Self Storage Income

Alex Quezada’s first self storage facility made him over a million dollars. That has to be just luck, right? Over the next six years, he bought 18 more self storage investments, selling several for a $1M+ payday and keeping the others that would cash-flow him to financial freedom. And get this—he did it in Florida, the state with some of the wildest insurance costs and taxes.    How did Alex scale so quickly and build a portfolio that takes even the experts decades to do?   Back in 2020, Alex was a tired single-family rental landlord. Whether it was holidays, weekends, or birthdays, it didn’t matter—tenants were blowing up his phone. Toilet problems, AC issues—the usual. This wasn’t sustainable; the money wasn't worth it, and he needed a way to build truly scalable wealth. The answer was self storage.   Since that first deal, Alex has bought 18 more facilities, sold four, and held on to 15. He’s done seller financing to fund many of them, direct mail campaigns to get off-market owners to the table, and runs call centers with AI for zero downtime and fast customer service, so no tenant is ever locked out of a unit or a gate. Alex is a master in this game, and we got him to share everything, from structuring seller financing to his exact cadence of direct mail for the most lead flow. A $1,000,000 check could change any investor's life. This is how Alex does it routinely.  What you’ll learn in today’s show: How to make massive value-add improvements on self storage without spending money Creating a win-win seller financing offer that storage owners gladly accept  Alex’s direct mail blueprint that’s scored him over a dozen self storage deals Why self storage is more scalable (and profitable) than single-family homes How to use AI in your storage business to speed up customer service, rentals, and more — Alex’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alex.theinvestor.quezada/ Alex’s YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@alex.theinvestor.quezada   Patchwork Labs (AI Call Center): https://www.patchworklabs.com/  Work with someone experienced in self storage loans at Live Oak Bank! https://www.liveoakbank.com/business-loans/self-storage/ 

How do you know if a self storage facility is a home-run deal or a ticking time bomb? Right now, the self storage industry is ripe with opportunity. We’ve bought more self storage facilities in the last 12 months than we did in the previous three years combined, and these deals are some of the best we’ve seen in several years. But not every distressed facility is a hidden gem. Some deals look great on paper but are actually traps—facilities that never fill up, attract low-paying tenants, and have little to no value-add potential. So, what really separates a great deal from a bad one? It all comes down to market-driven opportunity and operator-driven vacancy. Today, I’m sharing how to spot the difference using two real-world case studies—a pair of distressed facilities we stabilized through a combination of savvy marketing and strategic rent increases. I’m digging into market signals, rental rates, supply and demand, and other key factors that will tell you whether you’re buying upside or just inheriting someone else’s problem.   What you’ll learn in today’s show: The biggest differences between value-add opportunities and “bad” deals Two market demand signals to watch for when analyzing self storage deals How to determine if distress is market- or operator-related A realistic timeline for stabilizing an undervalued self storage facility Real case studies (with real numbers!) from our own self storage portfolio   — Grab AJ’s Book, Growing Wealth in Self-Storage 2.0: https://www.amazon.com/Growing-Wealth-Self-Storage-2-0-Post-Pandemic/dp/1735258865    This Just Unlocked REAL Cap Rates, Occupancy, and More for Any US Market w/TractIQ CEO Noah Starr: https://www.selfstorageincome.com/podcasts/self-storage-income-2/episodes/2149256841 

People have self storage all wrong. Today, we’re giving you the truth, and it flies in the face of how most view the asset: Self storage investing is not passive. That might sound like a drawback, but it’s actually one of self storage’s greatest advantages. It’s active because it’s a business. And if you treat it like one, you’ll find there are countless ways to increase revenue, cut expenses, and create real value. Too many investors view self storage facilities like residential rental properties. Get a tenant in, charge market rent, and hopefully make a profit. But with a self storage facility, you have far more control over how the property performs. Today, we’re showing you exactly how to do things like optimize pricing, improve occupancy, automate self storage tasks, reduce waste, add new revenue streams, and more. The best part is, if you pull the right operational levers, you’re not just increasing NOI. You’re fundamentally changing the asset’s value. And that’s what most people miss. Yes, self storage is hands-on. It’s definitely not passive. But that’s exactly what makes it such a powerful investment. What you’ll learn in today’s show: The truth about self storage investing (that most get wrong) Simple ways to drive self storage NOI (and value) higher The massive advantage that new self storage investors have right now How to eliminate waste and redundancy within your business Essential tools and software for running your self storage business — Grab AJ’s Book, Growing Wealth in Self-Storage 2.0 : https://www.amazon.com/Growing-Wealth-Self-Storage-2-0-Post-Pandemic/dp/1735258865    Join the Self Storage Income Community to learn how to buy, build, and scale your self storage portfolio: https://www.selfstorageincome.com/learn-yt?el=pc-episode-367 

