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WJK

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That's good service.

I have to think more about how I can best help them, aside from offering to buy their facility.

Today I follow up called seven owners (3 short of my daily goal, my excuse being that I have to catch a flight for work soon), two told me they were not interested in selling. I left voicemails for the rest. I also emailed more brokers to get me on their mailing lists.
When you ask them IF they wanna sell, you are soliciting a no answer. You've got to find a better approach.
 
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WJK

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That's good service.

I have to think more about how I can best help them, aside from offering to buy their facility.

Today I follow up called seven owners (3 short of my daily goal, my excuse being that I have to catch a flight for work soon), two told me they were not interested in selling. I left voicemails for the rest. I also emailed more brokers to get me on their mailing lists.
When you ask IF they wanna sell, you are soliciting a no answer. Change your approach!
 

amcg88

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When you ask IF they wanna sell, you are soliciting a no answer. Change your approach!
I know what you mean. I modified my message.

The feedback I got from asking other people in my course's forum site is that the lack of positive response so far is normal. I am going to expand my geographic area of focus and plan for multi touchpoints over time with owners.
 

amcg88

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I didn't do anything Tuesday - Thursday due to all day work events.

I called 10 owners today. I spoke with one who said they were expanding their own operations. I left voicemails/sent emails for the rest.
 
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WJK

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I didn't do anything Tuesday - Thursday due to all day work events.

I called 10 owners today. I spoke with one who said they were expanding their own operations. I left voicemails/sent emails for the rest.
Invite the guy who is expanding his business to lunch. Ask why, where, and how. Get him talking about his plans. Learn everything you can from the guy who is doing it.
 

amcg88

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I called 10 owners today. I spoke with four today, maybe 3PM is a good time to actually get a hold of folks. No one was interested. One owner said he gets 10 calls/letters per week from investors. Second time I have heard something like that o_O.

Also, I started pulling facility data for the western half of the state. Need to expand my search area.
 

WJK

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I called 10 owners today. I spoke with four today, maybe 3PM is a good time to actually get a hold of folks. No one was interested. One owner said he gets 10 calls/letters per week from investors. Second time I have heard something like that o_O.

Also, I started pulling facility data for the western half of the state. Need to expand my search area.
Have you found any part of your target area that needs more facilities? Can you build a facility there? Are there any pockets where the rental rates are higher or lower than your average? Why? Are there growth trends and population trends into one area or another? What building permits for more facilities are pending? Have you plotted this all on a map of the area -- pinpointing the location of all the facilities and pending facilities so you can see the concentrations and growth trends?
 
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amcg88

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Mini-win today. I contacted 10 owners today. Two of them said they were potentially interested in selling. I have to email 1 with the information I need to create an offer. Another is going to email me the information I requested over the phone so that I can create an offer. And, yet another owner emailed me this morning saying he might be interested if the price is right. I need to get back to him also.

I also pulled more facility data for other counties in the western half of PA.
 

mav55339

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Mini-win today. I contacted 10 owners today. Two of them said they were potentially interested in selling. I have to email 1 with the information I need to create an offer. Another is going to email me the information I requested over the phone so that I can create an offer. And, yet another owner emailed me this morning saying he might be interested if the price is right. I need to get back to him also.

I also pulled more facility data for other counties in the western half of PA.
Are you buying with cash or financing?
 

mav55339

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Not sure yet, will be dependent on the deal size and structure.
Thanks. I'm also very interested in getting into storage. Whether that's RV/boat storage or just regular storage I don't know yet. It does seem like a very expensive industry to get into though.
 
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WJK

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Thanks. I'm also very interested in getting into storage. Whether that's RV/boat storage or just regular storage I don't know yet. It does seem like a very expensive industry to get into though.
I looked at adding storage units to my property but decided not to do that. The return on the $4$ (ROI) is over many years. I get a better return on my mobile home rentals that I rehab.
 

mav55339

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I looked at adding storage units to my property but decided not to do that. The return on the $4$ (ROI) is over many years. I get a better return on my mobile home rentals that I rehab.
Interesting thanks.
 

WJK

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Interesting thanks.
You might also look at the management aspects of it too. Most of the self-storage have an on-site manager who lives in an apartment. Some have ditched that and have electronic monitors and access. Security and access are the two big problems. And then there's collecting your rents. I would use an auto-draw account for that or credit cards also on an auto-draw system. Collecting all those rents would be a pain. I worried about the idea that I would end up all that "other people's junk". Most of the auctions for abandoned units are now done one line rather than in person. You've still got the problem of the buyer removing the items and the trash.

If I was gonna do RV/boats, I build the highest fence I could and get a junkyard dog to patrol the property.
 
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amcg88

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I finished follow-up calling my second mailer list today (8 calls. I didn't speak with any humans). I need to double back and look for a different site than Spokeo to pull contact information for the folks I couldn't track down.

I also pulled more western PA facility data and sent information request emails to the two folks from yesterday.
 

WJK

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I finished follow-up calling my second mailer list today (8 calls. I didn't speak with any humans). I need to double back and look for a different site than Spokeo to pull contact information for the folks I couldn't track down.

