Self Storage Income

You can live hundreds of miles away from your self storage facility and still run it successfully. Just hear from Bill DeWaal and Korbin Smoot, founders of Better Self Storage. They’ve got 19 facilities across multiple states and run self storage management to perfection with a team of VAs, a director of operations, and without having to fix, overlock, or inspect a single unit.

You can invest from anywhere in the country, or even anywhere in the world, and this is how you do it.

Bill and Korbin are what a solid partnership looks like. Korbin is chasing deals while Bill is making sure the facilities make sense. Their formula clearly works, as now they have 19 facilities and are experts in self storage remote management. Plus, they’ll share what a great partner looks like, so you don’t get into the self storage business with a bad actor.

Don’t know what to buy when sellers are still asking too much, but the numbers won’t budge? Bill and Korbin define their buy box for small, scalable remote facilities, and how they easily increased revenue by 300% at one facility, and the impressive outsourcing they do so these two can focus on building their portfolio, not managing units. Plus, underwriting (analysis) tweaks they’ve made to ensure they’re getting a deal, not a dud, and how to compete with the REITs who drop prices fast and furiously. 

What you’ll learn in today’s show:

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Join AJ’s Self Storage Income Inner Circle - https://www.selfstorageincome.com/inner-circle 

Better Self Storage - https://www.betterselfstorage.com/ 

Korbin's Contact Information: [email protected], 801-505-2334

Bill’s Contact Information: 801-910-0594

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🌳 Work with someone experienced in self storage loans at Live Oak Bank! We seriously love them. https://www.liveoakbank.com/business-loans/self-storage/ 

📑 Our Self-Storage Feasibility Studies will help you speed up the process in understanding markets, potential risks, and analyzing the facility itself.  https://cedar.cc/feasibility-studies/ 

📖 Sign up for Our Weekly Newsletter: https://ajosborne.com/newsletter

You’re about to make an offer on a self storage investment. You’ll need two things: an LOI (letter of intent) and a PSA (purchase and sale agreement). You may need to use one or the other or both, depending on your situation, but not having these two contracts could be stopping you from getting your first or next deal done. 

Today, AJ and Conner explain precisely what a PSA and LOI in real estate are, the key difference between these two crucial contracts, and how to use them to make offers on facilities that owners can’t ignore. This is how the pros get self storage deals done. No verbal offers. No handshakes. This is when it gets legit.

You found a self storage investment you like…what do you do now? Do you use an LOI vs. PSA first in commercial real estate? We’ll walk through which contract to use when, what to include in an LOI and PSA, the contingencies to add that ensure a seller can’t wrongfully back out, and why you always negotiate with the seller before you get one of these signed.

The next time you and a seller sign these agreements, you’ll be on your way to your next self storage deal.

What you’ll learn in today’s show:

Sign Up for My Newsletter Here:  https://ajosborne.com/newsletter

🌳 Work with someone experienced in self storage loans at Live Oak Bank! We seriously love them. https://www.liveoakbank.com/business-loans/self-storage/

📑 Our Self-Storage Feasibility Studies will help you speed up the process in understanding markets, potential risks, and analyzing the facility itself.  https://cedar.cc/feasibility-studies/

This is the biggest opportunity in self storage since 2008. Last time we were at this stage in the cycle, I was on the cusp of building a $100M+ self storage business. I bought when conditions were almost identical to what we’re seeing today, and now, I’m gearing up to buy even more. But here’s the best part: beginners can get in on this, too. Today, I’m showing you how.

This could be your $100M opportunity if you know what’s coming down the pipeline. 

Things are getting eerily similar to the situation after the Great Financial Crisis (2008). Interest rates are coming down, housing activity is going up, cap rates are compressing, and occupancy rates may be ready to rise again. This was almost exactly how conditions were in the early 2010s when I was heavily building my self storage business. Don’t believe me? I’ll prove it with data in this episode.

We’re buying now—and we’re buying a lot. If you’re debating investing in self storage or growing your portfolio, this episode will be crucial for you. I’m putting my money where my mouth is, investing millions of my own capital to grow my portfolio. 

Do not miss this stage of the cycle. 

What you’ll learn in today’s show:

Learn more about Heritage Fund investment opportunities: 

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*Accredited investors only. Limited capacity.*

What happens when interest rates spike, self storage demand dips, and REITs start a race to the bottom with rent prices? You’ve got the current state of the self storage industry, with shifting market dynamics that have made things difficult for smaller investors over the last few years. The question now is, where do we go from here?

