Storage Moguls

What if the biggest mistake in your first storage deal is believing the appraisal? 

Joe Downs and Jack Pezzino reveal how one student nearly overpaid millions for a self storage facility after relying on the wrong appraisal method. 

They explain why income, not replacement cost, should drive valuation, why commercial appraisals differ from residential ones, and how inexperienced investors can unknowingly turn an asset into a liability. The conversation explores common underwriting mistakes, the danger of being either too aggressive or too conservative with assumptions, and why understanding the market is more important than simply analyzing the property. 

Joe and Jack also pull back the curtain on Storage Moguls' deal review process, showing how an experienced second set of eyes can uncover costly mistakes before an offer is submitted. 

Their biggest takeaway is simple: successful investing is less about having perfect information and more about validating your assumptions before committing to a deal.

Listen For:

10:03 Is seller financing the most dangerous trap in a mispriced self-storage deal?

12:22 Why do first-time self-storage investors underwrite themselves out of every deal?

20:24 How does Jack Pezzino calibrate the line between conservative and realistic in a storage underwrite?

27:17 Why is market underwriting the non-negotiable first step before valuing any storage facility?

33:58 What does Jack Pezzino say is the single move that separates investors who close from those who don't?

CONNECT WITH GUEST: JACK PEZZINO, VP OF ACQUISITIONS BELROSE STORAGE GROUP 

Website | LinkedIn

CONNECT WITH US

Joe Downs on LinkedIn

Belrose website | Belrose email | Belrose LinkedIn

Storage Moguls Live. Friday, October 16 in White Marsh, Maryland. One day with self storage owners. Walk through a real facility and learn how they find, finance, and close deals. Only 15 tickets. Register at https://go.storagemoguls.ai/white-marsh-md before Thursday.

What does it actually take to run a self-storage facility you've never set foot inside, from fifteen hundred miles away, without a single day of real estate experience between you? 

Joe Downs sits down with John Gaspar and Robert Figueiredo, co-owners of CubedUp Self Storage in Morganton, North Carolina. The duo are IBM veterans originally from Brazil who fired their third-party management company after just two months and took full control of their facility from Miami, Florida. 

In seven months of self-managing, they drove physical occupancy from 70% to 84% and executed a 12% rate increase with zero tenant turnover. 

This episode is a masterclass in self-storage operations, remote management systems, and the entrepreneurial mindset serious storage investors need to scale. 

If you've been telling yourself, ‘you can't buy a self-storage facility because you're not local’, this episode dismantles that excuse entirely.

Listen For:

3:54 Why They Fired Their Storage Manager in 60 Days

5:41 The Delinquency Fix Every New Operator Needs

8:17 How to Run a Storage Facility From 1,500 Miles Away

14:08 Why Self Storage Thrived During COVID

14:31 The One Thing Stopping First-Time Storage Investors

CONNECT WITH GUEST: CUBEDUP SELF STORAGE

Website | LinkedIn 

JOHN GASPAR, CO-FOUNDER | OWNER-OPERATOR

LinkedIn  

ROBERT FIGUEIREDO, CO-FOUNDER | OWNER-OPERATOR

LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram 

CONNECT WITH US

Joe Downs on LinkedIn

Belrose website | Belrose email | Belrose LinkedIn

Storage Moguls Live. Friday, October 16 in White Marsh, Maryland. One day with self storage owners. Walk through a real facility and learn how they find, finance, and close deals. Only 15 tickets. Register at https://go.storagemoguls.ai/white-marsh-md before Thursday.

Is the self-storage brokerage relationship the most misunderstood edge in storage investing? And are first-time buyers quietly destroying their own deal flow without knowing it? 

Joe Downs sits down with David Perlleshi, Managing Director of Self-Storage at Franklin Street, one of the nation's leading self-storage brokerage firms. 

David leads a national team with a buyer list of 10,000–15,000 active prospects and is currently on the front lines of a wave of COVID-era vintage loans from 2019–2022 coming due into a dramatically higher-rate environment. 

He and Joe dismantle the fear-based myths holding first-time storage investors back, from lowball offer anxiety to blacklist paranoia, and reveal what actually gets a buyer frozen out. 

