Finance

With changes in the general economy have come changes in the self-storage finance world. Self-storage lenders, like those for all commercial real estate, apply more stringent underwriting standards when evaluating the potential of a construction, permanent or other self-storage loans. Even the refinancing process has become more challenging for self-storage owners, who must weigh their options and exit strategies. Some negotiate with lenders in an attempt to salvage underperforming self-storage properties. Tax issues are also a significant concern for self-storage owners. Cost segregation and 1031 exchange are possibilities to be explored. Financial and operating performance is reported quarterly by the self-storage real estate investment trusts (REITs): Public Storage Inc., U-Store-It Trust, Sovran Self Storage and Extra Space Storage.