Just five years ago, self-storage development was at a standstill. Few projects were greenlit as the country recovered from The Great Recession. Then something happened. Banks began to lend again. Developers dusted off aging blueprints, and soon a new era of construction began. While it started as a trickle, it soon became a boom.

As the industry enters its third year of heavy development, it’s standing at a crossroads. The road signs are clear. One leads to overbuilt markets in which new projects and established operators suffer a crash in occupancy and rental rates. The other is a controlled growth led by smart owners and developers who seek markets where demand still outweighs supply.

Great Growth

It’s an excellent time to be in the storage business. Scores of new investors are entering the industry while existing owners are expanding their sites and portfolios. In addition, many operators are experiencing higher occupancy and steadily increasing their rates.

“Nationwide, self-storage continues to do well as an industry. We expect to see revenue growth in the 2 percent to 4 percent range nationwide over the next few years,” says Ben Vestal, president of the Argus Self Storage Sales Network, a national group of real estate brokers. “The demand for the product remains strong and growing in many markets.”

 

When an industry is humming along, everyone takes notice—and often wants a piece of the pie. Positive vibes combined with low building over several years has led to an upsurge. “The self-storage industry is in the midst of an unprecedented development cycle,” says Anne Hawkins, executive vice president of STR Sector Analysis LLC, a data and analytics specialist that tracks self-storage development in 56 of the nation’s largest Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs). Not only did construction spending jump 108 percent in 2017, it experienced a whopping 317 percent growth over 2015 levels, STR reports.

This year’s early figures show continued momentum. According to Hawkins, numbers from the U.S. Census Bureau for April showed self-storage construction spending of $475 million, a 7 percent increase over March and a 21 percent increase over February. Year-over-year, it increased by 80.6 percent, from $263 million in April 2017.

In May, STR projected there’ll be 68.5 million net rentable square feet of new self-storage supply to come online by April 2019, an increase of 7.4 percent. This is based on projects already under construction, existing sites that are expanding and those in the final planning phase.

Market Watch

After tracking development over the past four years, Argus sees that most new projects are in the top 50 MSAs, with very few in secondary markets. “Taking it one step further, most of the new or proposed developments have been clustered in their respective markets. This is has led to many new developers to the industry and seasoned industry professionals feeling that the overall market is getting overbuilt,” Vestal says. “However, the concerns of overbuilding on a national scale are meaningfully overstated, and only certain submarkets and clusters within the top 50 MSAs are going to feel the real pain of overbuilding.”

There are major markets that are already feeling the squeeze. They include cities like Denver, Miami and Nashville, Tenn. However, beyond the sprawling metropolises, it can be difficult to pinpoint regions that are already oversaturated or nearing it.

“Because self-storage is a submarket and, often times, a micro-market business, it’s challenging to talk about overbuilding at a national or even MSA level. That said, it is becoming increasingly difficult to identify successful development sites in most of the top MSAs,” says Jonathan Perry, executive vice president and chief investment officer for Jernigan Capital Inc., a merchant bank and advisory firm serving the self-storage industry.

Some developers have taken notice of this shift when seeking land for new builds. SurePoint Self Storage, which operates in Kansas and Texas, has always developed in areas with high barriers to entry. However, it’s becoming more difficult to find these locations, says Robert Loeb, a company partner. “We like to build where we feel unmet demand is double what we are building, and we want to build on the best site,” he says.

Texas cities such as Austin and Dallas as well as pockets of Houston and San Antonio are flirting with oversupply, Loeb says. “But any market can get overbuilt. If we put too much supply in a market, occupancy and price will suffer. This is double whammy-down,” he says.

Life Storage Inc., a self-storage real estate investment trust (REIT) that operates 700 facilities, including 161 in Texas, has felt some impact on its properties in the state, notably in the cities Loeb mentions. Other markets the company is watching include Atlanta, Miami and Raleigh, N.C. “But these are strong and growing markets that will absorb the supply and will be fine in the long run,” says Diane Piegza, vice president of corporate communication and community affairs.

Even so, the company is more focused on buying than building. “We believe there are excellent opportunities to improve the operations of existing facilities; therefore, our concentration remains on acquisitions,” Piegza says.

