Articles

In 2017, many investors still thought in simple terms: use your own cash, close on one facility, then refinance or sell before buying again. That still works, but it’s a slow way to grow. Investors who want to build a real portfolio usually need outside capital, and today there are more lawful ways to do that than there used to be.

Buying self-storage is not just about finding the right property. You also have to get it under contract at a price and on terms that make sense. That takes negotiation skill. Over time, a few lessons tend to matter more than the rest.

Picking a real estate niche is not just a preference. It is a decision about how hard you will have to work to earn the same dollar, and how often surprises will erase your progress.

For decades, self-storage was dismissed by the real estate establishment as a niche business for those with too many belongings. It lacked the prestige of office towers or the familiarity of apartment complexes

Self-storage pricing is still shaped by two forces that rarely agree, seller expectations and today’s cost of money. Cap rates in recent surveys have commonly hovered around the mid 5% range,

Buying self-storage almost always means working with a lender, and even "cash buyers" still care because the next owner will likely finance the purchase. If your goal is to get deals funded without

Every real estate niche has a simple truth that separates modest outcomes from exceptional ones. In self-storage, that truth has not changed over time: meaningful growth usually requires stepping into bigger environments, even when they feel less comfortable at first.

In naval warfare, victory was never about elegance. It came down to who could bring more force to the fight, faster, and with fewer misfires. Centuries ago, heavily armed warships dominated the seas not because they were beautiful, but because they carried

Investors often focus on revenue projections, cap rates, or expansion potential. But the first skill you need in self-storage is knowing when a deal has problems buried beneath the surface. Some issues are obvious the moment you walk in; others only appear

When you're investing in a self-storage facility, the debt you take on can either be a source of stability—or a potential weak spot. As a long-time real estate investor, I have observed again and again that using financing smartly