This could be the biggest change to self storage industry data in years. For the entirety of its existence, the self storage industry has relied on guesswork to estimate competitor and market cap rates, occupancy, rental rates, and demand. Most self storage data is tied directly to REIT-run facilities—the biggest, most expensive facilities in the U.S.   What about the small investor? Now, they have access to the data only the powerful players had for decades.    Earlier this year, when we brought on Noah Starr from TractIQ to announce the biggest data transparency change in self storage history, we didn’t think he’d be back less than a year later to give us so much more to share. We’re giving it all away in today’s show: real cap rates in tertiary markets, actual occupancy rates from operators, the supply pipeline of new facilities coming to the market (and the ones that have been abandoned), and much more.   If you’re a small operator in a small town, you can use this data to see what’s happening in your specific market to make better offers, increase your NOI, and beat the competition more easily than you’d imagine.   Noah even shares a new announcement that will change the game for anyone building storage.   What you’ll learn in today’s show: Real cap rates in smaller markets and why facilities are selling for far less than you’d imagine  Cash flow is back! The profit spread is widening for self storage as we speak REITs continue to consolidate (why AJ is buying more self storage than ever before) Will demand boomerang back as home sales begin to edge higher? The surprising statistic that shows just how behind 80% of mom-and-pop operators are (your competition!)  - Grab the Full Self Storage Data Report Now!: https://www.selfstorageincome.com/storage-industry-report?el=pc-episode-366  - Self Storage Deals Just Got MUCH Better in 2026 (Huge Announcement) w/Noah Starr: https://youtu.be/eoi825L7ag8?si=8V5VDllc0kMSCqqQ  - The #1 Lie Costing Self Storage Investors Millions: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wztYSZ5fc90   

How much does a self storage facility cost, and how much can you make owning a storage facility? AJ has three recent real deals, all from Self Storage Income members, to show you the real cost, revenue, cash flow, and equity numbers that small investors are seeing in 2026. And even though these numbers look impressive, they’re not rarities.   Self storage is changing, and the deals are getting better, sometimes by the day. AJ has bought more storage in the past twelve months than the past few years combined. Why? Sellers are waking up to reality and realizing that they can’t ask for high prices while interest rates are elevated.   This is a huge opportunity to buy a poorly-operated facility, improve operations, increase cash flow, and sometimes make seven figures in equity along the way. AJ’s going to prove it’s still possible by walking through three real deals, all with sizable cash flow and equity, using simple, beginner-friendly strategies any new self storage investor can repeat.   What you’ll learn in today’s show: How much self storage facilities are actually making in 2026 (and how much they cost) The simple value-add improvements small storage owners can make to increase their revenue and facility value Why AJ is buying significantly more self storage now than in the past (a repeat of 2013?) How one small investor financed a facility at just 1% down (and made a 23x return) The buy, improve, refinance, and repeat strategy to scale your storage facility faster — Grab AJ’s Book, Growing Wealth in Self-Storage 2.0 - https://www.amazon.com/Growing-Wealth-Self-Storage-2-0-Post-Pandemic/dp/1735258865 Join the Self Storage Income Community to learn how to buy, build, and scale your self storage portfolio: https://www.selfstorageincome.com/learn-yt?el=yt-ep365 Episode 321. How We (Remote!) Manage Our 19-Facility Self Storage Business - https://www.selfstorageincome.com/podcasts/self-storage-income-2/episodes/2149107392 The Real Numbers Behind a $2M Self-Storage Deal (Case Study)- https://youtu.be/2tWBihDx-Y0?si=MEVtcIUkCuXx7llL This Family Closed a $247K Storage Deal in 2025 (Here’s How)- https://youtu.be/kxRCsk1YtG8?si=jFlIGmRnvRr6c80L