Are you surprised to learn that the number one mistake I see both new and experienced self-storage and boat and RV storage developers make is the failure to take action? If I had a dollar for every time I hear, "I wish I'd done this ten years ago," and yet the developer still gets stuck and never moves forward, I would be a retired Sensei.

There are so many resources available in the self-storage and boat and RV storage industry it is easy to get overwhelmed. Change your mindset: these same resources will validate whether or not your project is viable and enable you to make decisions based on facts.

By taking one step at a time, you can easily have a new facility built within two years at the longest if you start today. Use the following checklist to avoid getting mired in indecision and GET THAT NEW FACILITY BUILT!

Step 1: Identify land
This is not rocket science but you must work hard on this step.

• Set up online searches - I use Loopnet, Crexi and CBRE and I'm sure there are many more particular to your local area

• Drive around - this is how I found land for my first facility. The land was not on the market and after I found it, I just looked it up on the assessor. I couldn't find a number for the owner so I called a local broker and he connected me.

• Contact commercial brokers - if you are a new developer, they may not take you seriously and you are going to have to be the one to call them weekly and ask if they have new listings. If you do this regularly and respond to every listing they send you, positive and negative, you will make headway.

• Contact your local municipality - when I was looking for land in a small town close to me, I found that the city owned multiple parcels that were for sale.

Step 2: Evaluate the Land

• Zoning - call the municipality and find out what the zoning is on the land. While you are at it, find out all of the regulations relevant to developing self-storage and boat and RV storage. Do not trust the broker or seller as to whether or not storage is a permitted use. That reminds me...

• ...Shhhh - you do not need to share with the broker or seller what it is you want to develop. I learned this the hard way when I told a seller what I wanted to do. One look at my website and he was like, if a self-storage wants to build storage on my property, I am going to do it myself and then I had to find a new submarket.

• Preliminary feasibility report - I will do your first preliminary report free and successive reports are $75. This is a quick look at the current supply, development in the pipeline and consumer demographics.

• Run the numbers - Plug in various scenarios into Trachte Building Systems' free investment calculator: https://www.trachte.com/resources/cost-calculators/. This will tell you how much you can pay for the land.

Step 3: Get the Land Under Contract
This seems scary but it is not. If the land does not work for you for whatever reason, you do not have to buy it.

• Due diligence period - you need 60 days to do your research to make sure you want to buy the land. The contract should state your deposit is refundable during this period if you decide not to buy the land.

• Additional time to close - the contract should state if you determine you want to buy the land, at 60 days your deposit goes "hard" e.g. becomes non-refundable, and/or you make an additional deposit. Then you get 180 more days to close and you are going to need every single one of them.

• If you can afford to buy the land outright after the 60 day due diligence, the 180 day extension is not necessary. Brokers will push back on the 180 day timeline, but they are obligated to present your offer and terms.

Step 4: Due Diligence
The 60 day clock is ticking and the pressure is on.

• Remote feasibility and market study to determine if market will support more storage, if you can build within your budget and if you can get a return on investment acceptable to you. This is going to take 2-4 weeks depending on your analyst's schedule.

• If the feasibility study is positive, order:

• Phase one environmental report

• Soil borings

• Engineer's preliminary report regarding feasibility of site for storage

• Endangered species report

Step 5: Development Preparation
Assuming your due diligence is positive, keep on pushing forward so you can close that loan within 180 days.

• Full feasibility study to determine your unit mix, what phases to build and the amenities you need to offer to achieve your desired return. This is the basis of your business plan and provides you with your operations budget, lease-up period, financial projections and the marketing plan needed to achieve the projections.

• Geographical and topographical surveys - the civil engineering plan provides the excavation and grading subcontractor with the information needed to prepare the soil for foundations, to ensure rainwater drains from the site, to determine contours and elevations, and to provide an earthworks estimate. This information is necessary for the excavation and grading contractor to provide an accurate bid by establishing the needed crew size, equipment required and how long the work will take. This information is needed by the retaining wall subcontractor and the building manufacturer as well.

