How to Become a Millionaire in Any Real Estate Market with
 Self Storage

Scott's Bio

The Complete Guide to Finding, Evaluating, and Purchasing Self Storage Facilities™ Home Study System

Here’s a business concept that’s creating a mini-revolution all across the country and giving thousands of people the ability to create their own wealth system right from their living room.  The Self Storage business may seem familiar to you, but it’s actually re-inventing itself in so many important and exciting ways, and is widely regarded as the most profitable and easily managed real estate investment in the country. 

The good news is that Self Storage is a $220 billion+ (market cap value) and $22.6 billion (annual revenues) industry in the United States that comprises 51,223 primary facilities with more than 2.2 billion rentable square feet!  And of those 51,223 facilities, roughly 23,000 have been added in the past 7 years, proving that this is a product that is in high demand!  In addition, a recent study by the National Self Storage Association showed that only 1 in 10 US Households are now renting 1 or more Self Storage Units, creating a high growth industry with only 10% penetration!

“I can’t think of 1 single long term trend in our country and our economy that doesn’t benefit Self Storage – It’s the perfect storm – a hurricane of Profits”. “This is the sweetest spot in the whole American economy; a receptacle for an enormous cascade of money!”  Ben Stein, noted American economist, and award winning author. Quotes taken from his keynote speech at the SSA fall Conference & Trade Show, 2007.

How many business opportunities have you looked at? Ten?  Fifteen?  Twenty?  How many sites have you visited promising unlimited wealth with no risk or without lifting a finger?  Maybe you’ve looked at franchises that charge astronomical fees and huge back end royalties.

I know, I’ve been there.  Over 14 years ago I started looking for the perfect business…one I could do without sabotaging all my time, my current job, my marriage, or my friendships. 

What I wanted was a business that I could mold into my lifestyle and personal financial goals.  A business that was isolated from good and bad economic cycles, not a fad that would fizzle out, leaving me right back where I started.

Well after talking to and meeting with several older, wiser, (and richer) friends, I found one thing in common:  Virtually all of them had made their fortunes in real estate, and the others had a real estate portfolio larger than most so called full time real estate investors. 

So I jumped in with both feet by purchasing a home study course by one of the top “Guru’s” in the country on how to invest in real estate with no money down.  And I, unlike so many other people who buy courses and then stick them on the shelf, actually watched those tapes and read the manual.  And Guess what……..it worked!  I bought my first piece of investment real estate, a 3- bedroom 1 bath single family home, for $30,000 with $0 money down! 

Then I rehabbed it, rented it, refinanced it, and pulled out enough money to re-invest in 2 more just like it.  I repeated this several times over and had made a small fortune in the single family buy it, fix it, rent it, and sell it real estate business.  I then took that small fortune and began to invest in several apartment complexes, and office buildings.  The cash flow was great, my net worth had skyrocketed, and I was living the dream! (so I thought).

Then came the tragic events of September 11, which as many of you may remember, shook our country to the core.  In the recession that followed, our vacancy rate plummeted near our break even point, our insurance rates had soared, and a statewide property tax increase on all our properties a year later delivered the final blow.  The promise of a better life and the creation of wealth through residential rental real estate had been jeopardized in just a few short years, and I knew something had to change!  

As I pondered my options, I realized that my passion still lied within real estate.  The main reason I was in this mess was because I was in the business of renting space to PEOPLE.  The lost rent from evictions, move-outs in the middle of the night, huge collection expenses, high vacancies in tough economies, plus the cost to repair, re-paint, and re-carpet each of our 400 units when they became vacant was eating away at our monthly cash flow.    

Also, being a victim of random increases in property taxes, insurance, and utility costs over the past 5 years brought me to the conclusion that I no longer wanted to be in a position where I was slave to the tax man, the insurance companies, nor the utility monopolies any longer.    

“Although I was Making Money with Single-Family Homes and Apartments…I wanted to Make More Money, Faster, without the Hassles of Tenants, Toilets, or Employees!” 

So the conclusion was that my dream job was to build a low-risk, high cash flow real estate business without all the hassles of tenants, toilets, or employees!  Simple enough, but did such a business really exist?  Was it a pipe dream?  Or was it the best kept secret in Real Estate Investing?   

Well since you logged on to SelfStorageInvesting.com, you probably already know the answer; I found my dream business in Self Storage.  After performing a great deal of research on the industry, I decided to sell all my single family homes, apartments, and office buildings, dump all my tenants and toilets, and focus solely on Self Storage for the following “Top 10” reasons:    

10.  Low Barrier to Entry – There are Approximately 52,500 existing facilities in the U.S. creating a tremendous buying opportunity

9.  Real estate – because of the power of leverage, tax advantages, and wealth creation through forced appreciation

8.  Demand Projections are on the rise:  23,000 facilities, or roughly half of all facilities in the U.S. have been built in the past 7 years, and 77 Million Baby Boomers are set to retire, move, downsize, buy 2^nd homes, and will need storage.  

7.  Multiple Profit Centers – Merchandise sales of locks, boxes, & Moving supplies, Cell Towers, Billboard leases, Carwashes, Business Centers, Pack & Ship services, Insurance sales, Plus Truck Rentals, EBAY©, & much more!

6.  Minimal Collection Losses – The ability to Lock out non-paying tenants, and then auction their stuff to recapture lost rent.  (Can you imagine doing this in the apartment world?) 

5.  Low-risk – multiple units in 1 place; No single move-out dramatically affects cash flow.  As a result, Self Storage loans have the lowest default rate of any real estate product type in the market, period!

4.  High Cash Flow – Taxes, Insurance, and utilities are lower than any other property class, therefore, they aren’t susceptible to large increases. In addition, the $ per sq. ft. is the same as other types of real estate, without the additional expenses.

3.  No Employees – Manage on your own, or from afar with an automated, ATM style kiosk 

2.  No Tenants – Just Stuff like Patio furniture, boxes, books, and couches, Not People and their bad habits and behaviors.

1.  No Toilets – Just steel walls doors, & roofs, with a gravel or asphalt driveway and a fence. When a tenant moves out, I don’t have to fix anything, nor Re-Paint, or Re-Carpet and NO TOILETS! 

So How Does Self Storage Stack up against other forms of Commercial Real Estate Investments Like Apartments, Office Buildings, and Retail? 

Development Costs The development cost of self storage is one-third to one-half that of Apartments (multi-family), office buildings, or retail properties.
Operating Costs Owning Real Estate requires regular maintenance of the grounds, appliances, plumbing, electrical fixtures, etc., which usually require a maintenance staff. As the graph illustrates, self-storage operating costs are less than half that of other real estate properties.
Break-Even Occupancy Rates When owning investment property, you simply must fill a certain amount of space to keep from losing money. In self storage, this break-even point is considerably lower than other real estate ventures due to its low development costs.
Annual Rent Ranges This chart illustrates that the annual rent ranges for self storage fall within the range of other real estate. However, considering the lower development and operational costs we discussed above, self storage can yield a better bottom line.
Failure Rate Comparison Compared to other real estate investments, self storage has the ability to absorb economic fluctuations, maintaining value during both good and bad economic times.

Now, I know what you’re thinking…..

Misconception # 1 – “Great, but Self Storage  is an industry dominated by major corporations”. This couldn’t be farther from the truth.  In fact, of the roughly 51,500 facilities in this country, approximately 88% are owned by smaller operators, not the “big boys” as many people think.  In addition, most of these “mom and pop” operators started with little or no knowledge of the industry, yet they are making more money than they ever thought possible, and in all markets and in both good and bad economies.  And guess what, many of these owners developed their facilities specifically with the intention to sell them off to investors like us!

Misconception # 2 – “This all sounds great, but there aren’t any facilities where I live”.  Ok, let’s review; there are roughly 51,500 facilities in this country!  So if you don’t believe me, and you want to know how many there are in your area, simply open up the phone book and look up “Self Storage” in the Yellow Pages, or Google “Self Storage” followed by the name of your city or town, and watch the listings flow in.  Besides, this is an investment that can be managed from afar, so don’t limit yourself to just your home town.  I personally own several properties all around my home state of Indiana.  I use a web based property management system and automated ATM-style kiosks, and I visit my facilities every 2 weeks or so. I also have plans to expand into several other states and I have the ability to manage them from anywhere I can get an internet connection and a cell phone signal.

Misconception # 3 – “Self Storage deals must be harder to do than single-family deals” .  Does buying a triple mocha half calf non fat extra large latte with whip take any longer to buy than a small black coffee?  It’s the same process.  With Self Storage, I use virtually the same methods I used when buying single-family houses.  And where they differ, I developed my own checklists and systems that clearly spell out what needs to be done and when. 

Well after I got past these industry myths…….

The First Step I took was to immerse myself in education.  As I looked around for ways to educate myself in this industry, to my surprise, I found that there were no courses available to teach me how to do it.  So I just bought every book, went to every seminar, and meeting I could find, and eventually joined the Self Storage Association.  I bought everything I could get my hands on and learned all the tricks, techniques and strategies that were out there.  I learned it all, but it wasn’t easy.  I don’t think anybody wanted share how much money they were actually making in this business.  And as I have found, there is a boatload!

The Second Thing I did was to build on my successes and experience using technology from my apartment, office, and warehouse investing career.  I took what I learned through several years of training and thousands and thousands of dollars spent on courses, books, and seminars I had attended over the years began to apply it to my Self Storage Business.  I learned how to set up systems that maximized efficiencies in all areas, and allowed the business to thrive without the need for me to be involved in the day to day operations.  However, one of the biggest discoveries was that you can now manage your facility from thousands of miles away with an automated Kiosk, that rents, accepts payments, and even sells locks! 

The Third Thing I did was to put the two together and create an easy to follow, step by step system that allowed me to become a successful investor working fewer hours per week.  This is also the same system and business plan that I use to train my staff and other people who work with me.  It’s all here, I’ve left nothing out!

Oh yeah, and the next thing I did was buy a 296 unit Self Storage facility with No Money out of my own Pocket!

At the end of 12 months, I had purchased 3 more facilities, with a positive cash flow of $10,700 per month, with no tenants, and no toilets!  I now own several facilities comprising 1,000’s of units, my monthly cash flow is more than some people make in a year, and I could retire if I want.  But as Confucius said: “Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life”.      

I found out the hard way, however, that there are a few important differences between buying a single-family house or apartment building, vs. buying a Self Storage Facility.  I made a lot of mistakes in the beginning—some very costly.  But what counts is that I learned from my mistakes, and I created systems so I wouldn’t ever make those same mistakes again, with step by step instructions on how to find lowly Cinderella facilities and turn them into Belles of the Ball (making a boatload of cash in the process!)

Fortunately for you, I’ve combined all of my knowledge, and all of my systems into my Home Study System called:

”The Complete Guide to Finding, Evaluating, and Purchasing Self Storage Facilities™”

This Step-By-Step system means you won’t make the same mistakes I did, and will show you how I went from being a tired, overworked and underpaid landlord, to creating $10,700 in monthly spendable cash in 12 short months, without the hassles of tenants and toilets. 

Here’s the Complete Table of Contents of the course, Straight from the Manual…..

CHAPTER 1:  Industry Overview          

• Definition of Self Storage

• The History of Self Storage

• Self Storage Tenants

• The Current State of the Market

CHAPTER 2:  Investment Opportunities In self storage                

• 20 Reasons for Self Storage Now!

