“Where do you find the self storage facilities you buy?”
Well, finding self storage facilities to purchase is an art.
Yes, I have a method, which I will share here, but in the end it’s an art.
But I think being in business is like being an artist. We are creating something when we create a company, much like an artist creates their work.
As I was creating the courses on how to buy and how to build self storage, I had to really think through where and how I get the deal flow.
Now there is the usual web sites we all know, the LoopNet’s and the Catalysis, and so on. (In the courses I have a list of all the sites I use). I set them up with auto responders so I get notified when any listing come in the areas I set up.
I’ve found some of the facilities we own that way.
Another way is to connect with real estate agents in the market areas you are seeking to find self storage in and have them notify you when something comes up.
The reality is there are very few really good self storage specialist. There are a lot of real estate agents who can say they can help you find self storage, and that is true. However, there are very few who truly specialize in self storage.
As I was preparing the courses, I realized that most of what I buy today, I get notified by real estate agents prior to the listing hitting those web sites.
So the next question is where do you find those real estate agents?
The trade shows.
By going to the trade shows the Self Storage Association and Inside Self Storage put on, you will meet many of these agents who specialize in self storage.
Yes, you can google them.
Yes, you can connect with them by phone or email.
But at the end of the day, self storage, like everything else, is a relationship game. The person with the right relationships wins.
Nothing works like a face to face meeting. Then your phone calls and then your emails get responded to in a different way.
I have areas of the country where we are focused. I try to know all the agents who specialize in self storage in those markets.
I stay in touch with them like they try to stay in touch with me.
I send them “Just Bought” emails like they send me “just Sold” emails. I send them “looking for” emails regularly.
When I am in the areas they work in, I call them.
And most importantly, when they do send me something, I jump on it. If it looks like something I am interested in, I move quick.
Once you buy a facility an agent has listed, you are on their radar screen for a long time. They will jump through hoops to get you in front of more deals if you tell them you are still want more.
Never get the reputation of someone who just looks.
Half the deals I have today came this way, through the relationships I have established with a handful of real estate agents.
Of the other half, about half of those showed up in my inbox from those real estate web sites, and the last quarter came from unexpected places.
I let everyone know what I do. Over time I became known as a specialist in self storage. I have owners contact me now. I have people referring me out to people.
Two weeks ago a contractor we use told me about a tract of land he knows about with expressway exposure that he thinks the owner will sell.
We looked and yes, unless the feasibility report shows something I don’t know about, I think it would be a great site for self storage. I submitted an LOI on it and I am still waiting for the response.
This contractor is working for us on a site building a facility now. That land is a project I am on because that landowner, who lives out of state, heard I do self storage and got my name from an engineer.
At the end of the day it is all relationships and nurturing good relationships is a real art.
My coaching is to do all the things you know to do and we have discussed here. But when you find a facility that could work, do it as quick as you can. Become someone who has the reputation of doing deals.
Then share what you do with as many people as you can.
Then the deals start coming to you.
