2.
Re: Mini Storage Business Jun 2, 2008 5:45 PM
If it made sense to build the facility in the first place, then it should have the potential to sustain itself and clear more than enough to make the owner a very nice living.
Most suburban facilities I've seen were built on a financial model where the mortgage payments and operating expenses could be covered with about 60 percent of the units rented. That means that if you had a 300-unit facility where 95 percent of the units were rented for an average of $100 a month, your monthly revenue would be $28,500. If the facility was built and financed like most, about $17,100 of that would be paid out for mortgage, utilities, maintenance, advertising, salaries, etc. -- and around $11,400 per month would be profit.
Of course, the risk is that if the units were only 50 percent rented, you'd be losing a couple of thousand dollars every month (probably more, because you'd have to increase your advertising, offer "first month free" deals, etc.). In other words, it's a business where there's good money to be made fairly easily IF you do it right, and IF there isn't a lot of competition nearby. You can get in a hole fast if other facilities are built in the same area, or if something happens (poor maintenance, thefts, vandalism, etc.) to drive people away and leave you with unrented units.
Hope that helps. Best wishes.
