2020 has ushered in a dramatically different landscape for not only the self-storage industry but the entire economy as well. As brokers, we may sometimes forget that our world of real estate transactions is quite unfamiliar to our clients when they decide to sell their properties. As self-storage owners and investors...
Is Plunging Performance Problematic? At the moment, descent is not a problem. However, it is a situation most segments of the economy are beginning to confront—that we are over the peak and heading down the other side of the curve. Self-storage is slipping into the same trend line. After years of...
Determining The Real Value Of A Property Operating a self-storage business also means owning a property—a physical building where tenants rent space. After becoming established, the owner/operator typically becomes mostly concerned with the day-to-day tasks of servicing customers and meeting payroll. But equally important is the need to keep tabs on...
Stalemates In The Sales Process According to one source, there may be $400 million in self-storage properties that have sat on the sales market for more than two years. By all accounts, storage facilities have never been worth more and experts generally believe self-storage fundamentals remain strong, yet these properties are...
The Best Pre-Sale Preparations Opting to sell your self-storage facility is not a decision to take lightly. There are many factors and options to consider that should be discussed with your business partners, accountants, and/or financial advisors before you decide to sell. While some storage owners and operators look to cap...
Industry Experience Adds Value If you are planning to sell your property, you may assume a commercial real estate broker is sufficient. But have you considered using a broker who specializes in self-storage? The real estate market is complex. You should expect any broker to help you navigate the pitfalls of...
Investment Insight For The Best Deals Back in the spring of this year, Sovran Self Storage, Inc., of Williamsville, N.Y., announced it would acquire LifeStorage, LP, a privately-owned self-storage operator for about $1.3 billion. In the deal, Sovran will end up with 84 LifeStorage facilities and a purchase contract to acquire...
Fire Code Sparks Costly Change In Charleston, S.C., a memorial, appropriately called the Charleston Nine site, protects the sacred ground where the Sofa Super Store, a commercial furniture showroom and warehouse facility, once stood. On June 18, 2007, almost a decade ago, a massive fire—fueled by burning furniture that produced toxic...
Planning Your Exit Strategy By some reckoning, about 80 percent of the ownership of self-storage units are in the hands of private investors. The other 20 percent are under the stewardship of institutional investors, including real estate investment trusts and equity investors. That overweighting has been tilting in recent years as...
Five Steps For Transaction Management Successfully selling or buying your self-storage facility always comes down to transaction management. It is critical to know the transaction process, move it through the difficult stages, and make sure that everyone is moving in the same direction. The best way to manage a transaction is...
Six Considerations For Sellers There is a growing perception that self-storage real estate values may be at or near their historical peak in some markets. But, even in markets where prices have yet to fully recover, or where values have simply remained flat, it may still be the right time to...