The William Warren Group (WWG), a privately held real estate company that operates the StorQuest Self Storage brand, purchased Lock Tite Self Storage in Sarasota, Fla., for $8.1 million. It is the companys third property in Greater Tampa and 19th in its Florida portfolio. The facility will be rebranded under the StorQuest name.

The single-story property at 4625 Clark Road is on the north side of Highway 72, just west of Interstate 75. Built in 2003, the five buildings include 79,355 rentable square feet and 675 units, 40 of which are dedicated to wine storage. Several renovations have been made to the property in the last three years including upgrades to six HVAC units, paint and exterior stucco sealing. Amenities include 24-hour gate access, a business center, drive-up units, free access to a company rental truck and driver, tenant insurance and online bill pay.

This asset provides a tremendous value-add opportunity and an ability to capitalize on Floridas continued economic rebound, said Bill Hobin, WWG President and CEO. This new property will help fill the growing storage needs of Sarasota-area residents. We look forward to providing them with superior service for their belongings.

Stanley B. Kane and Edward L. Kalin of Olde Sarasota Associates LLC brokered the transaction. Kalin purchased the land in 1988 for $1.45 million.

Based in Santa Monica, Calif., WWG develops, acquires and operates self-storage assets in major U.S. metropolitan markets. Until recently, its portfolio was concentrated primarily in California, with additional properties in Arizona, Colorado and Hawaii. The company now has 96 facilities in its operating portfolio, 57 of which are branded as StorQuest.

The Texas Self Storage Association (TSSA) donated $100,000 it raised through various charity events in 2013 to Shriners Hospitals for Children in Galveston, Texas. It is the second largest donation the association has made in support of the hospitals work to help burn victims and their families. In 2012, the TSSA donated $70,000.

A group representing TSSA presented the check to the hospitals board of governors on Jan. 28. During the meeting, TSSA Fundraising Committee Co-Chairs David and Doug Hunt provided an overview of fundraising projects, including the Starfish: Make a Difference Campaign, which allows association members to solicit donations and increase awareness among their customer base. Additional attendees included immediate past-president Mark Skeans, Sherrie Skeans of Mission Road Mini Storage, Bill Bellomy of Bellomy & Co., and Dan Hottowe of TBRC Roofing.

The group also met hospital staff and toured the facility, the highlight of which was a demonstration of the virtual-reality program that helps patients overcome pain during physical therapy. The virtual world distracts and engages a patients other senses, leaving less thought processes available to focus on the pain, and aids in recovery, according to a TSSA press release.

It is an honor to be a part of an organization committed to supporting this amazing hospital network, Doug Hunt said. When we first started this, I couldn't have dreamed that eventually we'd be able to donate $100,000, but TSSA members are generous to the core."

The TSSA Fundraising Committee is currently making plans for its next campaign, which takes place in large part at the associations annual conference, Oct. 26-28, in Fort Worth, Texas.

Established in 1986, the TSSA is a nonprofit trade association dedicated to enhancing the quality of the self-storage industry in Texas. The association provides opportunities for members to increase their knowledge of the self-storage industry through education, research, discussion and exchange of information.

Shriners Hospitals for Children includes 22 hospitals in Canada, Mexico and the United States, providing advanced care for children with orthopedic conditions, burns, spinal cord injuries, and cleft lip and palate.

By Andrea Hewitt

Reprinted with permission from the Storage Ahead blog.

Launching into any market can be hard, and becoming a first-time self-storage owner can be a scary venture. If youre new to facility ownership and need some expert tips, youre in the right place!

I recently spoke with Zac Zeune, owner of Kram It Self Storage in Grove City, Ohio, about what hes learned since entering the businessand what he wishes he knew before jumping into the industry.

Looking back, what are three things you wish you knew before owning a self-storage facility? 

One, I wish I had known how hard the cities would be to deal with. We spent about a year looking for the right piece of land to build, and once we found that land, it took us another 10 months to close the deal before we could start building. These days the cities say they want new businesses to come and want to make their city a more attractive place for businesses and families. The truth is, we had to bend over backward for the city and a small village next to it just to get them to let us build our facility. I personally feel that cities want new businesses to come to them, but then they make it as hard as possible on the business.