Life Storage recently joined forces with research firm Union Realtime LLC in a partnership that will inform development choices for the REIT and other industry developers. “What began as a means for us to monitor rates and specials at our competitors turned into a more collaborative relationship to share data on new development,” Piegza says. “Life Storage focuses on development within a five-mile radius of our existing locations; Union Realtime will bring additional intel on markets where we don’t operate but are considering entering. Likewise, we can provide validation of their results in the markets in which we do business.”

Conscious Choices

Another company making a concerted effort to avoid overbuilding is Bitterroot Holdings, a privately held enterprise that owns and operates 10 Keylock Storage facilities in Northwest. Bitterroot has turned its focus to second-tier markets. “We choose our markets based upon continually healthy growth and where we feel we can outperform the other facilities in those markets,” says co-founder AJ Osborne.

As such, the company recently walked away from several potential development sites. “We are extremely concerned and have passed up several opportunities and blacklisted a lot of markets due to overbuilding,” Osborne says. “We had several projects we were entertaining in Boise, Idaho, that we ran away from. We are in that market, and it’s not just being overbuilt; the operators don’t seem to be doing their numbers or are OK [with] having very poor performing assets.”

Bee Safe Storage and Wine Cellar announced last fall that it would scale back on its development in the Southeast due to oversupply in some markets. The company operates seven facilities in the Carolinas, and planned to invest about $250 million in more than 30 projects in the region. Owner Roy Carroll told “News & Record” he was beginning to see market saturation. “We are long-term players and will deploy our capital when the market fundamentals dictate; but we are pumping the brakes on areas in the Southeast where the development pipeline just doesn’t make sense,” he says.

Moratoriums

Worried about an abundance of self-storage facilities in their region, some government officials are enacting moratoriums to stop or slow development. Although many of the freezes have been temporary while officials evaluate zoning laws and plans, some have passed permanent bans.

This spring, the Arvada, Colo., City Council unanimously approved a 180-day moratorium to temporarily block self-storage applications. Officials in Denver also approved a ban on self-storage in some areas. Earlier this year, New York City Council members overwhelmingly voted in favor of banning self-storage development within industrial business zones without a special-use permit. The city also created a two-year application process, which includes a uniform land-use review procedure. Other cities to establish development barriers include Margate, Fla., Poulsbo, Wash., and Woodland, Calif.

Self-storage professionals have mixed views on this legislation. While some agree new regulations could keep overzealous or uninformed developers from building where there’s no unmet demand, others believe it isn’t the government’s place to make these decisions.

“I’m not opposed to this. Good, healthy markets are better for the builders and the consumers,” Osborne says.

Conversely, Benjamin Burkhart, a self-storage developer and owner of BKB Properties, doesn’t believe the government, at any level, should choose an industry’s winners and losers. “Governments are using ‘saturation’ as an excuse and, often, it’s driven by interested parties trying to ward off competition,” he says. “In some areas where there are moratoriums, additional storage is absolutely needed, and the moratorium makes no sense.”

Other Contributors

There other factors that could curb future development, in all sectors of real estate, including a nationwide construction-labor shortage combined with a rise in materials costs. A decline in construction during the recession pushed many skilled workers into other industries. While some have returned and new people have entered the workforce, many markets are still struggling to find skilled craftsman.

“The labor shortage and longer lead times have, in a way, helped throttle back the speed of development. If construction could keep up with the investors, the self-storage market might have imploded by now,” says Steve Hajewski, marketing manager for Trachte Building Systems, which designs, manufactures and erects pre-engineered and customized steel self-storage systems. “The extended building cycle does have the advantage of restricting supply and keeping rental rates up, while at the same time giving future developers a better opportunity to identify other sites coming online and possibly changing plans to avoid overbuilding.”

Another influence that could hinder projects is the recent tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, which could lead to higher costs and even shortage. “I don’t think any major manufacturer is using imported steel, but that reduced supply and speculation drove up prices overnight,” Hajewski says.

Thankfully, financing continues to flow in the storage industry for new projects backed by strong borrowers. Still, some lenders are beginning to add more borrower requirements, particularly in response to overbuilding buzz.