• Debunking the Myths

CHAPTER 3:  The Future of Self Storage                                

• Reasons for Increased Demand

• Advancements in Technology

• More Products & Services

• Focus on Customer Service

• Industry Consolidation

• Increased Competition

• Increased Values

CHAPTER 4:     To Buy or to Build 

• The advantages of Buying

• The advantages of Building

CHAPTER 5:  Where to Find the Deals                 

• The 7 Best Ways to find Self Storage Deals:

• Engaging Brokers

• Tapping Self Storage Websites

• Mail Campaigns

• Cold Calling Campaigns

• Canvassing

• Local Newspapers & Publications

• The Living Billboard

CHAPTER 6:  Evaluating the Opportunities  

• Determining Value

• The Prospecting Fact Sheet: The 27 Questions you must ask every seller Before moving Forward!

• Mapping the Property

• The 5 minute Valuation Calculator

• Definition of and how to Calculate the Capitalization Rate

 Chapter 7:  Mastering Market Analysis                               

• Location, Location, Location                 

• Measuring Employment Growth

• Traffic Counts and the importance of

• Determining Population Growth

• Calculating Median Income

• Sizing up the Competition

• Analyzing Local Demographics

• Determining Market Demand

• Gathering Market Data

• Utilizing The Various Industry Reports             

Chapter 8:  Making the offer 

• Negotiating With Sellers & Brokers

• Pros & Cons of using Brokers               

• Justifying your Price

• The 8 Motivations of Sellers

• Presenting the Offer

• The Letter of Intent (LOI)

• The Purchase Agreement: 9 Tips You Need To Know Before Signing!

 Chapter 9:  Due Diligence                               

• The Due Diligence Checklist:  A must have list of items needed Before Closing!

• Verifying the Income

• Uncovering Hidden Expenses

• Major vs. Minor Misrepresentations                 

 Chapter 10:  Valuation                        

• Appraised Value

• Comparable Sales

• Replacement Cost

• The Income Approach

• Reconciliation of Value

• Intrinsic Value

• The Self Storage Valuator® Software Tool – The fool proof way to determine Cash Flow and Estimate Value!

 Chapter 11:  Financing Your Facility                       

• Leverage: The Double Edged Sword

• Seller Financing

• Private Lenders

• Mortgage Brokers vs. Mortgage Bankers

• Hard Money Lenders

• Commercial Banks

• Community Banks

• Credit Companies

• Insurance Companies

• Conduit Financing

• Savings & Loans

• Government Loans

• 9 Different Loan Types for Self Storage

• Choosing the Right Lender and Loan

• Building Banking Relationships

• 16 ways to Find Cash for the Down Payment

• Avoiding Over-leverage 

Chapter 12:  Creating your Business Plan 

• Reasons for a Plan

• The 7 Essential Elements of a Business Plan

• The Business Plan Format

• Packaging your Plan

Chapter 13:  Tax Planning                       

• Capital Gains

• Ways to treat Rental Income

• Minimizing Capital Gains

• Self Storage Deductions

• Self Storage Depreciation

• Bookkeeping

• 1031 Tax Deferred Exchanges

• Personal Property

Chapter 14:  Entity Selection 

• Sole Proprietorship

• Various Partnerships

• Various Corporations

• Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs)

• Limited Liability Companies (LLCs)

• Various Trusts

• How to Choose the Entity that matches your facility & Situation

Chapter 15:  Asset Protection                        

• Plan Now!  Don’t Procrastinate!

• Honesty is the Best Policy

• Intentional vs. Unintentional Fraud

• Educating your Employees

• Insurance – Your 1^st line of Defense

• Document, Document, Document

• Land Trusts

• Separate your Assets

• Utilize Great Advisors

Chapter 16:  Take Action                        

Scott’s Five Principles of Success:

1.     Overcoming Fear

2.     Setting Goals

3.     Prioritizing Your Activities

4.     Perseverence

5.     Developing your Purpose 

Case Study: Brownsburg Crossing Self Storage – A Real Live Example of A Recent Deal  

Glossary – Over 600 Commercial Real Estate and Self Storage Terms

Appendix – Hard Copies of all the forms included in The Document Library CD

The Complete Guide to Finding, Evaluating, and Purchasing Self Storage Facilities™ includes:

1.    299 Page Manual to be used in conjunction with the DVDs & Audio CDs included that will show you step-by-step, from A to Z, how Self Storage will make you wealthy; the safer, faster way. You'll discover how to find the deals, how to evaluate facilities, keys to successful negotiations, writing offers that get accepted, where to find the money to fund your deals, and how to extract maximum dollars.