• Site layout - you can get this from your engineer or an architect. I recommend paying a storage building manufacturer for your site layout, because they see a zillion sites and know a lot of tricks an engineer or architect who only does a few may not. If you pay a storage building manufacturer for this you own it, and can still shop it around when bidding.

• Stamped foundation plans are needed for the building permit.

• Get bids - contact at least three general contractors for bids for your project. You are going to need the civil engineering and site layout plans to do this or you are just going to be getting estimates, not bids. And do your due diligence on your general contractor as well to make sure they are too legit to quit.

Step 6: Financing
Allow 90 days to close an SBA loan and 60 days to close a conventional loan. That clock does not start until you have a commitment letter.

• Underwriting documents - be ready to send each potential lender a Dropbox link with everything they need for a quick decision. That list includes everything from steps 4 and 5, your business plan, tax returns, personal financial statement and the blood of a virgin (just checking to see if you are paying attention).

• Contact multiple lenders and brokers to get the best terms possible. Also, some are going to say no so don't put all your eggs into one basket at a time.

• If you are raising equity from investors, now is the time. You don't have all the information they need to make a decision until this step.

Step 7: Build Your Facility

• Hire your general contractor and sign the bids to lock in the prices

• Get a Gantt chart and a schedule from your general contractor and hold them to it

• Apply for building permits and other permits such as access road permits, etc.

• Monitor your general contractor's progress closely, take pictures and keep them on schedule

• Set up the property management systems and marketing initiatives to be ready to open when you get your certificate of occupancy

Step 8: Congratulations! You are in lease-up.
Market your ass off and get that facility full. Do lots of meditation and yoga, play golf, and do what you can to avoid worrying about how quickly your facility is leasing up. You've done your homework and it is going to happen whether or not you get an ulcer.

Step 9: Run your facility like a Ninja.
This is a whole other article. Raise rates regularly, keep answering your phone and monitoring your online presence. Give back to your community, reward your employees, and start looking for land for your next facility. You did it!

Self-Storage Land Package For Sale

Sensei Katherine and her business partner Jim Stout are pleased to present this turnkey land package to develop a self-storage facility on 10.6 acres. Please visit https://www.selfstorageninjas.com/invest to watch our webinar and request an NDA to receive confidental details.

If you’ve been searching without success for a parcel to build on, this is the total package you’ve been looking for. If you don’t have the time or knowledge to identify a great market and do the legwork to entitle land, or if you just want to skip to the construction phase of development, read on.

The parcel is located at Woodbridge Drive and Route 173 in Slippery Rock Township, Pennsylvania. The $600,000 sale price includes:

• Feasibility study documenting market demand

• Geographical and topographical survey by civil engineer

• Zoning approval for 24,000 square foot self-storage facility by Slippery Rock Township

• Billboard approval by Slippery Rock Township

• Construction plans and site layout stamped by civil engineer – apply for permits in your name, turn over to your general contractor and break ground

• Business and marketing plan ready to execute as unmanned facility

• Stabilized self-storage facility valuation: $2.4 million year three

• 10-year internal rate of return (IRR): 20.2% if choose to sell in year ten and do not do a cash-out refinance earlier

The self-storage facility only requires 2.6 acres of the total parcel. The remaining 8 acres may be subdivided and sold immediately (buyers are already expressing interest as this is one of the last parcels of commercial land in the township) or developed.

• Currently zoned highway commercial suitable for retail development

• Large parcel size meets code requirements for water detention and allowable land area requirements on unusable portion of land

• Student housing development directly adjacent to property

The parcel is located in Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania. Slippery Rock is 43 miles away from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and 76 miles away from Akron, Ohio. Situated on one of the last vacant parcels in the township, the land is just four miles from Interstate 79 and less than three miles from Interstate 80.

Slippery Rock University and four public schools are located within five miles of the parcel. Within its five-mile radius are five grocery stores, two golf courses, and two hospitals are both located less than a mile away.

Please visit https://www.selfstorageninjas.com/invest to watch our webinar and request an NDA to receive confidental details.