Financing

Fresh paint, safe and secure storage areas, attractive landscaping ... smart business owners know that both small and large capital expenditures can go a long way toward improving their self- storage facilities’ cash flow and resale value. So the question is not if you should renovate, but how to finance the project. This article reviews the four major sources of ...

Capital-market volatility during the past 12 months has significantly changed the landscape for self-storage real estate investing and financing. If you have applied for a loan in the past eight to 10 months, you’ve likely noticed these changes firsthand. Gone are the days of 85 percent to 90 percent loan-to-value ratios (LTV), 10-year interest-only periods, and 1.05 to 1.10 debt ...

It’s time to sit up and take notice. The times have changed, and nobody seems to be setting up shop on Easy Street anymore.It is abundantly clear that the so-called sub-prime mortgage debacle may be just the tip of the iceberg of problems in modern finance markets. Easy to obtain, cheap credit is the great lubricant that makes the engines ...

All projects need a thorough business plan to entice the lender to provide financing. The self-storage industry, however, has one unique difference that may impede obtaining financing. Some financial institutions shy away from lending on a single-purpose facility, such as self-storage, due to limitations on the property use and obvious limitations to financial recovery if the entrepreneur fails. In this ...

The first month of 2008 was beset with significant financial and political "rock-n-roll." If you are like me, much of it doesn’t seem to fit into a neat package and signifies what the rest of the year will bring. However, if you will indulge me, I will give you two thoughts on the self-storage real estate market that will hopefully ...