Storage Moguls

Joe Downs, Stories and Strategies
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What does it take to go from knowing absolutely nothing about self-storage investing to owning your first storage facility? Turns out, less than you think. And Storage Moguls is going to show you exactly how. Storage Moguls is hosted by entrepreneur and storage investing expert Joe Downs. Each week, Joe sits down with seasoned storage operators, real estate investors, SBA lenders, acquisition specialists, and students who've already done the deals, breaking down every piece of the self-storage and Boat & RV storage investment process so that anyone can understand it, act on it, and succeed with it. Whether you're a first-time real estate investor trying to understand cap rates, NOI, and due diligence, or an experienced entrepreneur ready to scale your commercial real estate portfolio through storage acquisitions, this show removes every barrier between where you are today and your first storage facility. No fear. No gatekeeping. Just the real storage education, SBA financing strategies, underwriting breakdowns, and passive income playbooks that turn beginners into Storage Moguls. storagemoguls.ai. Practitioners, Not Professors.

  1. 3 days ago

    Four Problems, One Closing: How First-Time Investors Still Won

    Four problems. One deal. One closing. What does it actually take for a first-time self-storage buyer to push through a due diligence report that surfaces a setback encroachment, a title defect, a survey parcel issue, and an environmental flag. All on the same deal.  Joe Downs sits down with Mike and Stephanie Vostenak, retired corporate HR executive turned self-storage owner-operator and his wife, who closed on Murrayville Self-Storage, a 110-unit facility in Wilmington, North Carolina, just one month before recording.  They walk through the real-time decisions, the legal battles with county commissioners, and the team structure that got them to closing. Joe also shares current self-storage occupancy data, noting the national rate dipped to 82.2 percent as of September 2025, and explains why that gap from the stabilized 85 to 90 percent range signals an opportunity for investors ready to move now.   Listen For: 03:32 Has self-storage income actually beaten inflation for nearly two decades? 08:58 Are most storage operators already planning to automate in 2026? 15:38 Do you know what the average self-storage facility earns per square foot? 20:08 Is national self-storage occupancy where most investors think it is?   GUESTS: MICHAEL & STEPHANIE VOSTENAK Reliable Self-Storage | Mike’s LinkedIn | Stephanie’s LinkedIn |  CONNECT WITH US Joe Downs on LinkedIn Belrose website | Belrose email | Belrose LinkedIn

  2. 7 Sept

    The Drive-for-Dollars Playbook for Self-Storage Investors

    Is the next storage deal hiding in plain sight…one you'll only find if you leave your desk and drive?  Joe Downs makes the case for what he calls one of the most under-utilized acquisition strategies in self-storage investing: driving for dollars.  Joe draws on firsthand field experience, including a story about being gestured out of a seller's office and becoming that seller's first phone call nine months later, to illustrate why physically canvassing a market transforms cold calls into what he calls "power calls."  With national average street rates sitting at $133/month and top REIT occupancy climbing back above 92%, Joe argues the window to build seller relationships in independent self-storage markets is wide open right now.  Investors who move first win.   Listen For: :45 Why is "driving for dollars" the most underused acquisition strategy in self-storage investing? 5:54 What does the 2026 state of self-storage market report reveal about national street rates and occupancy? 9:00 How did host Joe Downs turn the worst interaction he's ever had with a storage owner into a first-call pre-listing opportunity? 20:45 How should storage investors structure a driving-for-dollars trip to maximize relationship-building in a new market? 28:30 Why is a "power call" always more effective than a cold call when pursuing mom-and-pop storage acquisitions?   CONNECT WITH US Joe Downs on LinkedIn Belrose website | Belrose email | Belrose LinkedIn

  3. 31 Aug

    What Every Self-Storage Owner Needs to Know About Truck Parking Revenue

    What if the most profitable square footage on your self-storage property is the part you're not charging for? Truck parking is emerging as one of the fastest-growing ancillary revenue plays in storage real estate and most facility owners are standing on top of it without knowing it.  Joe Downs sits down with returning guest Sydnie Wilda, VP of Properties Self Storage at Truck Parking Club, the platform now operating across more than 6,500 locations nationwide.  With nearly a decade of self-storage experience spanning onsite management, operations, and ownership, Wilda breaks down how storage investors can turn vacant lots, unused acreage, and fenced-off expansion pads into immediate revenue — with no construction, no major commitment, and full operator control.  Two or three truck spots at $250 a month adds $43,000 to your facility's value at a seven cap.  The opportunity is here now.   Listen For: 6:18 Is the truck parking shortage — one space for every 11 drivers — the ancillary revenue signal self-storage owners have been ignoring? 14:21 What does Sydnie Wilda look for when evaluating whether a self-storage property can support Truck Parking Club listings?  22:27 How does Truck Parking Club underwrite a property when formal feasibility data is still thin for this emerging asset class?  30:46 What are the minimum commitments — and the exit terms — if a self-storage owner wants to list with Truck Parking Club?  41:43 What does every self-storage facility owner need to verify before listing truck parking spaces to stay legally protected?    CONNECT WITH GUEST: SYDNIE WILDA, VICE PRESIDENT | TRUCK PARKING CLUB LinkedIn | Instagram | Website   CONNECT WITH US Joe Downs on LinkedIn Belrose website | Belrose email | Belrose LinkedIn

