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13 contributions to StorageAce
Same business but buildings split between multiple locations
How would you let customers know that you have more buildings as part of the same facility? I have some buildings in one location and more buildings a block away. How do you let people know that they are part of the same business? The buildings look the same, but you can't see the other location while you are at one of them. I thought about adding a sign at each location that would show a Google Map outlining the different locations. This way people know they're all part of the same business. Maybe it's not needed, and I'm overthinking it.
1 like • 5d
@Tommy Xaysongkham put up wayfinding signing and notices. Think: getting off the hotel elevator and which way do I go to my room. Same thing
Filtering out deals - look at market or do 5-min analyzer first?
Dave has the 5-minute deal analyzer, so I do use that to filter out deals. However, I'm finding myself looking at the market before I even get to that. I would jump on TractIQ and see what the market looks like (medium HHI, supply ratio, population trend, and homeowners vs renters). I figured that if I don't like the market then I don't want a facility there. Do you think I'm missing out on potential good deals by looking at the market first? Sometimes I do still do the 5-minute analyzer. Just wondering if I should really be doing the 5-minute analyzer first always instead of jumping to look at the market first.
1 like • May 30
@Tommy Xaysongkham real estate is location location location. If you don’t like the market then you prob don’t want to do the deal.
Most Investors Skip This Step — and It Costs Them Deals
The old way: someone finds a storage facility, gets excited, builds a full spreadsheet, spends hours underwriting — then discovers the market can't support the rents. Deal's dead. Hours wasted. On to the next one. There's a better way. Before I ever do a full underwrite, I run a quick analysis first. And a big part of that quick analysis is a market analysis — understanding what the market will actually bear before I touch a spreadsheet. Occupancy rates, street rates, competition density. The market tells you things numbers on a page never will. If the market doesn't support the deal, no spreadsheet is going to fix it. I built a simple tool for exactly this step. It's called the 5-Minute Storage Deal Analyzer — and it walks you through the quick analysis process so you can screen deals fast and stop wasting time on deals that were never going to work. Grab it here: https://join.storageace.io/5-minute-storage-deal-analyzer Once a deal passes the quick analysis, then I go deep. That's when full underwriting is worth your time. Stop spending hours on deals that fail in the first five minutes. Self Storage Power Hour is TODAY at 10am MST — come learn live: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89654514255?pwd=txJtbav30mochXjderlUSzbpo6bntF.1 Dave "8 Facilities. Zero Guessing." DeMink
3 likes • May 5
@Wes Eaves It depends on your style and comfort. I generally do a quick analysis in 20 minutes. If I’m going to put it in offer I will dive in over 1-2 hours. However, I know some operators that throw in an offer after 20 minutes and if they get a counter, they then dive in. They maximize offers and only dive in if they get a counter. Both methods work.
2 likes • May 6
@Wes Eaves so I’ve sent 20 offers over the last 20 weeks. I aim for one per week. Currently trying to speed this process up. I’ve negotiated a few. Haven’t gone under contract yet. Probably half of what I’ve offered on hasn’t traded. So I’ve been hanging around the hoop. As of this week 1 of those deals has actively come back to me. Part of my strategy has also been to find some of the properties where I love the location / dirt; but they are over priced. So I’ll do quick work - submit. And then just wait until the seller gets more realistic. But to do this you need to understand seller motivation. So on one of those - the partnership was dissolving so I knew it would eventually trade.
Comping to U Haul
Hey All - I am looking at a market where UHaul controls my corridor (3 of the 5 facilities). The facilities all appear to be doing well (mine is 94% occupied). I've seen in many markets, including this one, that Uhaul has the highest rates (by a mile). Uhaul prices ~60% higher than the rest of the market & still appears to rent. I'm curious - how do people view UHaul as a comp? My gut is that there is definitely a nice in-between spot on rates between Uhaul & where my facility sits. However, I also suspect UHaul gets such high rates due to the additional products & services they offer (namely: U Haul trucks). How do people think about comping to UHaul?
2 likes • May 2
Thanks, Dave!
Would I need to charge a lower price if the facility is farther outside of town in a tertiary market?
Looking at a facility in a tertiary town. It's one of only 2 facilities in the 7 miles radius. The only competition is 90% full, but they are right in the middle of the town whereas my facility would be a mile outside of town and currently about 70% full even with current lower prices. The competitor is also near the main street, and the traffic pattern does not come towards my facility. Trying to get an idea about how aggressive I can be raising the rent and also if I can get to the same rate as the competitor in a location that is not as good as theirs.
2 likes • Apr 27
I think the first question is will people drive to you. Are you still convenient even though you’re the wrong direction? Does everyone need to pass the other facility just to get to you? This is a retail business disguised as real estate - so always need to wear both hats. The traffic pattern doesn’t go to you, but of the unit types you have - how many at your comp set are full? If all the units you have are full or near full - there is demand. Your base case may be underwriting slightly lower rents but can have an upside matching. And then the question is why is occ lower - is it because they are out of the way? Is their web presence poor? Do they do Google ads? Can you rent online? Do they pick up the phone? Does the in town facility have someone that works on site full time? Some smaller towns will lease better with a part or full time employee. After determining if people will drive to you, I would look at operations and figure out is there something the current operator isn’t doing that would change things. The end result - you’ll make an educated guess on if it’ll work. Lastly - why is the seller only 70% occ? Is the vacancy in only one unit type? Can you move walls around and change unit sizes to drive occupancy?
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Jake Dersovitz
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23 points to level up
@jake-dersovitz-2006
Real estate investor. Always happy to chat - shoot me a message or a text/call 201-916-5490

Active 2d ago
Joined Mar 7, 2026
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