Interest rates have had a ripple effect throughout the self storage industry, leaving smaller investors wondering how they can build wealth with self storage investing while REITs and private equity have a stranglehold on many major markets. AJ, Travis Morrow, and Lance Watkins break it all down in a session from this year’s SSI Live Event. There’s reason for optimism heading into 2026 and beyond, but investors will need to adapt to major changes if they want to coexist with the bigger players.

Savvy market analysis is more crucial now than ever, and adopting technology is no longer optional—even if you’re investing in rural areas. Fortunately, everyday investors now have access to data that wasn’t available to them just a few years ago. Whether you’re developing or buying self storage facilities, these insights will help shape your strategy going forward and give you an edge in your market!

What you’ll learn in today’s show:

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Tract IQ: https://tractiq.com/

🌳 Work with someone experienced in self storage loans at Live Oak Bank! We seriously love them. https://www.liveoakbank.com/business-loans/self-storage/

Today’s guests bought six self storage facilities in just four years, all while working full-time jobs, and during a time of rising interest rates. They had zero experience, no self storage background, and have only used their own money. How did they grow so quickly, and what’s the secret to scaling your self storage business? These are the bootstrapped self storage investors to hear from.

In 2020, self storage investments weren’t on Nick and Steven May’s radar. But after hearing an episode of this podcast, they decided it might be their next great opportunity. Luckily, a small vacation market two hours south of them had old, poorly-reviewed facilities around. So they did what everyone with little experience and a desire to invest should do: started calling owners without expectations. One owner was willing to sell, and the ball started rolling.

Fast forward four years from their first purchase, and Nick and Steven have six facilities, all in the same market. They’ve gotten better at negotiating, underwriting self storage, and running their business. How did two guys scale to 150,000+ square feet in self storage space without any prior experience? Today, they’re sharing exactly how they did it. 

What you’ll learn in today’s show:

Where to find more

📷 Steven’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stevenmay_realestate/  

🚣 Lake of the Ozarks Self Storage: https://lakeoftheozarksselfstorage.com/

🌳 Work with someone experienced in self storage loans at Live Oak Bank! We seriously love them. https://www.liveoakbank.com/business-loans/self-storage/  

📑 Our Self-Storage Feasibility Studies will help you speed up the process in understanding markets, potential risks, and analyzing the facility itself.  https://cedar.cc/feasibility-studies/ 

📚 Get my FREE self storage starter pack to learn how to analyze, underwrite, and operate your next storage investment: https://www.selfstorageincome.com/start-podcast 

📰 Sign Up for My Newsletter Here:  https://ajosborne.com/newsletter 

How do you know your first or next self storage investment is worth the money? 

This is how you do self storage analysis in six steps, even if you’ve never invested in storage before. With the most basic of numbers, you can analyze a self storage facility to see if it’s a worthwhile deal. And you don’t need any experience in commercial real estate or self storage underwriting models to do these calculations—you just need some time.

We’ll take you all the way from defining your “buy box” (know what you want to buy) to estimating expenses and revenue, running the numbers, and the extra “margin” we add in every single self storage deal to ensure it’ll be profitable.

Plus, what a good self storage investment looks like and how to secretly get your competitors’ rent prices so you’ll know just how much your facility can bring in.

Your first or next self storage deal is close—let’s make sure it’s a home run!

What you’ll learn in today’s show:

🌳 Live Oak Bank: https://www.liveoak.bank/    

 📉 TractIQ: https://tractiq.com/    

📑 Our Self-Storage Feasibility Studies will help you speed up the process in understanding markets, potential risks, and analyzing the facility itself. https://cedar.cc/feasibility-studies/

  📖 Get AJ's book that teaches you everything he knows about self-storage https://a.co/d/aRSKcSq

📉 Take advantage of today’s market conditions and invest with us: https://cedar.cc/invest 

This is the biggest thing to happen to the self storage industry in years. 

Last week, the Fed made their much-anticipated decision to cut rates. In the weeks leading up to the decision, interest rates fell sharply, reigniting the homebuying process for hundreds of thousands of Americans sitting on the sidelines. Rate cuts and mortgage rate declines will have momentous effects on the self storage market, and, I believe, will usher in a new cycle for self storage investing and wealth creation.

We, up until recently, have been going through a self storage recession. What most self storage investors don’t know is that some 40% of our customers come from moving alone. Raise interest rates, stop home purchases, and you cut off the lifeblood of the storage business. But now, that’s changing—and it’s changing in a major way.

In this episode, I’m going to explain why the Fed made their decision now (and whether they were too late), what lower interest rates mean for the self storage industry as a whole and your facility’s occupancy, and what I’m doing to prepare for this next cycle.

This is going to be HUGE.