2.    6 Full length DVDs including 4 Live Case Studies from my all day live training event - that you can pop into your home DVD player and get a "classroom at home" teaching experience from the comfort of your favorite chair that will bring my strategies and experience straight to your living room.

3.    6 Audio CDs From my all day live training event that you can plug into your car or home CD player and get a teaching experience that will cement these concepts and amplify the techniques and coaching only I can provide.

4.    The Self Storage Valuator Software™ CD and accompanying step-by-step manual - This fool-proof software will save countless hours of critical calculations, with a level of accuracy that eliminates easily overlooked but extremely costly errors. The Self Storage Valuater™ Software tool gives you concise information and the professional format necessary for getting deals approved through lenders, investors, and appraisers alike. 

5.    The Document Library CD-Rom with 18 various Checklists, agreements, contracts, spreadsheets, mailers, Purchase Contract and accompanying forms for Buying Self Storage Facilities. 

6.    Scott’s Fast Start CD Rom - A step by step 90 day checklist outlining exactly what you need to do to close your First Self Storage deal!

Bonus #1

90-Day One-On-One Mentor Certificate

You want to create wealth with self storage, but need a little guidance so that your deals go smoothly and you don't make bad decisions. I will be your personal Mentor for a full 90 days. Not someone else in my office, or my secretary…………

You Get Me—Scott—The Self Storage Guru—
Live, In Person!

I'll personally answer your questions, and provide the solution to any challenge you face, for a full 90 days, and you keep all the profits!

Notice: I plan to eliminate this bonus altogether in the near future, as I am far too busy doing deals to offer anymore open-ended hotline assistance with my students (my apologies!)

I STRONGLY suggest you take me up on this 90-Day Unlimited Hotline deal NOW, while it’s still available!

Easily over a $2,000.00 value!

Bonus # 2

My Complete Operations Manual and Forms Handbook

For a limited time, you’ll get a CD that includes every possible manual, form, and document you will ever need to operate your self storage facility, over 70 documents in all!  You’ll get a Customizable Operations manual and all the forms required for the day to day operation of a self storage facility for reference, or to train your employees.  It’s all there; from auction forms, to truck rental and retail sales forms, leases, and everything in between.  You’ll also get my completely customizable, fill-in the blank Human Resource policy manual for employees, that I paid several hundred dollars to have developed.  There’s nothing left for you to create, or pay someone else to; I’ve already done it for you.     Simply Print, and go!

A $277.00 value!

Bonus #3

How You Can Get My Entire System FREE!

Here’s a bold challenge for you. Use my system to do your first deal within 90 days and send me a copy with your success story and photo…

And I’ll Send You A Check For The Entire Purchase Price Of My System!

That’s right. A 100% rebate if you’ll let me use your story in our advertising and can show me you’ve acquired a self storage facility in your first 90 days.

Along with your system will come the rebate certificate and there are no strings attached. It’s my way of curing your procrastination to get you moving towards success. I’ll do my part, now you do yours.

An $877.00 value!

Plus……………………..

“Knowledge is the currency of the new economy, and now you have the power to change your whole family tree!” Scott Meyers, CSSM©

There is absolutely no risk on your part...

Order The Complete Guide to Finding, Evaluating, and Purchasing Self Storage Facilities© today!

Also, please drop me a line when you close your first deal or pass a milestone (like passing your current income). I read and respond personally to every letter I get, because I’m committed to seeing you succeed.

To your QUICK Success,

Scott Meyers

Order online safely and securely.

To Find out more about our FOOLPROOF Systems for Investing in Self Storage Facilities, You can call us Toll Free at:

800-950-1364