“Banks have continued to lend to developers during this cycle, but such loans have had tighter loan-to-cost limits, more personal recourse and more covenants than may have been the case in past cycles,” Perry says. “Because of that, fewer development deals make it to the finish line, and developers have lower house limits, thus suppressing to some degree how many development projects they can pursue at any given time.”

According to Yardi Matrix, a data-services platform from Yardi Systems Inc., self-storage construction loan originations have dropped significantly over the last 12 months, Perry says. “That supports our belief that the cycle is getting into its late stages, and development projects are becoming harder to justify economically.”

A final factor contributing to the threat of overbuilding is the sheer size of today’s storage facilities. Many new projects are larger than in years past, with some comprising 125,000 to 150,000 square feet or more, which means more available units in a single market.

Why are sites getting so much bigger? Building a larger site is often preferred by developers who’ve had to jump through several hoops to get approval from city officials. Another bonus is construction costs for items such as elevators, gates and office build-out can be spread over a larger pool of units. However, to fill all this space, operators will often use specials, which can have a negative impact.

“If you build a massive site all at once, you minimize the amount of time spent dealing with the design and permitting process. On paper, this looks good,” Hajewski says. “The problem with developing these properties is that they can take longer to reach their break-even occupancy.”

What Is Saturated, Really?

So, when is a market saturated? “Simply stated, it’s when the market can’t absorb all the existing storage supply to an acceptable level of occupancy,” Burkhart says. When this happens, operators can expect a softening in occupancy and rental rates as more facilities fight for the same pool of customers.

“The impact to the existing operator isn’t as substantial because a certain portion of their tenants are long-term,” Burkhart says. “For the new operator, it may mean undercutting market rents to drive lease-up and navigating a longer lease-up period. This typically means larger cash-flow shortfalls during the riskiest part of investment: from zero percent to 60 percent or 70 percent occupancy when all the bills and all the debt is covered.”

The effects can be viewed differently depending on one’s perspective. “We are finding today that many new self-storage owners feel a market is overbuilt when the submarket’s occupancies are below 88 percent,” Vestal says. “This is largely due to the fact that they have underwritten the market to a 90 percent or better occupancy.”

As a builder, Loeb is realistic about lease-up for SurePoint’s new locations, considering them stabilized at 85 percent. “We do not allow ourselves the luxury of thinking 90-plus percent is the norm,” he says.

Established and larger operators, including the REITs, have been able to drive occupancy but might be realizing lower rental rates. When a quality property can’t achieve or maintain a profitable occupancy without significant discounting, it’s a clear sign there’s too much supply, Hajewski says. “When you see a three-year-old property at 60 percent occupancy, that market is overbuilt.”

While some will rely on national benchmarks to determine how much storage an area can absorb, these numbers aren’t accurate for every market. “What reflects the status of supply and demand is rental rates and occupancy. We can infer some things about future demand based on projected growth; but there are markets with 4 square feet per person that are overbuilt, and some with 20 square feet per person that need more,” Burkhart says. “Data and analysis from specific micro-markets matters most when making investment decisions, not national averages.”

The fact is there’s no magic number to indicate saturation. “A holistic approach to evaluating markets and submarkets must be taken to fully understand the local dynamics of the self-storage industry,” Hawkins says. “To get the clearest picture, we need to evaluate our submarkets, with an emphasis on the unique demographics that characterize each.”

Mitigating the Impact

As the self-storage industry continues to grow, it’s imperative to build responsibly. Constructing too much too fast or selecting a poor site in a busy market could lead to weak lease-up for new projects and depress rental rates for all.

“There are markets that are certainly heading in the direction of overbuilding or are in fact overbuilt,” says Gary Cardamone, CEO and owner of Nuvo Development LLC, which offers architecture, development and engineering services to the storage industry. “Our strong suggestion would be for developers to have a professional market study completed prior to deciding to develop.”

Facility developers and owners should establish their own set of building principles. “Set them, challenge them and stick with them,” says Cardamone. If something in the market changes, such as an increase in material costs, a long entitlement period or even a moratorium, you’ll have a plan.

