Last Week in Self Storage

UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT—SELF STORAGE
Got a building that’s a big eyesore in your local community? We’re talking about buildings that are vacant and doing little except attract vermin and homeless people.
Try converting that building into a self-storage facility. That’s what U-Haul has done in Urbana, Ill., according to Inside Self Storage.
U-Haul International acquired a former shopping center that had been essentially sitting empty. U-Haul first converted some of the property into an office to rent its ubiquitous trucks and trailers, and portable storage containers, and to sell packing supplies.
Later, U-Haul converted the rest of the space into shiny, new self-storage units. The adaptive re-use of vacant facilities helps U-Haul meet its goal to support infill development and help communities lower their carbon footprints.
 
MARKET INVESTORS LOVE SELF-STORAGE
The market for commercial mortgage-backed securities has really taken it on the chin the past few months. After all, retailers like Macy’s, Sears, Wet Seal and Sports Authority have either closed stores by the dozen, filed for bankruptcy or simply shut down operations for good.
After all, in the era of Amazon, the bricks-and-mortar retail sector is about the last place you want to be.
So what’s a real estate investor to do? Self-storage facilities, as it turns out, are about the best place you can put your money right now if you want to invest in real estate.
Loans to self-storage facilities, according to SpareFoot, are performing extremely well—that means that the borrowers have plenty of cash flow to make monthly loan payments.
So if you’re looking for that next great investment idea, look no further than mortgage-backed securities that include plenty of self-storage facilities.
 
ON SALE NOW!
It’s a great time to reserve your self-storage unit in Texas. Rental rates in the Lone Star State have been flat for about four years and have remained essentially unchanged this year, according to Inside Self Storage.
Average monthly rates in various Texas cities range from a low of $84.64 in Fort Worth, to as much as $102.14 in Austin.