At the last commercial real estate investing workshop we held in Dallas, Texas, one of our students who attended the very first Commercial workshop came up to the front of the room to share some of his experiences with the group. First and foremost, we want to thank him, his name is Stephen Eaton, for doing that. Stephen was a huge hit with the crowd and after they heard what he was doing with mobile home parks and self-storage unit investing, Stephen couldn’t move in the room without a huddle of interested investors following him around!

So, you may have heard that there’s a small group of real estate investors making a killing by accommodating the American public’s propensity to store junk. Stephen was able to put together several deals where he had no money of his own tied up in the deal and capitalize on this American propensity to collect and store. In this post, we’ll explore what he did and whether this is right for you.

Exposing the Myths

Perception is not always reality and this couldn’t be truer than with self storage. I believe there are false perceptions among the real estate community that keeps investors from diving into the self storage business. Test yourself and see how many of these were embedded in your mind about self storage.

Myth #1: There is a self storage facility on every corner. I can’t make money with all of that competition.

It’s true, self storage is a business that has grown from out-of-sight garages in industrial areas to modern multi-use facilities. A billion dollar industry has sprung up in the past twenty years all geared toward development and building. There are more than 45,000 facilities nationwide which equates to over 6 square feet of storage for every U.S. citizen. However, there are investors making phenomenal returns even in overbuilt markets. The key is in purchasing an existing facility at the right price based on actual income and increase the cash flow by operating the business effectively and efficiently.

Stephen however was able to purchase a property that needed some repair, where rents could be raised almost immediately and repairs were mostly cosmetic. Despite the competition in the busy Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex, he was able to purchase and profit from a self-storage facility in a very short amount of time.

Myth #2: I either need to build a new facility or buy a newer one to make money.

Most people think that self storage buildings must be cheap to build since they are just metal buildings with doors. Yes, they are cheaper to build than most other commercial buildings, but there is much more to developing and building than meets the eye. In most cases, it’s a laborious process that takes months, if not years, to complete. Then all you have is an empty facility with a large debt service. It may take several years to break even and this is definitely not a fast track to success.

The smart investors are buying existing, older facilities that are poorly operated and need minor repairs. These properties are not on the radar screen of the big companies and can be picked up at great prices. With these facilities, you often start with a positive cash flow and once the repairs have been made and you operate it professionally, the money really starts rolling in. That’s just what Stephen did. He purchased an older facility that really wasn’t that attractive physically. It was not new and it was not modern, but it had potential just because of that. Stephen has been upgrading the property and installing more modern conveniences that enable him to earn an even faster return on his efforts with the property.

Myth #3: It takes a lot of money to get in the self storage business and financing is difficult to obtain.

In many cases, you can purchase a 30,000 square feet, 20 year old facility for less than a single-family home in California. Sure, it is going to be more expensive than most rental houses, but financing is extremely easy to obtain. There are an abundance of lenders nationwide who are fighting for self storage loans and will even finance up to 90 percent of the purchase price. Self storage has some of the best loan programs available in the commercial market with great interest rates and terms. It is due to fact that this asset class has the lowest default rate among all commercial real estate types.

Stephen actually was able to purchase a property with none of his own money down by using the funds he obtained from a private money lender. You can do exactly the same thing.

So, what are the benefits of this type of investment and is it right for you?

Now that we’ve dealt with the most common myths that keep investors from looking at self storage, let’s concentrate on the benefits of this business. Once you grasp these strategies, you will begin to understand why few, if any speakers have ever showed up at your real estate club exposing this great investment.

Benefit #1: Scale – The powers of numbers…An average size self storage facility has 300 units and let’s say that a 10 x 10 unit rents for $60 per month. I typically increase the monthly rental price by five percent each year at my facilities. So, the $60 unit would increase by $3 to $63 per month. $3 times 300 units will increase the cash flow by $900 per month or $10,800 per year. If there were no increases in expenses, the value of the facility just went up over $100,000 due to a $3 per month rental increase. How many jobs out there allow you to increase your income over $10K and add $100K to your retirement every year? What if you could do this every 8 months instead of annually?

Benefit #2: Fees - Better late than never…Late fees are unbelievable in the self storage business. It’s not uncommon for many tenants at my facilities to pay an additional $20 in late fees each month on a $35 per month 5 x 10 rental unit. I have one facility that averages 8 percent of the gross income each month in late fees. This particular property averaged $1,165 per month in 2006 in late fees. Talk about free money and cash flow, it added up to almost $14,000 last year. Not only was it found money (the previous owner didn’t charge late fees), it also increased the value of the property by over $140K.

Benefit #3 : Admin Charges – Give them something for FREE and still make money…One of the easiest profit centers to set up in this business, as long as it is done correctly, is the administration fee. I charge every new customer a $15 administration fee, but give them a new, sturdy cylinder lock as a gift. This lock would most likely cost them about $15 if purchased at a local store, but my cost is only $3 since I buy them in bulk. I have very few customers complain about the fee because they feel like they received something of equal value in return. Bottom-line is I make an additional $12 every time someone moves into a unit. At one facility, we get 15 new customers each month which equates to an additional $180 per month in income from administration fees. This adds another $2,160 per year in income and over $20K to the value of the facility.

Benefit #4: MULTIPLE Profit Centers – These are only three of more than 30 profit centers that I can generate from a self storage facility. Some of the others include record storage, ebay consignment, mailbox rental, moving supplies, outside RV/boat parking, packing and shipping services, notary services, fax services, copy services and the list is as long as your imagination.

Self storage can truly set you free financially and it’s one area where you don’t have to trip over other real estate investors looking for deals. It obviously worked for Stephen, and it is an area that we are planning on getting much more involved in at the beginning of 2011.