What you’ll learn in today’s show:

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Sign Up for the Self Storage Income Newsletter! - https://www.selfstorageincome.com/ 

📑 Our Self-Storage Feasibility Studies will help you speed up the process in understanding markets, potential risks, and analyzing the facility itself.  https://cedar.cc/feasibility-studies/ 

This one small-town storage facility has made today’s guest over $500,000. And if you’re interested in buying your first storage facility, there’s no better inspiration than this. With one self storage investment, Braedon Haertling has added another 9-5-sized income stream and increased value by close to $1,000,000, all while working a full-time job. He had no experience, but a lot of drive, and didn’t do anything you can’t.

Braedon tried the rental property route, but scaling to 100+ doors didn’t seem like the best bet. Why buy 100 rentals when investing in storage units can get you to 100 doors with just one purchase? Thankfully, Braedon knew of someone who may be too busy to run their storage facility anymore. He gave them a call, scored a $0-down self storage facility, and the rest is history. 

Got a 9-5? You can invest in self storage. Got kids and a family to take care of? You can invest in self storage. Think you need to know everything before getting your first facility? You couldn’t be more wrong. Thanks to simply taking action, Braedon now has a six-figure-producing self storage investment, $500,000+ in equity, and is hungry for his next deal!

What you’ll learn in today’s show:

Why you should NOT quit your job to invest in self storage (unless…)

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Grab AJ’s Book, _Growing Wealth in Self-Storage 2.0_: https://www.selfstorageincome.com/book  Braedon’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thestoragemat/

Braedon’s TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thestoragemat

🌳 Work with someone experienced in self storage loans at Live Oak Bank! https://www.liveoakbank.com/business-loans/self-storage/

📑 Our Self-Storage Feasibility Studies will help you speed up the process in understanding markets, potential risks, and analyzing the facility itself. https://cedar.cc/feasibility-studies/ 

Buying a storage facility? Make sure you spot any of these 12 self storage investing red flags. If you’re able to avoid them successfully, you could be buying a killer next investment, with high occupancy, high rates, and steady cash flow. After investing in dozens of self storage facilities, with millions of rentable square feet, we’ve nailed down the 12 deadly self storage red flags that can prevent a facility from taking off. 

There are two types of red flags: the ones you can fix, and the ones you can’t. The fixable ones might mean you have a serious opportunity within your market, and you can flip that red flag to a green one. The unfixable red flags…that’s another story. Don’t worry, we’re going to spell out each so you know which red flags to run from, and which could make you money. 

We’re talking about red flags like: declining populations, too much supply, high vacancy, weak local economics, poor visibility (online and on the street!), and more. Do you think you know which you can fix? Think again, we’re giving you the exact list of self storage red flags. 

What you’ll learn in today’s show:

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Register Now for SSI Live - https://www.selfstorageincome.com/live-event 

Get 1-on-1 Coaching from Conner! - https://www.selfstorageincome.com/coaching 

 Work with someone experienced in self storage loans at Live Oak Bank! https://www.liveoakbank.com/business-loans/self-storage/

Do you have a great story to share on the SSI or AJ Osborne podcasts? You can now apply here! https://form.asana.com/?k=TGU88eU0bFTFW1iHcckuTA&d=1203571084143207

Get AJ's book that teaches you everything he knows about self-storage https://a.co/d/aRSKcSq

Take advantage of today’s market conditions and invest with us: https://cedar.cc/invest 

The final wave of wealth creation in self storage is here. After this, smaller investors will have a very tough time breaking into the industry.

I already missed out on the first wave, but successfully rode the second. Now, the self storage swell is starting again, but this time, small, medium, and large self storage investors will all benefit. Are you ready to ride?

I’ve been investing in self storage for two decades. I bought during the crash when everyone said I was crazy, called the self storage bubble before it ballooned, and am now

warning you about the new “wave” of wealth coming for self storage. Many mom-and-pop storage facilities have already been bought up during the second wave, taking us from 90% small investors in the market to only 50%. That number is shrinking every day, and your first or next self storage investment is being bought up.

How do you get in the game so you can profit heavily from what’s to come? I’m giving you the complete game plan, outlining the first two “waves,” how to take advantage of the third one coming, and even sharing a free resource you can use to get in the know before 99% of other investors. Self storage investors could be wealthier than ever before, but if you don’t own, you won’t catch the wave.

What you’ll learn in today’s show:

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We’ll be hosting a live webinar in September diving into how AI is changing the self-storage industry. Make sure you don’t miss it—sign up for our newsletter today and you’ll be the first to get the official date and registration link! https://ajosborne.com/newsletter 

Register for the Self Storage Income Live Event: https://www.selfstorageincome.com/live-event

Grab AJ’s Book https://www.selfstorageincome.com/book 

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