Self Storage Income AJ Osborne

The self storage industry is changing. Back during the Great Recession, small self storage investments tanked. Their revenues fell off a cliff, customers consistently went without paying, and there were no buyers or banks to bail out the owners. Since then, self storage investing has changed in a big way. REITs are growing with towering self storage facilities everywhere in big cities, and their next big target? Small self storage investments.

This poses an interesting opportunity for inventors: if you get in early enough, your facility could see a massive increase in value and even interest from a REIT. So, what should you be doing NOW to capitalize on this coming change in the self storage industry?

Small self storage investing expert Jeremiah Boucher, founder of Patriot Holdings, joins AJ and Conner LIVE to go over the opportunities, threats, and “landmines” to watch out for when buying a small self storage facility—which could be your first or next investment! Plus, Jeremiah even shares EXACTLY what you should do TODAY to a small facility to increase its value before the REIT next door comes knocking. 

What you’ll learn in today’s show:


The huge opportunity in small self storage investments that you MUST be on the lookout for
How the self storage industry has changed and why small markets could house goldmine self storage facilities 
What to do TODAY to increase the value of your next self storage facility 
The “landmines” to watch out for BEFORE you buy a facility (these WILL cost you)
Biggest threats to self storage investors and how to get around them 
Why REITs are quietly searching for small facilities and markets to invest in  
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Finding Your Edge: How to Win at the Game of Commercial Real Estate Investing

At just twenty-seven years old, Dillon Leonard has reached financial freedom. How’d he do it? By tenaciously identifying, acquiring, and improving self storage facilities. Within four years, he’s built his self storage business to 800 doors, and he’s done it all by buying storage units in small towns that you’ve probably never heard of. How did he succeed so quickly, and what does he do that sets him apart from the competition? He’s sharing his “simple” secrets today!

Dillon had one goal—to reach financial freedom so he could spend time with his family. While working as a firefighter, he began building a residential real estate portfolio. One day (ironically), a tenant burned his property down. Dillon had it with tenants and toilets and realized self storage was the business he truly wanted to be in.

If you’re just getting started in self storage investing, Dillon delivers a masterclass on finding, acquiring, and running small facilities. If you follow his lead and put in the work, you, too, can reach financial freedom in just a few years! 

What you’ll learn in today’s show:


How to find financial freedom FAST by building a self storage business 
Why Dillon gave up rental properties and got into self storage investing 
How Dillon runs seven facilities (remotely!) in rural areas 
Competing with REITs and how investing in smaller markets can yield bigger rewards 
Raising rents and how Dillon has managed to keep high occupancy while charging more
Buying the competition and the “relationship marketing” Dillon uses to acquire new facilities 
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Growing Wealth in Self-Storage 2.0

Connect with Dillon

Looking for off-market self storage for sale? Wondering how to get around the high down payment self storage investing requires? How do you measure demand for an area you’ve never invested in? Today, AJ and Conner are answering some of the most commonly asked self storage investing questions so you can get your first or next facility even faster. Think of this as a “Self Storage Investing for Beginners” FAQ session as we get into the nitty-gritty of finding deals, measuring demand, raising down payments, increasing revenue, and more!

If you’re still searching for your first facility, worry not. AJ details the exact method he used to get his first small off-market self storage facilities and how to get an owner to ask YOU to buy the property from them. We’ll also get into measuring demand and whether you should use software or go “secret shopping.” Will a ten-percent down loan pencil out for your next facility? And speaking of down payments, how do you raise the six-figure sum you’ll most likely need to buy your first self storage investment? 

We’re answering all those questions and a whole lot more in this episode! 

What you’ll learn in today’s show:


How to find small, off-market self storage facilities in your area (and get owners to sell to you!)
Measuring demand BEFORE you buy a facility and how we know a market is worth it
Whether an SBA ten-percent down loan is worth it (and if you can even use one)
Why you DON’T need to wait to save up a down payment to invest in self stoarge 
Exactly what we do within the first thirty days of owning a facility to increase its value
Signs that a facility has poor management and could have significant value-add potential 
Raising revenues on your first or next facility through smart asset management
Self storage smart locks and how they’ve been working at even our biggest facilities 

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Growing Wealth in Self-Storage 2.0

Episode 250. The Self Storage Industry is Starting to “Thaw” (Take Advantage Now!)

How to Find Off-Market Self Storage Deals in ANY Market

My Most Profitable Self Storage Investing Strategy (with numbers)

Think you’re too late in the game to get into self storage investments? Feel like you can’t give up that career you took decades to build to take a shot at achieving financial freedom? Today’s guest is about to fire you up! At age fifty, he took a giant leap, quitting his chiropractor practice of over twenty years to go head-first into real estate investing. In just four years, he was able to buy six self storage investments, and he’s not stopping anytime soon. And if you feel like your career’s clock is ticking, and self storage could be your way out, Russell Nersesov is the guy to listen to.

