By Anita Huedepohl

Weve all heard the expression rob Peter to pay Paul, but what if Peters not home? That may be the way people feel in todays economic times. With an historic number of foreclosures, both commercial and residential, its sometimes hard to remember how things used to be and how we can plan to get back there.

All businesses operate based on profit and loss, commonly called P&L. Theres a natural ebb and flow to how funds arrive on your doorstep, are processed and ultimately end up in your pocket. Its much like a great recipe for your moms chocolate cakeit will not taste the same unless all the ingredients are added at just the right time and in just the right amounts. Although its much more complicated than that, the principle is the same.

Self-storage operators are often confused about the difference between gross and net revenue when it comes to annual profit. Theyll say, We made $875,000 last year! My response is usually, Great. Is that net or gross? Ninety-nine percent of the time, you can hear the crickets as the client tries to explain why he told me the gross rather than the net. Its always a case of We netted $250,000 on our $2.9 million proposed refinance. For some reason, people dont want to go with the bottom line, and yet thats what we need to see to get the funds they require. Lenders dont look at gross, they only look at net operating income (NOI). Thats not to say we cant work with those figures if we use the right amortization schedule and lock period.

That leads us to the right product for the right property. It may surprise you that sometimes the lowest interest rate is not in the facility owner's best interest. Those low, low rates are often for very short periods of time and can really tie up your cash flow if you dont read the fine print, which often states the rate is going up in 90 days to a range thats going to tie up all of your net.

When borrowers ask me, Whats your lowest interest rate?, I automatically know they may not be aware of all the factors that affect the product they think they want. Its my job to shed light on what may be best for their property, given the NOI, debt-service coverage ratio, property value and use of proceeds, if any.

For example, I recently worked with a storage owner who had a 6 percent interest rate. Sounds fair, doesnt it? He was looking for a rate in the 3 percent range, which is not attainable in commercial lending. I explained that residential and commercial lending are at completely opposite ends of the spectrum and priced very differently. He said he was having cash-flow issues because although the interest rate was 6 percent, it was based on a 10-year lock. A lock is the amount of time a lender will keep your rate at the terms it provided. Its often confused with amortization, which is the number of months a lender uses to calculate the monthly payments. Lets compare some loan scenarios for him.

Not only can we cut the payment nearly in half and free up his cash flow for improvements, building a new group of buildings or paying down the existing debts of the business, he no longer has to rob Peter to pay Paul every month. The best part is theres no prepayment penalty. This means the operator can pay down the loan each year or pay it off early if he desires.

Another Scenario

Sometimes whats best for one self-storage owner may not work for another. Lets say an owner has a 100 percent occupancy and a waiting list trigged by the new XYZ apartment building that leased up 60 days ago less than three blocks away. Rather than see those customers go to his closest competitor, he would like to add that third building he planned to build in 2008, right before the recession went full tilt. He has the cash flow already, not to mention the architects plans and city approvals in the back office, now covered in cobwebs thanks to the market crash. The same 30-year amortized product will allow him the $800,000 cash out necessary to complete his new building and yet provide a cushion of time with lowered payments to lease up.

Since hes not tied to a traditional 15-year bank amortization at 60 percent loan-to-value that was virtually the only product available in the last few years, he can not only hire the backhoe to break ground, he can afford the time necessary without the stress of the much higher payment. Additionally, his overall bottom line benefits because he now can have full occupancy on the new building with an increased cash flow that supersedes the need for the lowest rate.

It really is simpledont just look at loan interest rates. Sometimes rate is only the most modest piece of the puzzle, and the search for the lowest one can rob you of a better product, much like robbing Peter to pay Paul.

Anita Huedepohl brings more than 25 years entrepreneurial experience to her current position as owner of Liberty Funding. Shes worked in the financial sector for more than 10 years and is experienced in all types of mortgage financing. She launched Liberty with the goal of providing market expertise to underserved sectors, namely the self-storage industry. To reach her, call 615.417.4710; visit www.libertynationwide.com.