Why I Wrote a Self-Storage Book and What You Can Gain from It
It’s a big day for me. And I want to share it with you.
BiggerPockets Publishing is releasing my new book on self-storage investing today, November 18th, 2021. It’s called Storing Up Profits – Capitalize on America’s Obsession with STUFF by Investing in Self-Storage. You can buy it here right now from BiggerPockets. Use the code WELLINGS to get a 20% discount.
You can also purchase the paperback, audio, or Kindle version on Amazon.
This is a big deal for me. It’s my third book on real estate investing. (Many of us got acquainted through my second book.) But it’s my first book released by a significant publisher. Or any publisher. (I self-published the first two.)
I wrote the majority of this book quite a while ago. But publishing delays from Covid and more pushed it back.
Now, this delay seems providential…
Have you seen the press the past few months? The commercial real estate industry is abuzz with news about the rise in profitability and valuations of self-storage since Covid. Here are three headlines…
A Pandemic Space Race: Self-Storage Roars Back – New York Times
Self-Storage Bounces Back Ahead of Others as Covid-19 Eases – Wall Street Journal
Why Self-Storage Endured Through Covid-19 and is Well Positioned for the Future – ArborCrowd
So the timing couldn’t have been better.
Why Did I Write It?
When I wrote my book on multifamily investing, The Perfect Investment, I told my wife I I would do apartment syndication for the rest of my life. (I have no plans to retire – I tried that once in my early 30s.) The name of the book reflected my feelings about apartments.
Like many apartment syndicators and investors, I saw a rising trend since the Great Financial Crisis. Multifamily buyers were ignoring the fundamentals and buying at inflated prices.
Then inflated turned into outrageous.
And outrageous morphed to senseless.
A superb asset class that offered stability, predictable returns, and excellent downside risk protection…had mutated into a largely speculative venture in many cases. Syndicators were starting to utter an all-too-familiar line when justifying risky acquisitions:
It’s different this time.
But Howard Marks and Warren Buffett are still correct:
Trees don’t grow to the sky.
And neither do multifamily values.
A friend, author, and well-known multifamily syndicator just told me about the worst asset he acquired in over a decade. He hasn’t been able to raise the rents or appraised value by a dollar in the three years he’s owned it. Moreover, the profit margins are thin because he paid a high price for it in 2018. He just got an offer for $10 million more than he paid. He couldn’t turn it down.
Please take note of the multiple risks this new syndicator’s investors are going to bear. First, this asset doesn’t have great prospects for increasing income and value. Second, the new owner/asset manager is probably not as good as the current one. Third, they are bearing the brunt of a cost that is at least $10 million above a marginal deal. Fourth, they are shouldered with additional acquisition fees and closing costs. Fifth, the project is likely three years closer to a downturn than when my friend acquired it. (There is always a downturn on the horizon at some point, as Buffett and Marks emphatically state.)
This is perhaps the brightest guy I know in the multifamily business. He’s begun his fourth decade as a real estate investor. And he is selling his whole portfolio of multifamily assets (except the few acquired in the past year). Does he know something others are missing?
CAVEAT: It’s possible that the lack of housing units in the United States compared to the population, low interest rates, inflation, and government intervention may make the overpaying in multifamily okay in the long-term. But we’re not betting on that. And it’s not that we don’t like multifamily anymore. We just invested in a multifamily project in Texas this month, but it was with an extremely seasoned operator who has a unique tax abatement and acquisition strategy.
But I digress. What does this have to do with the book?
So, I was in my mid-fifties. I know I don’t look it. (Stop, you’re making me blush.) The Wellings Capital team was eagerly looking for assets to invest in. But we were unwilling to subject our investors and our families to a premium-plus price for assets potentially near the top of the cycle…exactly when we should be paying less.
So, we started looking at other asset classes with higher upside potential. More meat on the bones. Assets that could be acquired from mom-and-pop owners. The types of owners who don’t have the desire or knowledge or resources to upgrade operations, increase income, and maximize value.
They don’t need to. They’re doing fine running a mediocre facility. And compressing cap rates have already driven massive value increases. The market has done the heavy lifting for them.
We found this asset class in self-storage. And later in mobile home parks.
Here is a graphic showing the dramatic difference between multifamily ownership and these other two asset types:
I’ve discussed this at length for the past few years. The August webinar for our Wellings Income Fund III discussed this in some detail.
So, I was delighted when I learned the details of the self-storage business: the demographic drivers, the business model, tens of thousands of mom-and-pop owners, and more.
Then I went to Amazon to order a few top books on self-storage. I couldn’t believe what I saw. There were virtually none. (This stands in stark contrast to the multitude of books and education for single and multifamily real estate).
There were quite a few self-published books, and I bought several. But as I expected, they were riddled with typos and generally not well-written.
So, I decided to write one.