 In today’s show, Russell talks about leaving his stable career to pursue something else, how he’s finding deals even in today’s tough market, why he makes offers on everything that could work for his portfolio and the two things EVERY investor should be looking for when trying to find self storage investments.

Russell even flips the interview, getting AJ’s take on some of the most crucial questions self storage investors are wondering about. You’ll hear why brokers are finally starting to get “realistic” with their prices, the “readjustment period” sellers are going through, and how to have the confidence to buy when everyone is telling you to wait instead (BIG mistake!). 

What you’ll learn in today’s show:


How to change your career later in life and start investing in self storage today
Why Russell invests in small markets with low competition and high upside 
Russell’s secret to getting more deals and how he bought six facilities in just four years!
How Russell remote manages his facilities while achieving an incredibly high occupancy rate
The changing self storage market and why the past four years have been like nothing we’ve ever experienced
Buying during down times and how to be greedy when everyone else is fearful 

Growing Wealth in Self-Storage 2.0

Episode 193 - Remote-controlled Facilities, Spiraling Debt, & "Now is the Time to Develop" - w/ Mike Burnam

Safe Storage USA

Follow Russell on Instagram 

The self storage industry is starting to “thaw” as renters return and occupancy begins to rise. But this isn’t happening at every facility. Many self storage operators are still struggling to get new customers in the door, and if your facility is having the same problem, this episode is exactly what you need. We’re peeling back the curtain and sharing exactly what we’re doing to raise occupancy, beat our competitors, and get units rented before the busy season ends. Last week, we talked about a return to “normal” for the self storage industry, with significant year-over-year storage demand drops. Now, it seems that we’re finally getting our busy season back as May rolls in and more facilities experience a seasonal boost. If you’re not taking advantage of this, you need to act fast. Not doing so could force your facility into higher vacancy for longer while your competitors take the customers passing you by.

We’re sharing our portfolio stats, the strategies we’re using to increase occupancy, and the operational changes we’re making to bring customers back. If you follow our lead, you could see your facility start to fill up fast this summer!

What you’ll learn in today’s show:


Why the self storage industry is starting to ‘thaw” and why 2025 - 2027 may be the best years yet
Exactly what we’re doing right now to bring in more customers and keep occupancy high
Our actual self storage facility stats and why we saw a big uptick in May rentals
Operational changes you MUST make if you want to have high occupancy at your facility
Whether or not lower interest rates will reignite the hot housing and storage markets
Metrics we’re watching closely that point to low or high occupancy rates

Get my new book that teaches you everything I know about self-storage- https://a.co/d/aRSKcSq 

Make self storage management easier than EVER with our podcast sponsor Tenant Inc. - https://www.tenantinc.com/

📌 Ready to buy storage? Have your deals personally evaluated by AJ and our team! https://www.selfstorageincome.com/feasibility

📉 Take advantage of today’s market conditions and invest with us- https://cedar.cc/invest 

Self storage rates see a severe year-over-year decline as owners brace for even more supply to come on the market during dwindling demand. What’s happening, and which markets are the most in danger? In this episode, we took some of the latest self storage industry stats on rates, demand, supply, and new construction to answer the question: Why are self storage rates falling, and when will they come back up? We even have data on the hardest-hit metro areas that YOU should watch out for.

We could be returning to “normal” as the booming demand from a few busy years starts to dry up. Markets that saw massive population growth are beginning to settle down, but all those shiny new self storage facilities are still around. If you’re a self storage operator in a market experiencing dying demand, what can YOU do to ensure you beat the competition? We’re sharing our secrets on how we make MORE money EVEN while dropping rates in today’s episode. 

Got some unusual unit sizes at your facility? Changing your layout (if possible) could result in a considerable difference in occupancy. We’ll talk about a recent development deal we did that could have gone south very quickly if we hadn’t changed to THIS type of unit size layout. So don’t sit around waiting for customers to fill up your facility; do what WE’RE doing NOW before it’s too late!

What you’ll learn in today’s show:


Latest storage industry stats and why street rates fell so much over the past year
The self storage markets that are faring the worst and seeing the biggest price drops
How high inventory can kill a self storage market and areas to steer clear of 
Why unit size demand changes over time and how to adjust with consumer preferences
How to make more money even with lower demand and falling street rates 
Why casual self storage operators might not make it in 2024, but the real “business” owners will

Get my new book that teaches you everything I know about self-storage- https://a.co/d/aRSKcSq 

Make self storage management easier than EVER with our podcast sponsor Tenant Inc. - https://www.tenantinc.com/

📌 Ready to buy storage? Have your deals personally evaluated by AJ and our team! https://www.selfstorageincome.com/feasibility

📉 Take advantage of today’s market conditions and invest with us- https://cedar.cc/invest