  4. 24 Aug

    The Self-Storage Data Gap That's Costing Investors Money

    What if the data separating a profitable self-storage acquisition from a costly mistake has been sitting inside public CMBS filings all along…and almost nobody in the industry was using it?  Joe Downs sits down with Noah Starr, CEO and co-founder of TractIQ, the market intelligence platform tracking over 72,000 self-storage facilities nationwide and trusted by Brookfield, Public Storage, and Extra Space.  Before building the data infrastructure the industry was missing, Noah personally acquired eleven self-storage facilities across four states through his company Star Equity, underwriting deals that gave him a front-row seat to the blind spots that cost investors real money.  TractIQ now delivers historic occupancy, achieved rates, and full P&L data on more than $50 billion in self-storage assets… intelligence that used to be accessible only to REITs.  If you're evaluating storage markets in 2026, this is the episode that changes how you underwrite.   Listen For: 6:20 Why did Noah Starr leave institutional real estate to buy his first self-storage facility? 10:22 How does TractIQ help investors find off-market self-storage deals in under 30 seconds? 14:38 Why is checking today's competitor rates a self-storage underwriting mistake from the past decade? 22:34 What deals did Noah Starr lose and regret winning because of bad or missing data? 28:19 How should investors use CMBS occupancy data to verify a self-storage market before buying?   CONNECT WITH GUEST: NOAH STARR, CEO OF TRACTIQ  Website | LinkedIn CONNECT WITH US Joe Downs on LinkedIn Belrose website | Belrose email | Belrose LinkedIn

  5. 17 Aug

    Is Your Storage Facility Properly Insured? Probably Not.

    Most self-storage investors have never actually verified they're properly insured... and the ones who find out they weren't usually discover it at the worst possible moment. Joe Downs sits down with Terry Campbell; commercial insurance specialist at Johnson Insurance and a storage industry veteran who has built facilities, underwritten SBA loans at Live Oak Bank for seven years, served as CEO of Copper Storage Management, and personally owns eleven self-storage locations across the Southeast.  Terry brings a perspective almost no insurance professional can: he sees coverage gaps through the eyes of an owner, an underwriter, and an operator simultaneously.  From FEMA flood remaps that sent one facility's insurance from $11,000 to $84,000 overnight, to coinsurance penalties hiding in aging policies, to the specific coverages first-time buyers almost always skip, this episode is a direct challenge to every storage investor who has ever assumed they were properly covered… without actually checking.   Listen For: 4:58 Why should every self-storage buyer check the FEMA flood map before making an offer? 14:47 How do you know if your current self-storage facility is underinsured right now? 16:07 What replacement cost mistakes are self-storage owners still making after the COVID price spikes? 22:15 What coverages does Terry Campbell say every first-time self-storage owner must have at closing? 29:55 How does insuring a boat and RV facility or small bay flex space differ from traditional self-storage?   CONNECT WITH GUEST: TERRY CAMPBELL, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER | SELF-STORAGE & FLEX SPACE  Website | LinkedIn | Email   CONNECT WITH US Joe Downs on LinkedIn Belrose website | Belrose email | Belrose LinkedIn

  6. 10 Aug

    Catching Underwriting Mistakes Self-Storage Investors Miss

    What if the biggest mistake in your first storage deal is believing the appraisal?  Joe Downs and Jack Pezzino reveal how one student nearly overpaid millions for a self storage facility after relying on the wrong appraisal method.  They explain why income, not replacement cost, should drive valuation, why commercial appraisals differ from residential ones, and how inexperienced investors can unknowingly turn an asset into a liability. The conversation explores common underwriting mistakes, the danger of being either too aggressive or too conservative with assumptions, and why understanding the market is more important than simply analyzing the property.  Joe and Jack also pull back the curtain on Storage Moguls' deal review process, showing how an experienced second set of eyes can uncover costly mistakes before an offer is submitted.  Their biggest takeaway is simple: successful investing is less about having perfect information and more about validating your assumptions before committing to a deal.   Listen For: 10:03 Is seller financing the most dangerous trap in a mispriced self-storage deal? 12:22 Why do first-time self-storage investors underwrite themselves out of every deal? 20:24 How does Jack Pezzino calibrate the line between conservative and realistic in a storage underwrite? 27:17 Why is market underwriting the non-negotiable first step before valuing any storage facility? 33:58 What does Jack Pezzino say is the single move that separates investors who close from those who don't?   CONNECT WITH GUEST: JACK PEZZINO, VP OF ACQUISITIONS BELROSE STORAGE GROUP  Website | LinkedIn CONNECT WITH US Joe Downs on LinkedIn Belrose website | Belrose email | Belrose LinkedIn