Also, remember that not all storage is equal. Consider what new products and services you can bring to a community. “We look at the market in terms of product. If we feel there are certain products, like indoor storage, that haven’t been served, we will build,” Osborne says. “But we do not build for the sake of building, and do not believe in the ‘If you build it they will come’ approach.”

Finally, pay attention to the facts. “Accurate data is the critical factor in gaining a deeper understanding of the local nature of the self-storage industry,” Hawkins says. “It’s essential to analyze supply, pipeline, performance and demographic data together to get a better understanding of the local dynamics of the self-storage industry and to make the appropriate business decisions. From data, we can appreciate how certain areas are riper for self-storage development, while others may be oversaturated.”

While the quality and quantity of industry data has improved drastically in recent years, it’s still behind that of other real estate sectors. “This improvement in industry information has, in a lot of ways, spurred the recent self-storage development boom and created a lot of interest from new, more mainstream developers and investors,” Vestal says. However, because collection is difficult and fragmented, there are gaps, which can lead to misinformation and guesswork.

“This lack of accuracy and industry nuances have led many very sophisticated developers and investors who are accustomed to receiving very accurate market information to believe that a submarket is under or oversupplied,” Vestal says. “It’ll take time and, most likely, two to three real estate cycles; but the industry is taking great strides to provide the best possible information to the overall market.”

In the end, potential overbuilding is just part of the growing pains a real estate sector must endure as it matures. “The improvement of market-specific industry information is the only way to control growth and avoid overbuilding,” Vestal says, “but there will undoubtedly be some bumps along the road.”

Self-storage auction buyers Tarina Keenan and Roger Overstreet were surprised last month when they discovered that 26 paintings inside a unit they paid $45 for were signed by well-known 20th-century artists Willem de Kooning and Jackson Pollock. The couple acquired the contents during a lien sale at Winter’s Mini Storage in Vinton, Va., but any thoughts of fortune have been tempered by the artworks’ connection to the “J. Brennerman Collection,” a controversial assortment whose pieces are believed to be fakes by art experts, according to the source.

The unit came up for auction after an unidentified tenant died, according to Trevor Winter-Pierce, operations manager at Winter’s Mini, who declined to reveal the customer’s name. All the paintings contain handwritten inventory numbers and identification tying them to the Brennerman collection. Twenty-five of them have a Pollack signature, with at least one indicating it’s worth $300 million.

Keenan and Overstreet began to doubt the legitimacy of their find after searching online for more information. In 2017, the International Foundation for Art Research (IFAR), a New York-based nonprofit created in the 1960s by art scholars in part to keep forgeries out of public circulation, published an article in which it referred to the Brennerman collection an “apparent and audacious scam” involving “bogus Pollocks,” the source reported. IFAR examined four paintings from three separate owners. Forensic tests determined the works were created with a kind of acrylic paint not available until the 1980s. Pollock was known not to use acrylics and died in 1956.

IFAR has also questioned the authenticity of supporting documentation about the artwork and whether James Brennerman, the man credited with amassing the collection, ever existed. The story behind the collection suggests Brennerman emigrated to the United States from Germany to Chicago in the 1930s and eventually left the collection to the family of his servants. IFAR researchers wrote that Brennerman’s name doesn’t appear in any government immigration or Social Security records.

All four paintings examined by IFAR were sold by the owner of a Roanoke, Va., strip club, who wasn’t named in the organization’s article. Billy Harbour, a former strip-club owner who believes he’s the seller referred to in the article, owns hundreds of paintings from the Brennerman collection, including other Pollacks and works attributed to Claude Monet and Vincent Van Gogh. Harbour amassed his assortment over 25 years, though the bulk of it came from a Roanoke antique dealer who died in 2000, he told the source.

Harbour believes Brennerman existed and that at least some of the paintings are authentic. Even those that are forgeries may have value. “Sometimes forgeries of the era are more valuable, if you can figure out who the forger was,” he told the source, noting that he found it puzzling why someone would abandon potentially valuable artwork in a self-storage unit.

Keenan and Overstreet, who plan to open a thrift store in October, also question why someone would leave the paintings in the unit if they were valuable. “If it was worth more it would never be in that storage unit,” Keenan told the source. “I don’t want to sell them as real, if they’re not real.”