At the same time, Wellings Capital was delving deeply into the self-storage world. We were on a quest to find the very best operators who could provide downside protection and outsized returns for our investors. We spoke with a lot of them to find a few great ones. We got to know some industry leaders, top vendors, lenders, and more. We have since invested tens of millions of equity in self-storage facilities all across the country over the past few years.
These people contributed significantly to the book, as you will see. They helped grow my knowledge, and I quoted many of them extensively in the book.
Thankfully, BiggerPockets Publishing saw the need as well. So, I signed a publishing contract and they released the book on November 18th. And like I said, the timing couldn’t be better.
How Can This Book Benefit You?
I wrote my book for a wide variety of readers. Here is a quick list of those who may benefit…
Newbies or residential real estate investors who want to transition to commercial real estate
Those who wish to own and operate a self-storage facility and don’t know where to start
Those looking for career employment in the self-storage industry
Investors who want a broad overview of the industry before passively investing
Investors who want to develop a set of criteria to evaluate self-storage syndicators and deals
The book contains three major sections:
An overview of the self-storage industry (including the magic of commercial real estate)
Three major strategies to build a self-storage empire
Seven paths to self-storage success
I’m hoping the whole book is valuable for many, but I think this last section is worth discussing more. Many people would love to invest or get involved in self-storage or commercial real estate in general. Many people know that the Forbes 400, America’s wealthiest individuals, almost all invest in commercial real estate.
Unfortunately, most people don’t know where to start. Where is the on-ramp to meaningful participation in commercial real estate? During my first decade as a real estate investor, I wondered about this many times. But syndication was not as well-known in those days.
I had no idea how to get started. And it seemed daunting to me. Would I need tens of millions of dollars? How would I qualify for a loan of that size? And, oh yeah, how would I go from zero to expertise as an asset manager?
This last section of my book develops seven specific paths to walk down this road. I explain the on-ramp for each path, who might be most successful on this route, and how to take that path all the way to facility ownership or a significant investment in self-storage.
Even if you don’t plan to operate a self-storage facility, you may benefit from this overview of the seven paths. Or it may be helpful for someone you know or are mentoring.
How to Buy the Book
I hope this article provided a helpful overview of why I wrote Storing Up Profits – Capitalize on America’s Obsession with STUFF by Investing in Self-Storage. You can order your copy today at www.biggerpockets.com/storage. Use the code WELLINGS to get a 20% discount!
This article is also a shameless plug asking you to buy my book. It is part of my responsibility to my publisher to ask. Sales metrics will significantly contribute to my ability to get a contract on my next book. It is called Warren Buffett’s Rules for Real Estate Investors, and it is about 80% complete.
I’ll conclude this post with an excerpt from the book’s introduction. This is a slightly modified list of the top 40 reasons I love self-storage. Happy reading. And happy investing!
40 Reasons I Love Self-Storage
No toilets.
A large industry. Total US facilities more than Starbucks, McDonald’s, and Subway combined.
Self-storage has been the top-performing commercial asset class since Covid.
No tenant arguments.
No middle-of-the-night tenant calls.
No middle-of-the-night police visits (“the vacuum cleaner in unit 117 assaulted the lawnmower in unit 119”).
Very sticky tenants. (Tenants are typically not price-sensitive.)
Storage is a small part of most tenants’ budgets.
Auto-billing on credit cards.
A fragmented industry.
Many mom-and-pop owners (acquisition targets).
Many mom-and-pop owners (easy to compete with).
Many mom-and-pop owners (behind the curve on technology for management and marketing).
Self-storage is not sexy (but the profits are).
Great financing options.
Very low loan default rates for self-storage loans.
The highest historical returns of any REIT class.
Storage did well during the Great Financial Crisis.
Storage has done well since the Great Financial Crisis.
Units are easy to reconfigure to meet current demand.
Storage can be profitable in almost any market where people live.
Automated kiosks.
A multitude of ancillary income opportunities.
Low-cost value-adds.
The leverage effect.
The self-storage value formula – expand the numerator and compress the denominator.
Institutional buyers.
Recession-resistant…yet strengthened in economic booms.
Flexible lease terms (easy to raise rents).
Easy eviction process (easier to evict stuff than people).
Prohibitive land cost (bars competition in choice locations).
Low and predictable maintenance and operating costs.
Easy to manage a mom & pop…a big jump up to manage a world-class facility.
Perceived vs. actual length of stay + auto-bill makes it easier to raise rents.
Portfolio premiums at the time of sale.
Demand continues to increase as Americans accumulate more stuff.
Minimal collection losses.
Excellent cash flow.
The opportunity to respond in real-time to changing market conditions through short leases and dynamic revenue management.
No toilets (yes, I know that’s a repeat. Think about it.)
If you have further questions, please email us at invest@wellingscapital.com or use this scheduling link to set up a call to see if Wellings Capital’s investments are a fit for you.
As with all financial matters, please do your own research, draw your own conclusions, and seek professional advice. The information contained in this article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide investment advice. Investors should consult their own tax, legal and accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction.