In addition, a recent study by the National Self Storage Association showed that only 1 in 10 US Households are now renting 1 or more Self Storage Units, creating a high growth industry with only 10% penetration!

How many business opportunities have you looked at? Ten? Fifteen? Twenty? How many sites have you visited promising unlimited wealth with no risk or without lifting a finger? Maybe you’ve looked at franchises that charge astronomical fees and huge back end royalties. I know, I’ve been there.

Over 18 years ago I started looking for the perfect business…one I could do without sabotaging all my time, my current job, my marriage, or my friendships. What I wanted was a business that I could mold into my lifestyle and personal financial goals. A business that was isolated from good and bad economic cycles, not a fad that would fizzle out, leaving me right back where I started.

The Benefits of Investing in Self Storage

Tell me if any of these benefits apply to you:

1. Set Your Own Hours. Turn small amounts of time into sizeable profits. Start part-time, earn while you learn, and ultimately replace and exceed your regular job’s income before you walk away from it. Or, if you like, work part time or make the equivalent of a full-time income from spare-time hours and call yourself retired.

2.Use a Proven System, but with no Franchise Fees or Royalties I lack creativity, and did not want to reinvent the wheel. I wanted a proven step by step system – like a franchise, but without the hefty up front fees and back end royalties.

3. Low to No Overhead – I wanted the ability to run my business from my home, or my favorite coffee shop, and enjoy the tax benefits of operating a home-based business.

4. Flexibility – I wanted the ability to go it alone, or bring on partners as the business grew. In addition, I wanted a business that could be duplicated in any area of the country, so I could make money while vacationing in different cities (and make the trip tax-deductible)

5. Make Instant Profits – The ability to generate cash flow from day one; not in several years after pouring my life savings into it, or borrowing money from my relatives and friends.

Well after talking to and meeting with several older, wiser, (and richer) friends, I found one thing in common: Virtually all of them had made their fortunes in real estate, and the others had a real estate portfolio larger than most so called full time real estate investors.

So I jumped in with both feet by purchasing a Home Study System by one of the top “Guru’s” in the country on how to invest in real estate with no money down. And I, unlike so many other people who buy courses and then stick them on the shelf, actually watched those tapes and read the manual. And Guess what……..it worked! I bought my first piece of investment real estate, a 3- bedroom 1 bath single family home, for $30,000 with $0 money down!

Then I rehabbed it, rented it, refinanced it, and pulled out enough money to re-invest in 2 more just like it. I repeated this several times over and had made a small fortune in the single family buy it, fix it, rent it, and sell it real estate business. I then took that small fortune and began to invest in several apartment complexes, and office buildings. The cash flow was great, my net worth had skyrocketed, and I was living the dream! (so I thought).

Then came the tragic events of September 11, which as many of you may remember, shook our country to the core. In the recession that followed, our vacancy rate plummeted near our break even point, our insurance rates had soared, and a statewide property tax increase on all our properties a year later delivered the final blow. The promise of a better life and the creation of wealth through residential rental real estate had been jeopardized in just a few short years, and I knew something had to change!

As I pondered my options, I realized that my passion still lied within real estate. The main reason I was in this mess because I was in the business of renting space to PEOPLE. The lost rent from evictions, move-outs in the middle of the night, huge collection expenses, high vacancies in tough economies, plus the cost to repair, re-paint, and re-carpet each of our 400 units when they became vacant was eating away at our monthly cash flow.

Also, being a victim of random increases in property taxes, insurance, and utility costs over the past 5 years brought me to the conclusion that I no longer wanted to be in a position where I was slave to the tax man, the insurance companies, nor the utility monopolies any longer.

“Although I was Making Money with Single-Family Homes and Apartments…I wanted to Make More Money, Faster, without the Hassles of Tenants, Toilets, or Employees!”

So the conclusion was that my dream job was to build a low-risk, high cash flow real estate business without all the hassles of tenants, toilets, or employees! Simple enough, but did such a business really exist? Was it a pipe dream? Or was it the best kept secret in Real Estate Investing? I found out that Self Storage is simply the best way to go, and I’ve compiled a list of ten reasons that outline just why Self Storage is the best thing since sliced bread. Click here to see those reasons.

When comparing Self Storage to other real estate investments such as Apartments, Office Buildings, and Retail, how do they compare? Lets explore some of the most important factors.

Development Cost The development cost of self storage is one-third to one-half that of Apartments (multi-family), office buildings, or retail properties.
Operational Cost Owning Real Estate requires regular maintenance of the grounds, appliances, plumbing, electrical fixtures, etc., which usually require a maintenance staff. As the graph illustrates, self-storage operating costs are less than half that of other real estate properties.
Break Even Cost When owning investment property, you simply must fill a certain amount of space to keep from losing money. In self storage, this break-even point is considerably lower than other real estate ventures due to its low development costs.
Annual Rents This chart illustrates that the annual rent ranges for self storage fall within the range of other real estate. However, considering the lower development and operational costs we discussed above, self storage can yield a better bottom line.
Failure Rate Comparison Compared to other real estate investments, self storage has the ability to absorb economic fluctuations, maintaining value during both good and bad economic times.
Source: “The Big Financial Picture” Inside Self Storage Magazine, Nov. 2000, by Mike Parham, National Development Services, Inc

I found out the hard way, however, that there are a few important differences between buying a single-family house or apartment building vs. buying a Self Storage Facility. I made a lot of mistakes in the beginning – some very costly. But what counts is that I learned from my mistakes, and I created systems so I wouldn’t ever make those same mistakes again, with step by step instructions on how to find lowly Cinderella facilities and turn them into Belles of the Ball (making a boatload of cash in the process!)

I heard Scott’s story on a webinar in May 2009 and ordered his home study course to study while recovering from surgery over the summer. After seven years investing in residential real estate, I had sold most of my properties and was eager to invest in anything that didn’t involve tenants, toilets, and termites! While attending a Commercial RE Bootcamp with my son Joe in August, I was surprised to see Scott show up as a speaker on the last day. After hearing him speak, my son instantly decided he would rather invest in self-storage facilities than in multi-unit apartments!! He signed up for the Scott’s self storage training event in Indianapolis at the end of August and joined the affiliate mentoring program, so he could hit the ground running as soon as he got out of the Marines in October. We are now partners in self storage investing and have been working directly with Dutch and Brian on Scott’s mentoring team for two months.

The weekly mentoring calls address not only the specific techniques and strategies we must implement to find our first good self storage deal, but also provide, as a bonus, thoughtful guidance in living a balanced life based on strong relationships in both business and personal arenas. The Stepping Stones report helps each student to manage his/her time productively and make steady progress toward achieving weekly and monthly goals, despite our hectic schedules. The mentors are experienced and eager to help each student succeed. I especially appreciate the 1-on-1 personal phone calls with Dutch and Brian that specifically address my own strengths and weaknesses, and keep me focused on making the best use of my time. Brian has been exceptionally responsive in helping me with issues needing immediate attention over the last few weeks. My son and I are learning new things every week and fully expect to locate our first good deal within the next three months. I’m also encouraged by the weekly phone calls with my accountability buddies (two students in the mentoring program), as we support each other and learn together how to overcome obstacles and stay motivated. I’ve been a student in several other RE mentoring programs and have found Scott’s program to be the most systematic, effective, and exciting mentoring program I’ve been involved with over the last seven years.

Kay Harris (and son Sergeant Joe Harris)

Fortunately for you, I’ve combined all of my knowledge, and all of my systems into my Home Study System called:

“The Complete Guide to Finding, Evaluating, and Purchasing Self Storage Facilities™”

This Step-By-Step system means you won’t make the same mistakes I did, and will show you how I went from being a tired, overworked and underpaid landlord, to creating $10,700 in monthly spendable cash in 12 short months, without the hassles of tenants and toilets.

Here’s the Complete Table of Contents of the course, Straight from the Manual…..

“Knowledge is the currency of the new economy, and now you have the power to change your whole family tree!”

Scott Meyers®, CSSM

Order The Complete Guide to Finding, Evaluating, and Purchasing Self Storage Facilities today!

Also, please drop me a line when you close your first deal or pass a milestone (like passing your current income). I read and respond personally to every letter I get, because I’m committed to seeing you succeed.

To your QUICK Success,