Source:
The Roanoke Times, Art Found in Vinton Storage Unit Linked to Controversial Collection

Self-storage properties are constantly changing hands, and Inside Self-Storage is regularly notified of these market transactions. Many are covered in detail on the ISS website and available for viewing on the “Acquisitions and Buying” topics page. Following are additional acquisitions and sales that weren’t covered.

Affordable Self-Storage in Anna, Texas, was sold to a local owner. The 6.73-acre property at 13177 Highway 5 comprises 49,555 rentable square feet in 388 units. It also includes 20 enclosed vehicle-storage units as well as 16 carport-covered and 63 uncovered spaces. An adjacent 0.86-acre parcel contains an office building with two 1,000-square-foot suites. The buyer and the seller, a private investor, were represented in the transaction by Brandon Karr, first vice president of investments, and Danny Cunningham, senior associate, of Marcus & Millichap (M&M).

Arlington Stor-More in Arlington, Texas, was sold. The property at 2932 W. Division St. comprises 41,178 rentable square feet in 186 units. It also contains 2.5 acres for expansion. The seller was represented in the transaction by Richard D. Minker and Chad Snyder, brokers for Colliers International Self Storage Advisory Services Group, an affiliate of the Argus Self Storage Sales Network.

Hemet Self Storage in Hemet, Calif., was sold to a private investor. The facility comprises 77,758 rentable square feet in 711 units. The buyer and the seller, a private investor, were represented in the transaction by Devin Beasley, Luke Elliott and Michael A. Mele, investment specialists for M&M. Fellow broker James Market assisted.

Higley Self Storage of Broadway at 457 S. Higley Road in Mesa, Ariz., was sold. The buyer and the seller, both private investors, were represented in the transaction by Beasley, Elliott and Mele.

The two-property Lahout’s Mini Storage portfolio in Littleton, N.H., was sold for $355,000. Together, the facilities on Union Street comprise 15,825 square feet. The seller was represented in the transaction by Joseph Mendola, senior advisor for NAI Norwood Group, an Argus affiliate.

Life Storage in Londonderry, N.H., was sold. The 5.69-acre property at 6 Smith Lane comprises 50,466 rentable square feet in 419 units. The seller was represented by Ryan Clark, director of investment sales, and Parker Sweet, senior associate, of SkyView Advisors.

Life Storage in Margate, Fla., was sold to a limited liability company (LLC) for $12.65 million. The property at 5185 Coconut Creek Parkway comprises 64,629 square feet. The buyer and the seller, an LLC, were represented in the transaction by Gabriel Coe and Brett R. Hatcher, investment specialists for M&M. Company vice president and regional manager Ryan Nee assisted.

Lock & Roll Self Storage in Port Jervis, N.Y., was sold for $1.5 million to a private investor. The 5.4-acre property at 51 US-209 opened in 2008 and was expanded in 2012. The land also includes approval for another 4,500 net rentable square feet of storage. The five buildings contain a rental office and 125 storage units. The sellers, David and Dee Koroluk, were represented in the transaction by George Hatchard, a brokerage advisor for Investment Real Estate LLC.

My Garage in Wildwood, Fla., was sold for $7.3 million. The 19.02-acre property at 5626 C Thomas Road comprises 97,700 square feet of space in workshops, warehouses and storage units. The facility was built last year. The seller was represented in the transaction by Josh Koerner and Frost Weaver, brokers for Weaver Realty Group, an Argus affiliate.

Riverbank Self Storage in Riverbank, Calif., was sold to Small Town Storage for $2.075 million. The facility at 2754 Sierra St. comprises 24,430 square feet and contains 172 units. The seller, Trojan Storage, was represented in the transaction by Walter Brauer, vice president of CBRE Group Inc.

Storage Court in Tacoma, Wash., was sold to Snapbox Self Storage. The property at 3310 S. Sprague Ave. comprises 50,450 rentable square feet in 552 units. The seller, a local private group, represented itself in the transaction. The buyer was represented by Hugh Horne, principal at Charmel Storage Capital.

