Like any other real estate, not just any old corner of the world is a perfect location for a self storage facility. The tried and true maxim still applies. Location, location, location. But what exactly should a prospective self storage investor look for when it comes to locating his property? In general, it boils down to one thing – traffic. Website owners are familiar with the term and it applies to the real world as well. The more people who are located in close proximity to your business, the greater chance they’ll turn to you when the need arises for extra storage space.
The reason for this is simple. Renters sometimes a have a frequent need to access the items they have stored and would prefer not to drive across the county every time they need to do so. Taking that into account, the following locations are prime targets for a self storage facility.
1. Busy freeway. Most cities and towns have a few main thoroughfares that make it easy to get quickly from one part of town to another. Locate your units along one of the these and the rest is simple marketing to bring in renters.
2. Densely populated neighborhood. A well populated neighborhood is another excellent location because there might be enough people living locally to support your business.
3. Developing area. Another perfect location to choose is an area that is still hot choice for developers. You don’t want to get in too early in the process, before traffic and plenty of other businesses are established. You’ve seen the kind of area we’re talking about in any town across America. Usually it’s anchored by Wal-mart, Lowes or a major grocery store chain. Small development tends to spring up in clusters around these box store giants, which brings in lots of traffic and a certain percentage of that traffic will be looking for rental space.
The caveat to watch out for in any area, even one of the three perfect location choices we just mentioned, is the presence of an established self storage facility nearby. Not that this absolutely rules out the wisdom of building there but it does mean you should take greater care. There might be plenty of business to support your business as well but do your research first.
The Commercial Investing Center Team