With more than $1 trillion in commercial real estate loans maturing in the next two years, the storage investing window is opening. 

The investors who understand how to work with brokers right now will be first in line.

Listen For:

4:12 Is self-storage really one of the most recession-proof asset classes lenders track?

11:50 Did compressed cap rates in 2021 create the underwater loan crisis hitting storage owners right now?

23:53 Why does a broker's commission structure make them just as motivated to find you a deal as close one?

25:43 Are $1 trillion in maturing CRE loans about to flood the self-storage market with new inventory?

26:43 What expansion opportunities are first-time storage investors missing on listings?

CONNECT WITH GUEST: DAVID PERLLESHI, MANAGING DIRECTOR, SELF STORAGE INVESTMENT SALES | FRANKLIN STREET 

Website | LinkedIn | X| Facebook| Instagram| Email

CONNECT WITH US

Joe Downs on LinkedIn

Belrose website | Belrose email | Belrose LinkedIn

Storage Moguls Live. Friday, October 16 in White Marsh, Maryland. One day with self storage owners. Walk through a real facility and learn how they find, finance, and close deals. Only 15 tickets. Register at https://go.storagemoguls.ai/white-marsh-md before Thursday.

What actually separates storage investors who scale from the ones who burn out? The deals, or the systems behind them? 

Joe Downs sits down with his own business partner, Tim Kane, co-founder of Belrose Storage Group and Storage Moguls and head of acquisitions for a platform with 20+ facilities and over $70 million in storage assets. 

Tim pulls back the curtain on the systems that took Belrose from three guys fixing gate codes at night to a multi-vertical platform spanning self-storage, Pro Storage, and industrial outdoor storage (iOS). 

From defining roles before you scale to leveraging AI and fractional talent, this is the storage investing playbook for anyone weighing their first acquisition. 

In a market this fragmented, the window to build your system is now.

Listen For:

2:38 Is self-storage as an organized industry really younger than McDonald's?

9:45 Do independent operators still own the majority of US self-storage facilities?

17:06 Does self-storage really have the lowest default rate in commercial real estate?

26:41 Is industrial outdoor storage commercial real estate's fastest growing asset class?

30:18 Does any single company own more than 5% of US self-storage?

CONNECT WITH GUEST: TIM KANE, CHIEF DEVELOPMENT OFFICER | VP OF OPERATIONS | BELROSE GROUP

LinkedIn | Belrose Group | StorageMoguls.AI | Email | Instagram

CONNECT WITH US

Joe Downs on LinkedIn

Belrose website | Belrose email | Belrose LinkedIn

Storage Moguls Live. Friday, October 16 in White Marsh, Maryland. One day with self storage owners. Walk through a real facility and learn how they find, finance, and close deals. Only 15 tickets. Register at https://go.storagemoguls.ai/white-marsh-md before Thursday.

What if the fastest way to grow your self-storage portfolio is to stop trying to do everything yourself? 

Joe Downs sits down with Magen Smith, CPA, CEO and co-founder of Atomic Storage Group, to unpack her remarkable journey from managing a single self-storage facility fresh out of college to leading one of the nation's largest third-party management companies with more than 180 locations across 30 states. 

Magen shares how accounting, operations, marketing, development, and technology all intersect to create exceptional storage businesses, why great management is far more than collecting rent, how one lease up reached nearly $70,000 in monthly revenue within just nine months, and why AI is transforming operations without replacing people. 

Whether you're considering self-management or outsourcing, this conversation offers practical lessons on data driven decision making, scaling a portfolio, building systems, and focusing on the work that creates the greatest long term value.

Listen For:

6:00 How did Magen Smith scale Atomic Storage Group to 180 facilities?

12:46 What drove a new self-storage development to 57% occupied in nine months?

21:37 Is the fear of losing control to third-party management actually backwards?

25:01 What was a REIT operator missing that let revenue jump 220%?

27:48 Which KPI should every first-time storage investor track from day one?

CONNECT WITH GUEST: MAGEN SMITH, CEO, ATOMIC STORAGE GROUP

LinkedIn | Website | Email 

CONNECT WITH US

Joe Downs on LinkedIn

Belrose website | Belrose email | Belrose LinkedIn

Storage Moguls Live. Friday, October 16 in White Marsh, Maryland. One day with self storage owners. Walk through a real facility and learn how they find, finance, and close deals. Only 15 tickets. Register at https://go.storagemoguls.ai/white-marsh-md before Thursday.