A self-storage development site in Pembroke Park, Fla., was sold to an LLC. Expected to be complete next summer, the six-story facility at 2801 S.W. 31st Ave. will comprise 86,000 rentable square feet in more than 950 units. The buyer and the seller, an LLC, were represented in the transaction by Mele and Brian Fulton, investment specialist, for M&M.

Argus is a Denver-based network of real estate brokers who specialize in storage properties. Formed in 1994, the company has 36 broker affiliates covering nearly 40 markets.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, CBRE offers advice and execution for appraisal and valuation, corporate services, development service, investment management and consulting.

Colliers is a global commercial real estate services firm employing more than 16,000 professionals who operate from 554 offices in 66 countries. The company offers a variety of services for investors, business owners and developers.

Charmel Storage Capital is a Los Angeles-based boutique commercial real estate brokerage firm focused exclusively on self-storage.

Since its inception in 1998, Investment Real Estate has provided brokerage, construction, development and management services to self-storage owners and investors.

Founded in 1971, M&M is a commercial-property investment firm with more than 1,500 investment professionals in offices throughout Canada and the United States.

SkyView is a boutique firm specializing in self-storage acquisition, development, facility expansion and renovation, refinancing, and sales. Based in Tampa, Fla., the firm also has offices in Cleveland and Milwaukee.

Source:
Commercial Property Executive, Mele Group Arranges Sale of Self-Storage Development

Public Storage Inc., a self-storage real estate investment trust, has opened a new facility in Deerfield Beach, Fla. It’s the company’s fourth location in the city.

The four-story facility at 39 S.E. 1st St. contains more than 1,300 climate-controlled and drive-up units. Near city hall, the structure features a tan exterior, traditional eaves and orange awnings that replicate the Bermuda shutters that are popular in the community, according to a press release.

“This is a modern self-storage location in a growing, attractive area,” said Tim Stanley, senior vice president.

Public Storage aims to serve a growing need in the region, the release stated. It opened a new location at 3460 S.W. 8th St. in Miami about a year ago. “South Florida is an exciting market for us,” said Tracy Girard, construction manager. “We’re always looking for new opportunities to bring the best self-storage options to customers in more neighborhoods.”

Based in Glendale, Calif., Public Storage has interests in 2,615 self-storage facilities in 39 states, with approximately 171 million net rentable square feet. Operating under the Shurgard brand name, the company also has 223 facilities in seven European countries, with approximately 12 million net rentable square feet.

Source:
Business Wire, Public Storage Adds New Storage Units in Deerfield Beach, Florida

The interview is over, and you’ve been offered a job as a self-storage facility manager. What you should expect when you first start your new role may surprise you! Following are five things I wish had known in advance.

Demand Is High

In the city where I grew up, there were only a handful of self-storage facilities. Over the last 20 years, the area has boomed to include 45 or more locations. As I drive through familiar areas now, I’m always surprised to see a new facility or construction. I probably notice them more now that I work in the industry. I’m always trying to discover what other companies are doing or creating to bring in business.

Before I got into self-storage, I never realized how much demand there is for the service. All types of people going through life-changing experiences need storage. Death, divorce and moving are some of the most popular reasons for people to visit my office and inquire about sizes and prices, climate control or drive-up storage, and even vehicle parking. The need will always be there if people continue to accumulate things.

The Importance of Paperwork

I’m so grateful that the manager for whom I worked in the beginning was intentional in keeping good notes on accounts. I learned from her that whenever someone comes by the office or calls to inquire about his account balance, you should make a note in the tenant file.

I also learned all the paperwork we should keep on file for each customer. We save a copy of the tenant’s lease agreement and driver’s license as well as insurance paperwork. Over time, we add any returned letters, receipts, vehicle information, lock-cut information and much more.

While I never would’ve guessed how much documentation was maintained, I’m sure glad it is. So often, we’ve been able to reference it; and when it comes to information, it’s better to have too much than too little.

The Amount of Work Behind the Scenes

When I interviewed for an assistant manager position, I was told the job would likely involve more manual labor than the manager’s job. I would spend most of my time cleaning vacant units, changing out latches or weather stripping, vacuuming hallways, and handling many other maintenance tasks. But I never realized just how much there is to do behind the scenes.

I’ve had it said to me more times than I can count that some of our customers assume we spend all day in the office waiting by the phone and computer. At our company, we’ve made it a mission to provide “Easy, Clean, Service.” That’s revealed in the ways we care for our properties, including the office and bathrooms.

There’s always a list of things to accomplish at my facility. In one recent week we painted the bollards, rented a few units, cleaned vacated units, vacuumed the hallways, wiped down the unit doors and even created a couple of new units. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that there’s always something to do!

The Laws That Govern

There are laws that protect self-storage customers and those that give facility operators the right to enforce a lien and hold a public auction of delinquent units. The first time I had to witness a lock-cutting due to nonpayment, it was extremely heart-wrenching and emotional. I remember going home in tears because I felt I was ruining someone’s life. I thought we were invading his privacy, taking pictures and documenting items to place an ad in the newspaper.

Then came auction day, which was even harder. Just a few days after the sale, the customer came to the office to make a payment and get a wheelchair out of the unit for her brother. We hadn’t been able to reach her by phone, e-mail or mail, and I had to tell her the unit had been sold. I’ll never forget the shocked look on her face and her demand to speak to my supervisor, who told her that if she changed her contact info and never notified the office, there was nothing she could do. I never saw her again.

The Love for the Job

I absolutely love what I do. I work for an incredible company. It’s family-owned, and each employee is treated like family. The relationships I’ve built with customers, coworkers, supervisors and office personnel have benefited me more than any amount of pay.

I can’t wait to get up in the morning and arrive at the office! People from all walks of life come through my door to rent units, buy merchandise or make a payment. I’ve met folks from several countries who’ve rented because they’re in the military, attending the local university or moving to find a better life. My customers have ranged from age 19 to 95.

I’ve also had great mentors, and now do what I can to pass knowledge forward to new employees. I’ve had the opportunity to travel to Kansas City, Mo., and Minneapolis to help new and current managers learn about the business. I’ve even attended a corporate retreat. All in all, I wouldn’t trade a thing about my job.

No matter how long you’ve worked in self-storage, take in all the information you can. Learn from your peers, supervisors and even your competition. Build relationships. Show up every day ready to absorb something new. Not every day will be the same, and if it is, only you can change that.

Here’s my final advice: Be honest with your customers. Be fair and be consistent. As one mentor told me many years ago, “Tie your shoes every morning so you won’t get tripped up by the small things.” Results don’t always come right away. Be consistent, and they will.

Kevin Lanning has been a facility manager for StorageMart since 2014. Founded in 1999 and based in Columbia, Mo., the company operates more than 200 self-storage properties across Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States. Kevin lives in Omaha, Neb., with his wife, Krystal. His outside interests include photography and woodworking. For more information, visit www.storage-mart.com. 

Westport Properties Inc. (WPI), which operates more than 120 self-storage facilities under the US Storage Centers brand, has acquired three A+ Storage facilities in La Vergne and Nolensville, Tenn., both suburbs of Nashville. The company now operates 11 locations in the state, according to a press release.

The property at 5565 Murfreesboro Road in La Vergne comprises 68,660 square feet in 641 units. The other location in the city, 211 New Paul Road, contains 59,590 square feet in 485 units. The Nolensville property at 2001 Johnson Industrial Blvd. comprises 67,113 square feet in 528 units. All three sites offer drive-up and climate-controlled units as well as vehicle-storage spaces.

“We have made a concerted effort to grow and be competitive in the Nashville area,” said Charles Byerly, CEO and president of WPI. “These three new institutional-quality assets provide even better branding and operational efficiencies to our already strong existing portfolio in this area.”

US Storage Centers represented itself in the transaction. The seller was represented by Ashley Compton, national director of Collier’s International, a global commercial real estate services firm that offers a variety of services for investors, business owners and developers.

Founded in 1985 and based in Irvine, Calif., WPI is a real estate investment company that acquires, develops and operates self-storage facilities, and provides third-party management services. Its portfolio comprises more than 9 million rentable square feet in 15 states.

The A+ Storage brand is operated by A+ Storage of Tennessee LLC. Founded in 2003, the company operates five facilities in Columbia, Cordova, Murfreesboro and Nashville, Tenn.

