Word of encouragement and I quote " treat your business like your child, and someone ( your money flow) is a kidnapper that says you will never see your child again unless you pay them 5K in two weeks".

If they ask tell them your not getting one, they may encourage you to do so, and I think you should, but do not show them. 

They are a little more expensive, but their customer service is amazing and they are really responsive. 

I know I need to find out what type of contracts he has set up with the current customers.  

Great at follow-up, communication, and general customer service.

The one thing I would encourage you to do is to use the BP rental calculator to help you analyze the deal. 

One thing I worry about storage is having customers churn and never coming back after they realize that they could have just re-bought everything instead of keeping their items in storage for a few years... thoughts?

Obviously I'd always encourage people to use our services but sticking to our true core value of helping landlords, I have pointed users on BP to other sites that would better suit their needs.

Both of these places would have positive cash flow allocating for legit cap expense ($250-$300 for a detached unit per month, so at least $500 for a detached duplex), vacancy 5%, and maintenance.I really should not be encouraging competition in my area but I am NOT using Escondido because I think it is unique but because I know it well and know what duplex to quad are on the market and what duplex to quad have sold. 

Different marketing names will appeal to different customers.