I also pulled more western PA facility data and sent information request emails to the two folks from yesterday.
Can you talk to them face to face? I would NEVER send my information via email. I would want to "eyeball" the person getting that info. Also, your best bet for getting a deal is a personal relationship. Deals are made over a cup of coffee following a personal tour of the subject property. The contract details and legal language can wait, but the basic understanding is between two humans. Or, that is my experience.
 

amcg88

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Can you talk to them face to face? I would NEVER send my information via email. I would want to "eyeball" the person getting that info. Also, your best bet for getting a deal is a personal relationship. Deals are made over a cup of coffee following a personal tour of the subject property. The contract details and legal language can wait, but the basic understanding is between two humans. Or, that is my experience.
I live several hours drive away. I'll do that when I have a more serious prospect.
 
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WJK

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I live several hours drive away. I'll do that when I have a more serious prospect.
Your answer is why, as an investor, I would never email you the info on my properties.

Who needs who here? From an owner's point of view, I would see your inquiry this way: You are saying that going to see the Subject Property and owner is not worth the trip and your time. You want the owner to disclose personal, private information to you, a total stranger, so you can decide IF you are going to take the property and its owner seriously?

Also, I assume that you are prospecting outside of your usual investment market. How do you know what terms and how much to offer? Are there any hidden factors? Is it located in a separate RE market or a sub-market? How are you going to manage and maintain the property long distance? These are the types of questions I asked as a broker, a commercial RE appraiser, a RE expert witness, and an investor...
 

amcg88

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Your answer is why, as an investor, I would never email you the info on my properties.

Who needs who here? From an owner's point of view, I would see your inquiry this way: You are saying that going to see the Subject Property and owner is not worth the trip and your time. You want the owner to disclose personal, private information to you, a total stranger, so you can decide IF you are going to take the property and its owner seriously?

Also, I assume that you are prospecting outside of your usual investment market. How do you know what terms and how much to offer? Are there any hidden factors? Is it located in a separate RE market or a sub-market? How are you going to manage and maintain the property long distance? These are the types of questions I asked as a broker, a commercial RE appraiser, a RE expert witness, and an investor...
I can see that.

Today I just looked up more facilities and tried to find a better contact lookup site (undecided which one to use). One of the potential sellers emailed me back with the information I requested. The property looks too small to be worthwhile.
 

Roli

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Just an out-of-the-box suggestion from someone with zero experience.

Near where I live (London, UK), there are some flats being pulled down. Someone has managed to secure the old carparks underneath them and is using them as storage units.

Of course they will be demolished eventually, however I'm sure the owner is making some decent bank which he'll be able to invest once it's all gone.

Perhaps you could find something similar?
 
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amcg88

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Just an out-of-the-box suggestion from someone with zero experience.

Near where I live (London, UK), there are some flats being pulled down. Someone has managed to secure the old carparks underneath them and is using them as storage units.

Of course they will be demolished eventually, however I'm sure the owner is making some decent bank which he'll be able to invest once it's all gone.

Perhaps you could find something similar?
That's a creative use of carparks.
 

amcg88

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I looked up contact information for and called the folks I couldn't get a hold of previously (11 calls). I left a message with one person, then voicemails for the rest or the number was disconnected. So I still have to find some contact information.

Additionally, one of the potentially interested sellers got back to me with information I requested over the weekend (good so far), and I replied with a few more questions. Maybe the deal will work (or not).

I also sent a mailer to facilities in the western part of the state over the weekend. And every day I have been looking up new facilities to target. I will soon expand my search to the adjacent states.
 

amcg88

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Hunted down some more potential contact numbers for owners today and pulled more facilities to mail (hopefully end of week/beginning of next week). One of the other potential sellers also got back to me with some more information. I think I need to do a couple more steps before making an offer.
 
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amcg88

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Follow up called the folks whose information I found yesterday. Most were dead numbers. I spoke with one owner who said he received 5 investor calls so far today (oof!). I also looked up additional facilities to mail and asked my course groups what additional steps I need to take before I make an offer to the one owner.
 

amcg88

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I pulled the rest of the potential county facilities today. I need to finish going through them since there are a lot. I also called the different storage facilities around the one I am looking at to get a sense of price and availability. The one I am looking at is significantly underpriced relative to those who answered my call today (I called 12 competitor facilities total). I also looked at storage supply and demand for the area which appears quite favorable.
 

amcg88

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  • I finished looking at all the pa counties for facilities and will order the mailer tomorrow. I will then move onto another state, likely Ohio.
  • I found some more owners' contact information and called them (I spoke with one who was not interested). Also, an owner's daughter called me back last Saturday and I forgot to return her call until today (oops. left a voicemail today.).
  • I also sent the one potential seller additional questions. I should have sent them all in go (also oops).
 
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amcg88

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Ordered another mailer today for the rest of PA and onto the next state (WV).
 

amcg88

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I pulled more facilities today.

One owner received my letter and called me because he had some interest in selling. His facility was too small to be of interest though. Positive sign still.
 

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