Two, I wish we had phased our facility. I'm a second-generation owner, and when my father and I built our current facility, we didn't look at phasing because, in the past, the banks didn't make it possible. If you wanted to build half the facility, they would only give you half the loan. The problem is the first half will always cost more than the second half due to the costs of startup, land and certain aspects of the construction. Now it seems that more and more facilities are phasing and banks are going along with it.

Lastly, I wish I had realized how much discounting goes on. Five or 10 years ago, the industry was not giving free months away at the drop of a hat like they are today. When we built our facility, we knew we would have to do some discounting to compete with the other facilities, but I didnt realize how much discounting they were doing.

What's the most valuable thing you've learned as an owner, and how long did it take you to learn it?

The most valuable thing I've learned is how far customer service goes. When customers come in the door, we treat them exactly the way we would want to be treated. I thought this was a given, but from what I hear from our tenants that is not always the case. Some people are just amazed at how nice we are and, honestly, it surprises me because I did not think we were doing anything out of the ordinary.

What advice do you have for someone who just bought a facility?

For anyone who just bought or built a facility, you need to be in the loop on everything. If you're not going to actually be the manager, then you need to do whatever it takes to make sure you're around and can keep an eye on everything. One of the best things available today is Web-based management software. I can check in and see what has happened from anywhere in the world. Oh, and be prepared for some sleepless nights

Now that you have some tips from a real-life owner, you can feel more confident about your decision to enter the storage arena. You dont need to reinvent the wheel to be successful. Learn from Zeune to create a quality, thriving facility.

Andrea Hewitt is a graduate of Truman State Universitys journalism program and a content writer for StorageAhead , a provider of online-marketing services for the self-storage industry.

The four U.S.-based self-storage real estate investment trusts (REITs)CubeSmart, Extra Space Storage Inc., Public Storage Inc. and Sovran Self Storage Inc.have announced when and how they will reveal their earnings statements for the fiscal quarter that ended Dec. 31.

CubeSmart

CubeSmart will release its quarterly financial results on Feb. 27. An accompanying conference call will be held at 11 a.m. ET on Feb. 28. A live webcast of the conference call will be available from the investor-relations page of CubeSmart.com. The dial-in numbers are 888.317.6016 for U.S. callers, 412.317.6016 for international callers and 855.669.9657 for Canadian callers.

After the live webcast, the call will remain available on CubeSmart's website for 30 days. In addition, a telephonic replay of the call will be available through March 30. The replay dial-in number is 877.344.7529 for domestic callers, 412.317.0088 for international callers and 855.669.9658 for Canadian callers. The reservation number is 10039376.

CubeSmart owns or manages 527 self-storage facilities across the United States and operates the CubeSmart Network, which consists of more than 700 additional self-storage facilities.

Extra Space Storage Inc.

Extra Space will release its quarterly earnings on Feb. 20 after the market closes. The company will host a conference call at noon ET on Feb. 21 to discuss the results. Hosting the call will be CEO Spencer Kirk, along with Scott Stubbs, executive vice president and chief financial officer.

During the call, company officers will review fourth-quarter performance, discuss recent events, and conduct a question-and-answer period for registered financial analysts. All other participants will have listen-only capability.

The phone number for the call is 866.700.0133  for U.S. callers and 617.213.8831 for international callers. The conference ID is 62920565. The conference-call playback, which will be available through March 21, will be accessible at 888.286.8010 in the United States or 617.801.6888 internationally. The conference ID is 34245226.

The conference call will also be available on the investor-relations page of ExtraSpace.com. Those who wish to listen online should visit the website at least 15 minutes before the event start time to register and install any necessary audio software. A replay of the call will be available online for 30 days.

Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Extra Space owns or operates 1,029 self-storage properties in 35 states; Washington, D.C.; and Puerto Rico. The companys properties comprise approximately 680,000 units and 75.7 million square feet of rentable space.

Public Storage Inc.

Public Storage will release information about its fourth-quarter earnings on Feb. 20. A conference call is scheduled for Feb. 21 at 1 p.m. ET to discuss the results.

For the live conference call, the domestic dial-in number is 866.406.5408. The international dial-in number is 973.582.2770. The conference ID is 35113503. The live webcast will be available through the investor-relations page of PublicStorage.com and will be accessible on demand until March 7. For the conference-call replay, the domestic dial-in number is 800.585.8367, the international number is 404.537.3406, and the conference ID number is 35113503.

