368. How to Find Self Storage Facilities with Hidden Upside (and Red Flags to Avoid)
How do you know if a self storage facility is a home-run deal or a ticking time bomb?
Right now, the self storage industry is ripe with opportunity. We’ve bought more self storage facilities in the last 12 months than we did in the previous three years combined, and these deals are some of the best we’ve seen in several years.
But not every distressed facility is a hidden gem. Some deals look great on paper but are actually traps—facilities that never fill up, attract low-paying tenants, and have little to no value-add potential.
So, what really separates a great deal from a bad one?
It all comes down to market-driven opportunity and operator-driven vacancy.
Today, I’m sharing how to spot the difference using two real-world case studies—a pair of distressed facilities we stabilized through a combination of savvy marketing and strategic rent increases.
I’m digging into market signals, rental rates, supply and demand, and other key factors that will tell you whether you’re buying upside or just inheriting someone else’s problem.
What you’ll learn in today’s show:
- The biggest differences between value-add opportunities and “bad” deals
- Two market demand signals to watch for when analyzing self storage deals
- How to determine if distress is market- or operator-related
- A realistic timeline for stabilizing an undervalued self storage facility
- Real case studies (with real numbers!) from our own self storage portfolio
—
Grab AJ’s Book, Growing Wealth in Self-Storage 2.0: https://www.amazon.com/Growing-Wealth-Self-Storage-2-0-Post-Pandemic/dp/1735258865
- This Just Unlocked REAL Cap Rates, Occupancy, and More for Any US Market w/TractIQ CEO Noah Starr: https://www.selfstorageincome.com/podcasts/self-storage-income-2/episodes/2149256841
