How do you grow wealth in self storage?
Today, we're going BACK TO BASICS, specifically: how storage is NOT an investment, it's a business. It should be treated as such.
What? What does that mean? It all distills down to this: operational improvements. 
It worked for our first few facilities, and we use this model in our company to this day.
Customers deserve a good experience when they walk into a facility. They deserve a clean space and a friendly face. 
As an operator, this massively increases the revenue and value of your property. We break down how in this episode of the Self Storage Income Podcast.
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208. Self Storage is not an investment, it's a Business

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Today’s guest built a twenty-five facility self storage business in just two years! Even more impressive? He didn’t come from a real estate background, yet he was able to build a serious storage portfolio across multiple states, all by “taking the punches” as they came. If you want to quit your job and start investing full-time, this is an episode you CANNOT miss. You’ll hear how Faraz Hemani left his high-paying Google job to invest in small-market, mom-and-pop self storage facilities. 
The question is, did it pay off?
After making some good income at his tech sales job, Faraz needed somewhere to park his money. Like most people, he thought rental properties were a great option, but as the market began to climb, Faraz realized that he had no control over whether his portfolio’s price went up or down. He sold off his rental properties and found an asset he could control—self storage.
Now, two years later, Faraz has a self storage portfolio of over twenty-five facilities across the southern United States. How did he scale up so quickly? Which markets is he targeting? And how does a complete novice get that many facilities so quickly? If you want to learn how, stick around for this episode as Faraz shares his buy box, favorite markets, and which facilities small investors should target.
What you’ll learn in today’s show:

How to quit your job and build a self storage business (and whether it’s worth it)
Why self storage beats rental properties IF you can master THESE skills
Faraz’s exact buy box and the “mom-and-pop” facilities new investors should look for
Why Faraz DOESN’T buy in the big cities but sees huge success in smaller towns 
Syndicating, raising private capital, and when it’s time to take on investor money
The truth about entrepreneurship and why 99% of people CAN’T handle it 

Faraz’s LinkedIn
Pebble Ridge Capital Group
 Make self storage management easier than EVER with our podcast sponsor Tenant Inc. - https://www.tenantinc.com/
Check out Storelocal! Our national self storage brand. 
https://www.storelocal.com/
Ready to buy storage? Have your deals personally evaluated by AJ and our team! 
https://www.selfstorageincome.com/feasibility 
Take advantage of today’s market conditions and invest with us: 
https://cedar.cc/invest

244. 25 Facilities in 2 Years After Quitting His Google Job for Self Storage w/Faraz Hemani

Wondering how to start a storage business with no money? Surprisingly, most self storage investors start out with no or low-money-down deals. Even the wealthiest of storage investors rarely pay for a property in cash or use their own money to make the down payment. 
Self storage DOESN’T require you to have millions and millions of dollars to get started, and in this episode, we’re showing you exactly how to build your self storage portfolio when starting from ZERO.
There are a few strategies you’ll need to know before you can buy your first zero-dollars-down storage facility. If you’re able to master these, you can easily pick up a storage facility for very little money down or sometimes zero dollars out of pocket. Want to use other people’s money to pay for your deals? AJ and Conner go over the two parts of raising money and how to raise capital once you’ve got a deal in hand.
Do NOT let this tough market go to waste. Now is one of the EASIEST times to get no and low money down self storage investments done! So tune in, and get ready to execute (even if you’ve got NO money!).
What you’ll learn in today’s show:

How to start a storage business with no money or very little money out of pocket
Why now may be one of the BEST times to get seller financing on a storage facility 
The exact strategy AJ used to go from no facilities to hundreds of millions in self storage 
Beginner steps we would take in 2024 to get our first storage facility deal done 
Raising capital for your deals and how to get investors to put up the down payment
Why you should always look for the deal first BEFORE you worry about the money 

What we mentioned:
Finding Deals
Buying Deals 
 Make self storage management easier than EVER with our podcast sponsor Tenant Inc. - https://www.tenantinc.com/
Check out Storelocal! Our national self storage brand. 
https://www.storelocal.com/
Ready to buy storage? Have your deals personally evaluated by AJ and our team! 
https://www.selfstorageincome.com/feasibility 
Take advantage of today’s market conditions and invest with us: 
https://cedar.cc/invest

243. How to Start a Storage Business for Little or No Money

One type of commercial real estate is seeing skyrocketing demand right now: small bay industrial. Haven’t heard of it? You’re not alone. But for investors like Shea Lewis, one of our Inner Circle students at Self Storage Income, this often underrated type of real estate investment gives him great returns, high demand, and rock-bottom vacancy. But what is small bay industrial investing, and why are so many businesses fighting for small bay space right now?
If you invest in self storage, or plan to, this episode may change your mind entirely. In it, Shea goes through what small bay industrial investing is, why it’s experiencing “crazy high demand” in 2024, the deals he’s doing TODAY, and why you should get into the warehousing space BEFORE everyone else learns about it. Plus, most of the headaches of self storage investing almost disappear once you enter into small bay industrial warehousing.
Want to invest in an asset that has locked-in revenue for YEARS? What about one that has almost unlimited demand? Shea will tell you exactly what you need to know to get into the game and his buy box for buying these cash-flowing commercial assets that most investors overlook!
What you’ll learn in today’s show:

Small bay industrial warehouses 101 and why they beat self storage in many ways
The “crazy high demand” for warehouse space as small business growth explodes
Shea’s exact buy box for finding and buying small bay industrial properties 
The markets that have the highest demand for these assets and signs of a phenomenal deal 
Small bay vs. self storage investing and the major headaches it completely avoids 
The one thing you NEED before you start investing in this asset class

Ready to buy storage? Have your deals personally evaluated by AJ and our team! 
https://www.selfstorageincome.com/feasibility 
Take advantage of today’s market conditions and invest with us: 
https://cedar.cc/invest 
Make self storage management easier than EVER with our podcast sponsor Tenant Inc. - https://www.tenantinc.com/ 
Connect with Shea Lewis Here:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/shea-lewis-92379365/ 
shea@zequitygroup.com 
https://www.zequitygroup.com/ 
 
Videos mentioned in this episode:
Cap Rates in Self Storage 

242. Why Demand is Exploding for “Small Bay Industrial” Warehouses w/ Shea Lewis

Today, we’re going over how to buy a storage facility, even if you’re a complete beginner with zero experience in self storage investing. From pinpointing your purchase price to closing and finally getting the facility under your management, we’ll walk through the six beginner steps anyone can take to buy a self storage facility in 2024. If you’re ready to buy your first self storage investment, these steps MUST be followed!
Haven’t found a facility to buy? Tune into last week’s episode, where we went over exactly how to find off-market self storage facilities with the most profit potential. Once you’ve found the deal, the fun really starts. In this episode, AJ and Conner share how they come up with offer prices, why they NEVER trust a broker’s “pro forma” number at first glance, and the contracts you need to have ready when you want to get a deal done.
But before you close, there’s still work to do. We’ll discuss due diligence, how to exit a deal when things aren’t what they seem, closing, and what to do as soon as you send over the money so you can hit the ground running on your first facility.
What you’ll learn in today’s show:

How to buy your first self storage facility even if you have zero experience 
Calculating your purchase price and why you CAN’T trust the market 
What brokers will tell you to convince you to buy a facility that ISN’T worth it 
LOIs (letter of intent) and PSAs (purchase and sale agreement) and when to use them
Everything you need to do during your “due diligence” timeline to confirm the deal is worth it
How to ensure a smooth transition when you finally take over your first facility! 

How to Find Off-Market Self Storage Deals in ANY Market
How to Value a Self Storage Facility - Don't Overpay!  
Enjoy this podcast? Leave us a great review wherever you listen! 
Ready to buy storage? Have your deals personally evaluated by AJ and our team! 
https://www.selfstorageincome.com/feasibility 
Take advantage of today’s market conditions and invest with us: 
https://cedar.cc/invest 
Make self storage management easier than EVER with our podcast sponsor Tenant Inc. - https://www.tenantinc.com/ 
 

241. How to Buy a Storage Facility in 2024 (Beginner’s Guide)

In this episode, we’re diving into one of the most frequent questions we get: how to find self storage deals. 
We’ll share the five-step guide AJ uses to find self storage deals in 2024 and show YOU how to copy it so you can get your next home run off-market self storage deal. If you’re waiting for your first or next self storage facility, this is EXACTLY where to start!
You’ve heard us talk about buying and managing self storage facilities, but where do we even find the ones we want to buy? Unlike rental properties, there isn’t some mass listing site that shows every self storage facility for sale (although many companies have tried). Most self storage deals are done off-market or pre-listing through a broker, meaning that you never even have the chance to see the deals getting done.
If you want to learn the expert secrets on how we’re finding self storage deals in today’s highly competitive market, bring a pad and some paper and copy our strategy.
What you’ll learn in today’s show:

How to find your first or next self storage investment, no matter what market you’re in
Building your “buy box” and how to know what you want your first or next facility to look like
The geographic “opportunities” that point to a solid self storage investing market 
How to “rank” the facilities in your market to see which has the highest profit potential 
The ONE thing you need to bring to EVERY broker in your area if you want self storage deals sent to YOU
How long it could take for you to get your first self storage investment under contract

Enjoy this podcast? Leave us a great review wherever you listen! 
Ready to buy storage? Have your deals personally evaluated by AJ and our team! 
https://www.selfstorageincome.com/feasibility 
Take advantage of today’s market conditions and invest with us: 
https://cedar.cc/invest 
Make self storage management easier than EVER with our podcast sponsor Tenant Inc. - https://www.tenantinc.com/ 

208. Self Storage is not an investment, it's a Business

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