Based in Glendale, Calif., Public Storage has interests in 2,110 self-storage facilities in 38 states with approximately 135 million net rentable square feet. Operating under the Shurgard brand name, the company also has 188 facilities in seven European countries, with approximately 10 million net rentable square feet.

Sovran Self Storage Inc.

Sovran will issue its quarterly results after the market closes on Feb. 25. The company will conduct a conference call to review the financial results on Feb. 26 at 9 a.m. ET.

The call can be accessed at 877.407.8033 within the United States or 201.689.8033 internationally. Management will accept questions from registered financial analysts after prepared remarks. All others are encouraged to listen to the call via webcast from the investor-relations page at UncleBobs.com. The webcast will be archived for 90 days. A telephone replay will be available for 72 hours after the meeting by calling 877.660.6853 and entering conference ID 13575332.

Sovran operates 481 facilities in 25 states under the Uncle Bob's Self Storage brand name.

Storrage Inc., an app-based startup business specializing in valet self-storage services in Seattle, has added Sunday pickup and delivery services as well as expanded its warehouse space and service area. The companys new warehouse is four times larger than the facility the company used when it launched last November, and its service area has doubled to 40 zip codes in the Washington communities of Bellevue, Eastside, Issaquah, Kirkland, Redmond and Seattle.

With more and more of our neighbors dealing with limited space, we are excited to be able to help them with our expanded service area and Sunday service, said Terry Drayton, founder and CEO. Our customers say that they want to use their living space for living, not for storing infrequently used or seasonal items. With the living space customers have gotten back with Storrage, they are able to entertain more often, let a friend move in, do yoga in their apartment, or set up world headquarters for their new startup.

All aspects of the Storrage service are managed through a mobile app available for free on Apple and Android devices. When the company receives a storage request, it delivers 17-gallon, commercial-grade containers customers use to store their items. There is a weight limit of 35 pounds per bin. Customers also have the option of taking photos with their smartphone, so they can remember exactly what they stored and request delivery of only the items they need.

All customer data is stored in the cloud, and the bins are stored in the companys secure, climate-controlled warehouse. The new facility has enough space to store up to 25,000 containers, company officials said.

As Seattles housing market continues to tighten and get more expensive, so does the need for affordable, secure, off-site personal storage, company officials said in a press release. Drayton has positioned Storrage as an alternative to traditional self-storage, which he says averages $175 per month in the Seattle area. The average monthly cost for Storrage customers is about $25, according to the company.

Storrage has plans to launch a franchise program this year that would include expansion outside Washington, officials said.

San Diego Self Storage (SDSS) will sponsor the 18th annual Del Mar-Solana Beach Sunrise Rotary Turf Bocce Ball Family Day and Tournament on March 23 through its Smart Self Storage facility in Solana Beach, Calif. The Rotary event will serve as a fundraiser for two youth-oriented nonprofit organizations, Just in Time for Foster Youth and Reality Changers.

Just in Time provides transitioning foster youth with opportunities for self-sufficiency through emergency support, essential resources and personal guidance. Reality Changers is a social-services agency that provides disadvantaged youth with academic support, financial assistance and leadership training to become first-generation college students.

The bocce tournament will be held at Del Mar Horse Park from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. An auction is scheduled for 11:30 a.m.

"Were honored to be a VIP sponsor of this event once again this year to provide critically needed support to the two beneficiaries, said J. Terry Aston, managing member. SDSS is a catalyst for humanitarian causes in San Diego, and were tremendously grateful to the Rotary Club of Del Mar-Solana Beach for organizing this event and engaging us in a worthy endeavor.

Founded in 1972, SSDS has a network of 18 self-storage facilities in San Diego County and additional facilities in Los Angeles and Orange counties. The company is locally owned and operated.

By David Smyle

By all expert accounts, were now in an economic recovery, as tepid as it is. However, tepid cannot be used to describe the financing environment where banks are flush with cash, conduits cant make loans fast enough, and life-company allocations continue to increase. More and more credit unions are in the commercial-lending arena, and with the Small Business Administration (SBA) opening self-storage as an eligible property type, high-leverage purchases and refinances are available.

