quick and hard.

Should I keep doing this or is there something better for mid-term stays?

There are definitely some areas that are better than others.

To get an NMLS license, you need to take relevant courses and there is a difficult test to get a NMLS license that more than half of the people fail that take it on their first try.A lender doesn't need a license to do DSCR loans in many states but if they have a NMLS license in any state then they have a license they are going to try to keep and be better educated in lending overall. 

I've even seen distressed multi-families in some of the better neighborhoods sell to investors who convert them back to single families. 

If your credit is 680 or better, no lates on your credit report, and a clean b.g. and I can get a new investor started all day long given it is the right project.The right beginner project is one where the purchase price is less than 100k, total project cost less than 200k and loan amount around 120k - 150k. 

Could you take your capital and invest it into another property with better returns?