What's the one clause in your storage deal that could cost you six figures…and would your attorney even catch it? 

Joe Downs pulls back the curtain on the legal side of storage investing with Jason Mandel, the commercial real estate transaction attorney at Royer Cooper Cohen Braunfeld who quarterbacks every deal for Downs' 20-plus facility, $70M+ storage portfolio. 

Mandel reveals the $900,000 mistake an ALTA survey prevented on a $1.5M self-storage acquisition, why signed LOIs are never fully non-binding, how to stop the due diligence clock from running before you're ready, and the title, zoning, and CCR landmines hiding in storage acquisitions. 

If you're underwriting your first storage deal or still using your brother-in-law as counsel, this is the market intelligence you need before you sign anything.

Listen For:

2:29 What is the most expensive mistake first-time storage investing buyers make?

11:11 How did one ALTA survey save a $1.5 million self-storage deal?

14:20 Is a signed letter of intent on a storage facility really non-binding?

19:55 When does the due diligence clock actually start on a storage acquisition?

29:42 When does Jason Mandel say to bring an attorney into your storage deal?

CONNECT WITH GUEST: JASON MANDEL, REAL ESTATE ATTORNEY, ROYER COOPER COHEN BRAUNFELD

LinkedIn | Website | Email 

CONNECT WITH US

Joe Downs on LinkedIn

Belrose website | Belrose email | Belrose LinkedIn

Storage Moguls Live. Friday, October 16 in White Marsh, Maryland. One day with self storage owners. Walk through a real facility and learn how they find, finance, and close deals. Only 15 tickets. Register at https://go.storagemoguls.ai/white-marsh-md before Thursday.

What's really standing between a smart, employed, motivated person and their first storage facility… and why isn't it money? 

Joe Downs makes the listener the guest and pulls back the curtain on the three quiet fears that keep would-be buyers stuck: no one will lend me money, no seller will take me seriously, no broker will take me seriously. 

Drawing on a portfolio of 20+ storage facilities worth more than $75 million across multiple states and verticals, Downs dismantles each fear with real numbers, DSCR targets of 1.20–1.25, SBA financing, and the 70–75% of US self-storage still owned by mom-and-pops. 

He closes with a $1.1 million North Carolina acquisition that proves relationships, not credentials, win storage deals. 

Essential listening for any first-time storage investor ready to stop researching and start buying.

Listen For:

3:25 Why do mom-and-pop owners still control most self-storage deal flow?

6:15 Will a lender really fund a first-time self-storage buyer with no track record?

9:28 How do first-time storage investors get sellers to take them seriously?

16:15 How did showing up in person save $100K on a North Carolina storage deal?

25:23 What is the one question every storage investor should answer right now?

CONNECT WITH US

Joe Downs on LinkedIn

Belrose website | Belrose email | Belrose LinkedIn

Storage Moguls Live. Friday, October 16 in White Marsh, Maryland. One day with self storage owners. Walk through a real facility and learn how they find, finance, and close deals. Only 15 tickets. Register at https://go.storagemoguls.ai/white-marsh-md before Thursday.

Is self-storage investing quietly within reach for buyers everyone assumes are "too young" or "too inexperienced”?

Joe Downs sits down with brothers Aidan and Liam Brennan, the youngest buyers he's ever mentored, who just closed on Highway 119 North, a 136-unit, 12,800-square-foot self-storage facility in Pembroke, Georgia. 

With no prior real estate experience, they negotiated an $800,000 ask down to an effective $680,000 then navigated a landlocked easement nightmare when the neighboring property owner died mid-deal. 

This episode pulls back the curtain on SBA financing, underwriting, delinquency cleanup, and self-management for first-time storage investors. 

If you've been waiting until you're "older" or "more ready," this storage investing story dismantles every excuse.

Listen For:

4:09 Is the average first-time self-storage buyer really over 45 in America?

14:13 Can first-time buyers with no experience actually qualify for SBA financing?

15:45 How did a property-line encroachment nearly kill Aidan and Liam's first deal?