The prior claim that banks weren't lending is far from the truth. Borrowers with good cash flow, liquidity and net worth have been able to get loans, albeit it at lower LTVs (speculative building and higher-risk lending due to occupancy, leverage or borrower issues were a much harder pill to swallow). Things have loosened a little further today, as banks have made it through their Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. audits and survived the tough times. Now they find themselves with too much cash and not enough loans on the books to balance assets and liabilities.

What this means for borrowers in 2014 is lenders are getting very competitive within their policy scope to try and win deals. Heres a look at the terms lenders are offering self-storage owners and investors.

Life Companies

For life companies, which are typically more conservative LTV lenders, winning deals come in the form of nonrecourse loans with upfront rate locks; long-term, fixed rates up to 25 and even 30 years; interest-only; and very low rates still under 5 percent on 10-year fixed rates. Most life-company loans will top out at 70 percent LTV but can go to 75 percent in higher capitalization-rate markets.

Life-company loans start around $500,000 with no real limit on the upper end. Life companies typically have population minimums to lend in a market and prefer higher-quality projects to operators with multiple properties, but this is not a hard and fast requirement.

However, they dont have this market locked up, as larger and even medium and smaller banks venture into nonrecourse with an LTV of typically 65 percent or less and will also rate lock and even offer interest-only loans. The advantage for life companies is their ability offer longer, fixed-rate terms at lower rates, although 15-year, fully amortized loans may be available at some institutions. Banks beat life companies on origination and legal fees.

Conduits

Conduits are also competing for the nonrecourse business and may offer LTVs up to 80 percent. Theyll get aggressive on pricing on lower LTVs, including interest-only, but most conduits only lend fixed-rate terms of five to 10 years with 25- to 30-year amortizations. They also do not lock rates up front. Rather, rates are typically locked two days before close. The other disadvantage to conduit loans are the exorbitant legal fees, typically starting at $20,000, as well as restrictive cash-management, lock-box requirements and costlier property and title-insurance requirements.

So where do conduits win deals? Nonrecourse, higher-leverage transactions or deals not in favor with the more conservative life companies or banks is where they come out on top. Conduits will also overlook more borrower-credit and financial-strength issues than life companies and banks. However, the minimum loan for most conduits is $3 million. That is very costly, as the legal fees dont change with the loan size. There are a few $1 million and up conduit programs with limited costs, but LTVs are typically in the 65 percent range.

Banks and Credit Unions

By far, banks and credit unions have been the most intriguing player in the commercial financing market over the past 18 months. With cost of funds at record lows, theres a huge spread to be gained and profit to be made by getting the money out in the market.

A November quote from a Midwest bank on a 10-year fixed rate with 25-year amortization came in at 4.5 percent. The quote also provided a second 10-year, fixed-rate at the then 10-Year Treasury plus 2 percent (200 basis points). Although recourse, that quote would beat just about every life company and conduit lender in the market. A credit union in the Southwest recently quoted a 10-year fixed rate with 25-year amortization at 4.95 percent and no prepayment penaltyagain a recourse loan but an amazing program nonetheless.

Where banks and credit unions have problems is typically with weaker borrowers or, in the case of credit unions, qualifying borrowers for membership. Most credit unions require that a borrower live, work or worship in their footprint, but this, too, can be worked around in certain situations. Both banks and credit unions often use the global cash-flow underwriting model, so theyre not only looking at cash flow from the subject property but all sources of revenue and debt owed by the borrower. Look for most banks to prefer 65 percent LTV or less while credit unions will loan up to 75 percent LTV in some cases.

SBA Loans

Expect higher growth areas such as Florida and Texas to really compete heavily for business. Construction loans up to 80 percent loan-to-cost (LTC) are becoming more common from reports in Texas, although self-storage construction loans in most parts of the country are still limited to stronger borrowers, with LTCs closer to 65 percent to 75 percent.

Banks and credit unions also offer SBA loans, with a typical loan maximum of $5 million. LTVs usually top out at 85 percent and are available for purchase or refinance transactions where the SBA is not already the lender.

The first program offered is the SBA 7A. Touted as an adjustable program, it will often have the first three to five years as a fixed option with a total term of 25 years. One larger bank will offer a 25-year fixed rate under the 7A program, but this is unusual.

The other program is the 504, which consists of a 50 percent first trust deed or mortgage from the institution and up to a 40 percent second trust deed from the SBA under a fully amortized 20-year, fixed-rate program. The first lien from the bank can be fixed or adjustable and will usually term out in 10 years but carry a longer amortization.

