Thread: Introduction into Rural Self Storage - Need Input

I am hoping all of you out there can give me insight. My husband and I have been poking around with the idea of owning self storage for a while now. We live outside of the Dallas area. In order to buy a facility it costs a fortune (as you all know) to purchase anything existing. While we make a decent income and are debt free outside of our home, we do not care to go “deeply” in debt or have partners in order to get something started.

So as an alternative, we thought about rural RV storage as a way to get something going. It might be more realistic to purchase property that could be used as RV/Boat storage and add sections in phases as we save up cash and/or pay down debt. I’m curious to know how many of you have gone this route. What are the pros/cons? I guess we’d rather go the slow and steady route than to pile up loans.

Other questions:
How does one select a location?
Are there certain land characteristics that you look for?

Any other pointers or advice would be greatly appreciated!

do people in rural areas need a storage place for their RV's away from home? Around here, in the rural areas, people just park their rv's and boats in their back yard.

Good point. Let me clarify. The areas we are thinking of consist of a couplecities outside of Dallas. It is sort of a transitioning area were ten years ago it was all land and now huge subdivisions (500-1000 houses per subdivision) have gone up all of which consist of a HOAs that prevents owners from parking RVs/boats. Its only looking for more growth to come. Most of the homes also sit on such a small lot that there isn't room for it. There are a couple neighborhoods that homes sit on an acre and they can store RVs. I guess that is the part we struggle with. It is a growing area full of homes with HOA but still quite a bit of land and room for the city to grow.

hs4430:
One of the issues that you will face in a "bedroom" community setting is zoning. My suggestion would be to go to Planning / Zoning Department of the jurisdictionyou are considering. All you have to do is ask direct questions such as -"In what zoning categories can I develop RV & Boat storage and selfstorage?" "What chances would I have to rezone a piece of property tothe correct category?" "Are there specific building standards for RV& Boat storage and self storage?" Then buy a copy of the zoning map. Youwould now have a direction as to where to look for property. Our industry hasbecome very competitive so finding the "perfect" site will be verydifficult. Best of luck with your search. Keep us posted on your progress.

MisterJim444

Originally Posted by MisterJim444

hs4430:
One of the issues that you will face in a "bedroom" community setting is zoning. My suggestion would be to go to Planning / Zoning Department of the jurisdictionyou are considering. All you have to do is ask direct questions such as -"In what zoning categories can I develop RV & Boat storage and selfstorage?" "What chances would I have to rezone a piece of property tothe correct category?" "Are there specific building standards for RV& Boat storage and self storage?" Then buy a copy of the zoning map. Youwould now have a direction as to where to look for property. Our industry hasbecome very competitive so finding the "perfect" site will be verydifficult. Best of luck with your search. Keep us posted on your progress.

MisterJim444

Thank you MisterJim444 for your helpful comments. I have taken your direction and have already learned quite a bit. Just knowing how and where to get started will help us know what makes sense. TY again.
Heather

Based on what our customers typically build, I think it is more common to offer traditional storage first, then branch out into other storage types. As mentioned above, communities are not always so receptive to seeing the boats/RVs so unless you are building totally enclosed storage, developers often hide these somewhat behind other storage buildings.

Really, it sounds like you are at the point that you need to run some numbers. Figure out typical rent per sq foot on various storage types, cost per sq ft to build, and also do some research on demand and supply. You will get a lot of good data simply by calling around to local facilities to figure out if they are full or not, and what they are charging.

We have an archive of webinars that ISS helped us with a few years back located here: http://www.trachte.com/seminars-webinars/webinars.php. One of them talks about site selection and layout. You will probably find some good info here.

Thanks and good luck. Feel free to contact us for some ballpark construction estimates. Jeff Bouchard 608 327-3129 covers Texas for us.

Steve Hajewski
Trachte Building Systems

Have you made a decsions yet? I own both self storage and RV self storage. Unless you are in a big recreational & high population I think regular self storage is by far the best way to go unless the area is over built for self storage. possible a combination of both. No matter how much of your money or the banks money two things are important. Your return on investment and cash flow. Building in phases provides better ROI & cash flow.
If you need some ideas on getting started check out my web site www.SelfStorageMarketing101.com

hs4430,

If you are still require assistance with your project, please feel free to contact me. I have a network of people that can provide the answers you are seeking. I have been in the construction business in North Texas for over 18 years. Specifically the metal building industry. We know contractors for many different trades that you may need that other building representatives, that do not reside in this area, couldn't assist you with. Some of what we offer: financing options, feasibility studies, building layout & design, pricing, site visits, manufacturing, engineering and installation (steel erection) services. I am happy to schedule a meeting with you at your convenience.

Thank you,

Robert Denton
Independent Sales Consultant
Betco, Inc.
580-775-8535 P
www.betcoinc.com

Originally Posted by marcgoodin

Have you made a decsions yet? I own both self storage and RV self storage. Unless you are in a big recreational & high population I think regular self storage is by far the best way to go unless the area is over built for self storage. possible a combination of both.

Just to offer a differing opinion, I am in a rural area and own a facility offering both self storage and vehicle storage in a small town. It can be done successfully.

Thank you all for the feedback! Seems like what might work for one area may not in another. We are still considering all of our options at this point and trying to learn as much as we can on how we can "get into the business" but try and make the best choices along the way. Anymore comments are appreciated!