32:48 Why is self-storage delinquency almost always worse than the seller discloses?

39:40 Should first-time storage owners self-manage or hire third-party management?

CONNECT WITH GUESTS: 

The Storage Brothers Instagram | Brennan Asset Group Website

AIDAN BRENNAN, SELF-STORAGE INVESTOR & OPERATOR | ACQUISITIONS & ASSET MANAGEMENT

LinkedIn | Instagram| Email

LIAM BRENNAN, WILDLIFE RESEARCHER AND PHOTOGRAPHER

LinkedIn | Instagram | Email

CONNECT WITH US

Joe Downs on LinkedIn

Belrose website | Belrose email | Belrose LinkedIn

Storage Moguls Live. Friday, October 16 in White Marsh, Maryland. One day with self storage owners. Walk through a real facility and learn how they find, finance, and close deals. Only 15 tickets. Register at https://go.storagemoguls.ai/white-marsh-md before Thursday.

Is a first-time storage buyer actually in a stronger position with lenders than an investor who already owns fifty properties? 

Joe Downs sits down with David Merkin, senior managing director at Eastern Union Funding, one of the country's largest commercial mortgage brokerages, who has placed debt on hundreds of storage deals across a network of 200-plus lenders. 

Merkin pulls back the curtain on what banks really evaluate in self-storage financing: the sponsor, the story behind the numbers, and a credible business plan. 

He explains why complex borrowers get rejected, what belongs in a lender-ready package, and why most deals die from self-disqualification…not weak fundamentals. 

For anyone learning how to invest in storage, this is the financing playbook that turns "who would lend to me?" into a fundable deal.

Listen For:

5:44 What does David Merkin say lenders actually care about most?

13:50 How do first-time buyers hold a hidden financing advantage over veterans?

20:34 What does a clean, lender-ready storage financing package include?

24:18 Does a mortgage broker beat your bank on storage loan rates?

26:16 Why do most storage deals die before the application is sent?

CONNECT WITH GUEST: DAVID MERKIN, SENIOR MANAGING DIRECTOR | EASTERN UNION FUNDING

LinkedIn | Website

CONNECT WITH US

Joe Downs on LinkedIn

Belrose website | Belrose email | Belrose LinkedIn

Storage Moguls Live. Friday, October 16 in White Marsh, Maryland. One day with self storage owners. Walk through a real facility and learn how they find, finance, and close deals. Only 15 tickets. Register at https://go.storagemoguls.ai/white-marsh-md before Thursday.

What's the one cost that quietly kills first-time self-storage deals... before the new owner ever collects a dollar? 

This episode pulls back the curtain on the management question that's holding too many qualified investors back from their first acquisition. 

Host Joe Downs sits down with Alex Erbs, Director at EquiCap Commercial and co-founder of Gateway Storage, who built a full internal KPI and operations system through Erbs Management Group before watching it merge with The Storage Mall, now one of the country's leading third-party management platforms. 

Alex has been a buyer, operator, management company founder, and broker. He's lived every stage of the storage investing lifecycle. 

In this episode, he breaks down what first-time self-storage investors get catastrophically wrong about NOI, occupancy, and management...and why the investors still waiting for a perfect deal are the ones losing the most ground right now.

Listen For:

3:28 Do most first-time self-storage investors fail to model third-party management costs before making an offer?

7:49 What does the management fear actually look like in year one and what does it look like after?

17:19 What are the three most critical KPIs every new self-storage owner must track from day one?

24:21 How does a seller's reported NOI differ from what a new self-storage owner will actually collect?

25:05 What separates the self-storage investors who close from the ones still looking 18 months later?

CONNECT WITH GUEST: ALEX ERBS, DIRECTOR | EQUICAP COMMERCIAL

LinkedIn | Email | EquiCap's Facebook | EquiCap's LinkedIn | Website

CONNECT WITH US

Joe Downs on LinkedIn

Belrose website | Belrose email | Belrose LinkedIn

Storage Moguls Live. Friday, October 16 in White Marsh, Maryland. One day with self storage owners. Walk through a real facility and learn how they find, finance, and close deals. Only 15 tickets. Register at https://go.storagemoguls.ai/white-marsh-md before Thursday.