Getting Help

Most life-company loans are originated through commercial mortgage bankers, and conduit loans through mortgage bankers and brokers. Banks and credit unions can be dealt with directly or through a mortgage banker or broker. The advantage of using a mortgage banker or broker is access to loan programs that may not be publicized or known in the local market, as many bank and credit union lenders can lend nationwide regardless of their domicile.

Life companies originate mainly through mortgage bankers, who collect the loan fee rather than the lender so theres no additional cost to the borrower. The same holds true for conduits, and banks and credit unions will also eliminate or reduce their loan fee when working through a mortgage banker or broker.

Financing should continue to be attractive and available in 2014 for just about every scenario including self-storage rehab, conversion, construction and, of course, permanent financing. Take advantage of the low rates now. They cant last forever.

David Smyle is a vice president of Pacific Southwest Realty Services (PSRS), a commercial mortgage banking firm founded in 1972 and headquartered in San Diego. The company services a portfolio of more than $4.3 billion, offering life-company financing from more than 18 investors as well as conduit, commercial mortgage-backed security, bank and credit union options. Prior to PSRS, Smyle was owner and president of commercial mortgage brokerage Benchmark Financial for 16 years. He spent 12 years in commercial banking before that. To reach him, call 858.522.1411; e-mail [email protected] ; visit www.psrs.com .

Talonvest Capital Inc., a boutique real estate adviser serving the self-storage industry, has opened an office in Atlanta and hired Scott Sweeney as business development officer operating out of the facility. He will be responsible for originating new self-storage and commercial real estate financing as well as managing other clients for the firm, company officials said in a press release.

Talonvest decided to open an office in the Southeast after structuring more than $400 million in capital the last two years for properties in the eastern half of the United States. As existing clients business activities grow and additional experienced real estate operators trust Talonvest with their financing needs, well continue adding talented professionals like Scott to our team, said Tom Sherlock, principal.

Sweeney has provided advisory services to owners of commercial properties, including self-storage, for more than a decade. He worked previously with Talonvests principals as a vice president with Buchanan Street Partners and Buchanan Storage Capital.

He has served as a board member of the Georgia Self Storage Association and as a vendor committee member for the national Self Storage Association. He is a member and past chair of the Cobb County Board of Education and serves as Georgias 6th Congressional District appointee to the National School Board Association Federal Relations Network and as a Georgia School Board Association Strategic Planning Committee member. He is a licensed real estate broker in Georgia and has a bachelors degree in economics from UCLA.

Founded in 2010 and based in Orange County, Calif., Talonvest structures debt and equity for self-storage and commercial real estate investors and developers nationwide. The principals of the firm have more than 80 years of combined experience.

Self-storage operators looking to step up their online marketing activity this year now have the option to attend the all-new Social Media Mastery Workshop on April 2 at the Inside Self-Storage World Expo in Las Vegas, the industrys largest conference and tradeshow. Led by David Wolf, managing partner for marketing firm Linkmedia 360, the in-depth seminar from 8 to 11:50 a.m. will show operators how to  address social media platforms, processes, software, timelines and more.

The workshop will also cover content marketing, ways to integrate search engine optimization best practices with social media, how to structure page content, how to improve a facility's online visibility, and how to interpret analytics to measure performance. It will include a one-hour social media primer for beginners followed by nearly three hours of intensive instruction.

Wolf is responsible for strategies that have enabled Linkmedias clients to use online, mobile technology and social media to maximize the impact of their lead-generation campaigns. He previously worked at the New York office of Symphoni Interactive Inc., and as a strategist in the marketing and energy-trading unit of Ontario Power Generation.

The expos concurrent education program, March 31 and April 1, includes 10 tracks covering issues related to self-storage ownership, management, marketing, investment, finance, building, development, liability and more. Additional workshops focus on self-storage development, day-to-day management, facility ownership and legal issues.

The conference and tradeshow will take place at the Paris Hotel & Resort. Extended early-bird registration rates are available through Feb. 13.

Created for self-storage industry owners, managers, developers, investors and suppliers, the ISS Expo comprises four days of education, exhibits and networking opportunities. The event focuses on strategies for generating revenue, industry best practices, current trends, and new products and services. Details and online registration are available at www.insideselfstorageworldexpo.com.