Finding land is so critical 4 out of 13 of the major Storage Authority Development Guidance sections is on finding land.
Finding land on your own is not easy. Unless you have 10,000 hours of intense experience and learning to become an expert on development prospecting for land, you may have to be lucky to find land on your own.
Two important reminders: 50% of land is found offline and 90% of land is found by our franchisee and not their real estate agents. If you are waiting for your agent to find you land it is time for a new strategy. We can help.
One area most new self storage developer's do not understand is Self Storage Demand. Too often new developers go to a self storage demand app and use 8 sf oof existing self storage per person (or another number) as the demand line to build or not to build. Nothing is further from the truth and often wrong. In the end you are looking to fill up and rent at premium profits. So competition occupancy and rates must be checked and the best way to check them is by visiting each facility.
So a much more accurate picture is learned by really doing the hard work to investigate the competition. Are they really full or moderatley full or stuck at 80% full. Are they providing discounts like a free month or are they charging premium rates with no discounts. Are they well run and have curb appeal. Is there a manager or not. Does your land have a an access and traffic advantage or disadvantage? There are great tools like radius+ to help you get started with understanding the existing self storage in an area.
The Radius program has many features most people are not even aware. A couple include: You can click on a facility (red dot) and often get the facility contact info, percent cc, rates. You can grab the circle by the middle and move it around to get data so you can better understand the market at large and so you can start your search in areas of higher need of self storage. You can grab the radius circle by the white dot on the perimiter to create a specific radius to include or not include a given area. Don't forget to take their tour when you sign up for your 5 free credits.
It takes more planning and reseach thenn most realize to find a great property for self storage
Learn more about how Storage Authority helps you find land and guides you through the development process here: