Own and operate self storage | Coach new self storage investors | Hard money lender | Husband, Dad, Fireman. California is home.
California
Joined October 2012
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Quick reintroduction:
I’m Kevin. Firefighter. 36. Wife, 3 kids (5 and under)
I bought my first house at 19 during the worst housing crash in modern history.
Ended up buying about 50 more over the next 5 years.
Quit two corporate jobs before 25.
Moved to Australia for a year to figure out what I actually wanted. Turns out it wasn’t to sit behind a desk and work a 9-5 or to manage a bunch of homes.
Today I own 12 self-storage facilities across 4 states (acquiring more each year), run a hard money lending business, and coach people getting into storage.
Things I believe that most people in real estate won’t say out loud:
* High occupancy can be a trap
* Most coaching programs are marketing funnels disguised as education
* Real estate isn’t passive. Run from whoever tells you it is.
* A $500K storage facility in a small town will outperform a $2M multifamily in a “hot market” 9 times out of 10
* Automation is overrated if your processes are broken - you’re just automating chaos faster
* You don’t need to quit your W-2 to build real wealth
I post real numbers, real mistakes, real lessons learned, and real operations. No fluff.
What’s one question you have about self-storage or real estate investing? Drop it below or DM me - I’ll answer every one.
33% of you said capital is what's stopping you from buying your first storage facility.
Here's the truth: capital is rarely the real problem.
1) Seller financing. The best tool for small rural deals. The owner who built it 25 years ago often wants monthly income, not a lump sum and a tax bill. 10 to 20% down, he carries the rest.
2) SBA loans. As little as 10% down on an owner-operated business. Slower and more paperwork, but it's how a lot of first deals get done.
3) Local and community banks. They know the town, they know the facility, and they lend on relationships. The big banks won't look at a 60-unit deal. The local bank will.
4) Partners. You bring the deal and do the work. They bring the cash. Split the equity. Your first deal doesn't have to be 100% yours.
5) Private lenders. Higher rates, faster closes. Best as a bridge, not a long-term plan.
6) Self-directed retirement accounts. Yours or a partner's. More rules, but real money sitting idle.
7) Combine them. Seller carries 30%, the bank takes 60%, a partner covers the 10% down. Most small deals get done this way.
What to avoid: putting your house on the line for deal #1. Start small enough that a bad year doesn't touch your family.
A $500K facility with seller financing might need $50K to $75K down. That's not "I need millions." That's a hard year of saving or one good partner.
You don't have a capital problem.
You have a deal problem.
Go back to post #1.
46% of you said finding deals is what’s stopping you.
2% said underwriting.
Those are the same problem.
If you’re looking on LoopNet and Crexi, you’re not finding deals. You’re bidding against funds.
The real deals are in small towns. 30 to 200 units. Owner built it 25 years ago. No website. Rates haven’t moved in years. He isn’t listing. He’s waiting for someone to call.
Here’s where to find him:
1. Google Maps. Pick a town of 2,000 to 20,000 people and search “storage.” No website, few reviews, landline number? Lead.
2. Direct to owner. County assessor for the name, Secretary of State for the LLC, skip trace for the phone. Call first, mail second.
3. Direct mail. Every owner in your target markets. The deal comes on the 4th or 5th letter, not the 1st.
4. Small local brokers. They see storage once or twice a year and call whoever closed last time.
5. Stale listings. 6+ months on market. The seller has softened and the other buyers are gone.
6. Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist. Small owners list there. Serious buyers don’t look.
7. Your network. Attorneys, CPAs, and lenders know who’s retiring or settling an estate before anything hits the market.
8. Other operators. The tired guy with three facilities wants out more than you think.
Now the part nobody wants to hear:
If you can’t underwrite a facility in 10 minutes, you’ll scroll past the good one and miss it when it comes. Then you call it “no deals.”
You don’t need all 8. Pick 2. Do them every week for 6 months. You'll be amazed at the results.
There are deals. There isn’t consistency.
Capital was #2 at 33%. That’s next.
46% of you said finding deals is what’s stopping you.
2% said underwriting.
Those are the same problem.
If you’re looking on LoopNet and Crexi, you’re not finding deals. You’re bidding against funds.
The real deals are in small towns. 30 to 200 units. Owner built it 25 years ago. No website. Rates haven’t moved in years. He isn’t listing. He’s waiting for someone to call.
Here’s where to find him:
1. Google Maps. Pick a town of 2,000 to 20,000 people and search “storage.” No website, few reviews, landline number? Lead.
2. Direct to owner. County assessor for the name, Secretary of State for the LLC, skip trace for the phone. Call first, mail second.
3. Direct mail. Every owner in your target markets. The deal comes on the 4th or 5th letter, not the 1st.
4. Small local brokers. They see storage once or twice a year and call whoever closed last time.
5. Stale listings. 6+ months on market. The seller has softened and the other buyers are gone.
6. Facebook Marketplace and Craigslist. Small owners list there. Serious buyers don’t look.
7. Your network. Attorneys, CPAs, and lenders know who’s retiring or settling an estate before anything hits the market.
8. Other operators. The tired guy with three facilities wants out more than you think.
Now the part nobody wants to hear:
If you can’t underwrite a facility in 10 minutes, you’ll scroll past the good one and miss it when it comes. Then you call it “no deals.”
You don’t need all 8. Pick 2. Do them every week for 6 months. You'll be amazed at the results.
There are deals. There isn’t consistency.
Capital was #2 at 33%. That’s next.
What's actually stopping you from buying your first self-storage facility?
33%Capital
46%Finding Deals
2%Underwriting
20%Scared of operating it
46 votes • Final resultsTwo of my self-storage students just went UNDER CONTRACT on their first deals.
Both started with zero facilities.
Now they’re one step closer to becoming owners.
This is my favorite part of coaching.
Watching people go from analyzing deals and second-guessing themselves to actually taking action.
You don’t need to know everything to get started.
You just need to start.
Now let’s get these deals to the closing table!
Refrigerator leaked so need some hardwood flooring repair.
Guy comes over - $800. Fair deal.
Wife asks what it cost to replace all the hardwood floor in the entire house.
He left.
I put my foot down. Not replacing 5 year old flooring. Hard no. Nope. Love you, but no!
So guess who’s getting any entire house worth of new hardwood flooring next week?
The dirty little secret of self-storage:
Our best customers aren’t the ones with expensive belongings.
They’re the ones who can’t make decisions.
They’ll pay $150/month for 5 years before spending one Saturday throwing stuff away.
Indecision is an incredibly profitable business.
Locksmith opened vacant house #2 - another good surprise!
They even left the appliances for us, that was nice.
Carpet, paint, handyman for punch list items, deep clean, landscaping.
Listing should go live in 2 weeks.
I’m all in on self storage, but these are fun too :)
Yes. And also some really good deals out there because of this!
Looking at some self storage acquisition opportunities.
Still crazy how people wants 5 caps on these things cus "there's upside"
Then you look at how many of their customers are current on payments, and it's more like a 4 cap.
I think a lot of these guys are upside-down on debt and can't sell for any less without cutting a huge check.
Tough racket.
Bought 4 houses.
2 vacant, 2 occupied.
Interiors unseen on all 4.
Locksmith opens up the two vacant ones tomorrow. Always a fun surprise. Or it isn’t.
Auction day tomorrow
Bidding on 26 houses
Typically this would net 3 purchases
But due to the market, we are being more conservative in our bids this month
If competition drops out, we may pick up more
If competition keeps playing, might not pick up any for the first time.
The most profitable phrase in self-storage is:
“We’ll only need it for a few months.”
Translation:
See you in 2029.
