Hessam Nadji, managing director of Marcus & Millichap Real Estate Investment Services, was featured on "CNBC Closing Bell" Dec. 20, discussing commercial real estate property pricing and sales trends, factors that support recovery in 2011, and investor demand by property and type. A copy of the broadcast can be viewed at http://www.marcusmillichap.com/Video/cnbc_122010.asp.

Marcus & Millichap is one of the largest investment real estate brokerage firms in the nation, with more than 1,300 real estate specialists in more than 70 offices. The company includes a National Self Storage Group that specializes in self-storage real estate transactions. 

Nadji, joined Marcus & Millichaps in 1996. He oversees the companys research and advisory services. Nadji was formerly was employed with Grubb & Ellis Co., and has been advising investors on real estate strategies since 1986.  

Titan Self Storage of Elgin, Ill., recently donated free use of a storage unit to an elderly woman who had to move out of Bowes Retirement Center, which was shut down after an investigation revealed horrifying conditions on site. Elgin police Officer Eric Echevarria, who spearheaded the efforts to shut down the home, contacted self-storage manager Terri Santiago on behalf of Bowes final resident, who feared she had no safe place for her belongings.

The owners of Bowes were accused of neglecting the elderly and disabled to the point of abuse. Fueled by complaints from concerned neighbors and police reports, a team of officials found the facility house residents whose needs were beyond the facilitys abilities. Worse, reports told of a place where bug infestation, moldy food, lack of food, fire-code violations and other atrocities were common. The home was officially closed as of Oct. 1, and its 26 residents moved on to new homes.

As one of five Elgin police officers involved in the citys Resident Officer Program of Elgin (ROPE), Echevarria works and lives in one of the citys distressed neighborhoods, providing police service as well as a role model for members of the community.

In addition to contacting Titan Self Storage on behalf of the homes last resident, he and a fellow officer helped move her belongings into the storage facility.

Strategic Storage Trust Inc., a publicly registered non-traded real estate investment trust targeting the self-storage market, recently acquired its fifth property in Las Vegas, totaling approximately 740 units. The purchase closes out the year in which the company accumulated $126 million in self-storage facilities across the United States and Canada.

"As with our other recent buy in downtown Las Vegas, this bolsters our presence in a market with great long-term potential," said CEO H. Michael Schwartz.

The new site will be rebranded under the SmartStop Self Storage trade name. Built in 2006, the two-story building contains 94,000 rentable square feet on approximately 3.2 acres of land. Its at the corner of Rancho Road and Texas Station, about five miles north of central Las Vegas and across the street from the Texas Station Casino.

"This is an in-fill class-A facility located on a primary north/south artery serving Las Vegas," said Wayne Johnson, senior vice president of acquisitions. "We know it will carry our brand well."

Two 16-year-old burglars who set off an alarm at Simply Self Storage in Macon, Ga., last week hid in a storage unit until they were caught by Macon Police. The boys had many stolen items in their possession from a string of local burglaries, according to officials. Other affected businesses included a nail salon, a tax service, a bakery, an apparel store and others.  

The thieves also allegedly stole a vehicle in Bibb County and traveled to Crawford County, where they were involved in a chase. They abandoned the car, stole another vehicle and traveled back to Bibb County, according to a police press release.

Last summer Centershift Inc., provider of STORE self-storage management software, acquired RentPlus, the software produced by Hi-Tech Smart Systems Inc. Inside Self-Storage caught up with John Bilton, Centershifts vice president of business development and marketing, to discuss what the acquisition means for operators using RentPlus, what operators should look for in software program, and whats on the horizon for management software.

1. Tell us about the changes at Centershift.

This has been an exciting time for Centershift. For the first time in memory, were experiencing consolidation in the rental-management software category. Were excited to welcome RentPlus customers to our family of clients.  

Centershift was honored to be chosen by Hi-Techs president Mike Richards as the one company with the technology and resources to cover such issues as PCI-compliance, secure online payments, and seamless integration into other technology platforms. We really think Mike said it best: In our industry, Centershift clearly stands as a technology leader.

Centershift has introduced 34 industry firsts, and once again, were leading out with the first acquisition in the rental-management software category.

2. How will this affect self-storage operators using either software program?

There will be no affect for our current Centershift clients. We have the infrastructure and capacity to absorb the RentPlus client base and additional clients were gaining through our traditional growth. 

For RentPlus clients, it does mean change. Were supporting that change with the help of Hi-Tech and its current employees. This coordinated effort is allowing for the highest quality data-conversion package ever offered to clients coming onto a new software package. Centershift and Hi-Tech have partnered to streamline conversion from RentPlus to Centershift. Were offering historical RentPlus transactions within the Centershift platform. This is unheard of in the industry.

3. Changing management software is a huge undertaking. What advice do you have for operators?

Our key advice is patience. Changing habits and learning a new platform does take time and effort, but we anticipated this on the part of site mangers and are offering webinars and online training materials free of charge for all RentPlus sites. This unique method of self-paced learning coupled with 12-hour phone support allows owners and operators to learn the new system quickly. Live instructor lead training is also available onsite if desired.

4. Are facility operators becoming more tech savvy? What are they looking for in a software program?

Facility operators are becoming much more tech savvy. We see them taking advantage of technology to increase operational performance and the number of tenants walking through the door.  Centershift was the first software vendor to introduce an integrated platform for reservation services, call centers, kiosks, Web payments and reservations. Facility operators see the value in leveraging their rental-management software to increase rentals and improve operations.

5. Whats on the horizon for self-storage management software?

Centershift sees an ever-increasing number of rentals being executed online. Marketing for tenants is moving to the electronic media; no longer do people do their shopping via the Yellow Pages. They shop online for products and services. Having a strong online presence and establishing value-added services will be key components of an integrated technology strategy for self-storage operators.

Having a platform that can bring all of this together will allow some to win a greater number of customers than others. Customer-relationship management is part of the online model. This can be for a static and mobile environment, capturing the right online data and analyzing the data will lead to more rentals for those who are willing to embrace technology. 

For more information, call 877.927.4438; visit www.centershift.com.