  7. 3 Aug

    No Experience? No Excuse. Self-Storage Beginner's Blueprint

    What does it actually take to run a self-storage facility you've never set foot inside, from fifteen hundred miles away, without a single day of real estate experience between you?  Joe Downs sits down with John Gaspar and Robert Figueiredo, co-owners of CubedUp Self Storage in Morganton, North Carolina. The duo are IBM veterans originally from Brazil who fired their third-party management company after just two months and took full control of their facility from Miami, Florida.  In seven months of self-managing, they drove physical occupancy from 70% to 84% and executed a 12% rate increase with zero tenant turnover.  This episode is a masterclass in self-storage operations, remote management systems, and the entrepreneurial mindset serious storage investors need to scale.  If you've been telling yourself, ‘you can't buy a self-storage facility because you're not local’, this episode dismantles that excuse entirely.   Listen For: 3:54 Why They Fired Their Storage Manager in 60 Days 5:41 The Delinquency Fix Every New Operator Needs 8:17 How to Run a Storage Facility From 1,500 Miles Away 14:08 Why Self Storage Thrived During COVID 14:31 The One Thing Stopping First-Time Storage Investors   CONNECT WITH GUEST: CUBEDUP SELF STORAGE Website | LinkedIn  JOHN GASPAR, CO-FOUNDER | OWNER-OPERATOR LinkedIn   ROBERT FIGUEIREDO, CO-FOUNDER | OWNER-OPERATOR LinkedIn | Facebook | Instagram    CONNECT WITH US Joe Downs on LinkedIn Belrose website | Belrose email | Belrose LinkedIn

  8. 27 Jul

    A Self-Storage Broker's Warning to First-Time Buyers

    Is the self-storage brokerage relationship the most misunderstood edge in storage investing? And are first-time buyers quietly destroying their own deal flow without knowing it?  Joe Downs sits down with David Perlleshi, Managing Director of Self-Storage at Franklin Street, one of the nation's leading self-storage brokerage firms.  David leads a national team with a buyer list of 10,000–15,000 active prospects and is currently on the front lines of a wave of COVID-era vintage loans from 2019–2022 coming due into a dramatically higher-rate environment.  He and Joe dismantle the fear-based myths holding first-time storage investors back, from lowball offer anxiety to blacklist paranoia, and reveal what actually gets a buyer frozen out.  With more than $1 trillion in commercial real estate loans maturing in the next two years, the storage investing window is opening.  The investors who understand how to work with brokers right now will be first in line.   Listen For: 4:12 Is self-storage really one of the most recession-proof asset classes lenders track? 11:50 Did compressed cap rates in 2021 create the underwater loan crisis hitting storage owners right now? 23:53 Why does a broker's commission structure make them just as motivated to find you a deal as close one? 25:43 Are $1 trillion in maturing CRE loans about to flood the self-storage market with new inventory? 26:43 What expansion opportunities are first-time storage investors missing on listings?   CONNECT WITH GUEST: DAVID PERLLESHI, MANAGING DIRECTOR, SELF STORAGE INVESTMENT SALES | FRANKLIN STREET  Website | LinkedIn | X| Facebook| Instagram| Email CONNECT WITH US Joe Downs on LinkedIn Belrose website | Belrose email | Belrose LinkedIn

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About

What does it take to go from knowing absolutely nothing about self-storage investing to owning your first storage facility? Turns out, less than you think. And Storage Moguls is going to show you exactly how. Storage Moguls is hosted by entrepreneur and storage investing expert Joe Downs. Each week, Joe sits down with seasoned storage operators, real estate investors, SBA lenders, acquisition specialists, and students who've already done the deals, breaking down every piece of the self-storage and Boat & RV storage investment process so that anyone can understand it, act on it, and succeed with it. Whether you're a first-time real estate investor trying to understand cap rates, NOI, and due diligence, or an experienced entrepreneur ready to scale your commercial real estate portfolio through storage acquisitions, this show removes every barrier between where you are today and your first storage facility. No fear. No gatekeeping. Just the real storage education, SBA financing strategies, underwriting breakdowns, and passive income playbooks that turn beginners into Storage Moguls. storagemoguls.ai. Practitioners, Not Professors.

Information

  • Creator
    Joe Downs, Stories and Strategies
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    22
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Storage Moguls
  • Show Website
    Storage Moguls