Monthly or annual REVENUE - gives you a feel for performance. NOT their NOI, as their NOl takes into account their expenses and your expenses will be different than theirs since you won't run it the same way they do. And sellers often/nearly always skimp on their expenses to make the business look more profitable than it really is. Occupancy - both physical and economic (if they know it) - tells you about the local demand for storage Any recent repairs or deferred maintenance? helps you account for any large issues that may have happened of that you need to account for in your underwriting to price the deal right Reason for selling - this one is gold. Often tells you how flexible they might be. How they manage it - software (which one?), on-site manager, mom & pop system like pen and paper in a binder or 3x5 cards in a drawer (yes I've spoken with owners who do this), etc. Are they open to seller financing (aka taking payments over time / holding a note) - this flexibility can help you achieve a higher purchase price or down payment... etc, helps you structure the deal to meet their "needs and greeds" with selling the biz. Do they own it free and clear? If they want to sell it for $1M and they have a loan for $600k, they'll only be able to seller finance $400k, so you can structure your offers taking into account that they cant seller finance more than the equity they have in the deal. And before you end the call, ask if you can email them your contact info and a little about you. It helps them see you as more human, and it gives you their email so now you can follow up automatically even while you sleep using Schedule Send in gmail (or other email service)

Question of the Day: Do you think the best self-storage deals are behind us? I hear this all the time. "Shane, I wish I got into storage 5 years ago." My answer? I think the EASY deals are gone. But I also think there are incredible opportunities for investors willing to: ✅ Build relationships ✅ Talk to owners ✅ Underwrite correctly ✅ Solve problems What do you think? Are deals getting harder to find or are investors just looking in the wrong places? 👇 Let's discuss.

Here is the quick backstory... When we moved to town i looked up the local commercial brokers and started making some calls to introduce myself. I let them know who I am, what I do and what I am looking for. Then a few weeks ago I get a text from one of the brokers and they have a piece of land I am interested in and they are about to list it. He said he remembered me and wanted to give me a shot at it because I am local. 2 days later I sent an offer at 75% of asking price. Crickets for a week... I call him and he says we are too far apart for them to counter me and the timeline I was offering was too long (I tried to get this locked up for about 5 months!) So I tell him I am happy to shorten my timeline but as a development play I will need a decent window to work with. Then I send another offer at 85% of asking (a week ago) and still no response. To be honest, i am not 100% sure of what I would do with the land but the location makes me think I will have a handful of decent options. My thinking is to get it under contract, then figure the rest out. I am curious to hear from others on this...What would you do in this situation?

wondering what was worth tackling right away

We’ve talked about how to structure an offer in such a way that all options presented to a seller would also work for you. Basically, we don’t want to provide an option to the seller that we can’t work with. Presenting one offer only leaves them 2 options. Say yes or say no. Instead, assume they are willing to sell and present 3 purchase options. Cash, bank financing, and owner finance. No matter what they pick, you’re buying a facility!! Now check out this attached offer we received from a potential buyer. All options are seller financed but I give them credit for the multiple options presented. Have you made any offers lately and if so, how did you structure it?