 

Ben Ellinwood, owner of Rock Solid Storage in Edgecomb, Maine, has converted a former Dodge dealership in Waldaboro, Maine, into a second location. The new self-storage facility at 76 Winslows Mills Road offers climate-controlled and vehicle storage. It also has 10 portable-storage containers for cold storage, according to the source.

The property renovations, which took about a year, were completed by Ellinwood’s concrete business, Ellinwood Foundations Inc. Asbestos was removed and a vapor barrier placed between the original and newly poured cement floors, he told the source. In addition, some portions of the original building and sheds were demolished due to mold.

“It was a fun renovation. The building was in pretty rough shape when we got started. We brought the building down to its bare bones and removed the bad parts,” Ellinwood said.

Constructed in 1947, the building once functioned as a service station and housed Old Town Canoe Co. Most recently, it was used by Best Felts Inc., the company that sold the property to Ellinwood.

Although Ellinwood considered tearing down the entire structure and rebuilding, it was more cost-effective to renovate because of the solid foundation. The structure also fit Ellinwood’s vision for the property, he said. “The cement block was really well-constructed, especially for this old of a building,” he added.

Ellinwood opened the Edgecomb storage site about three years ago. “I was thinking of it as an investment for my future,” he said.

Both facilities are unmanned and employ video cameras and other security measures. Customers can make reservations and make payments on the company website.

Source:
The Lincoln County News, 1940s Industrial Building Finds New Use as Storage Facility in Waldoboro

 

Delaware became the 30th state to either establish a self-storage limited-lines insurance license or provide a statutory exemption from licensing on Sept. 13 when Gov. John Carney signed Senate Bill 184 (SB 184) into law. Under the measure, self-storage owners as well as their employees and other company representatives can get a limited license authorizing them to sell tenant insurance. The law goes into effect on Nov. 13.

A self-storage owner only needs one license to sell insurance in the state, though he must include a list of all facilities he operates on the application. He must also notify the insurance commissioner within 30 days of any new Delaware locations or facility closures.

In addition, the law requires that storage owners maintain a registry of employees who have been certified to sell insurance and are eligible to act as agents. The list must be submitted to the commissioner upon request. Certification is achieved by completing a commissioner-approved training program.

The bill was supported by the national Self Storage Association (SSA). "Many self-storage tenants do not have easy access to insurance that will cover their personal property while it is in storage," said Joe Doherty, senior vice president, legal and legislative counsel, for the SSA in a Sept. 24 newsletter to association members. "We are grateful that the Delaware Department of Insurance and legislature recognized this coverage gap and acted quickly to provide storage operators with the option of offering their tenants insurance policies to fill the gap."

SB 184 was introduced in April and passed the state senate on May 8. It passed the house on June 28.

Sources:
Delaware General Assembly, Senate Bill 184
The Monday Morning Globe 9/24/18, Delaware Becomes 30th States to Authorize Self Storage Licensing

Union Realtime LLC, a technology-services company that specializes in self-storage development data, has partnered with Andover Properties LLC to track monthly occupancy at all Storage King USA facilities. Current and historical data will be added to Union Realtime’s Radius database, launching the platform’s tracking of occupancy figures at the facility level. The company expects to expand the dataset by adding “several” other operators into its reporting network, according to a press release.

Union Realtime is trying to encourage participation from other self-storage operators by limiting access to those who share their information. "Occupancy data will help us and our competitors make informed decisions, which leads to better performance and higher revenues,” said Brian Cohen, president of Andover. “Today is a major step in changing the industry for the better by providing the right incentives for operators like ourselves to share occupancy."

Founded in 2003 and based in New York City, Andover owns or manages 30 self-storage facilities in nine states comprising more than 2 million rentable square feet of storage space in 15,150 units. The firm focuses on the acquisition, development and management of industrial, retail and self-storage facilities, primarily in the North and Southeast.

Union Realtime uses technology solutions to deliver self-storage data and analysis. Among its offerings is Radius, an online tool that tracks market demographics, occupancy and rental rates in addition to new and existing self-storage supply. Its tracking data is updated daily.