2 yrs ago: I was a burnt-out 16-yr corp exec desperate for a change.
FF to today: I've bought 8 crappy storage properties, replaced my W-2 income, freed my time, and am strangely satisfied with my work.
1 yr ago: I found Twitter as an outlet to tell my story.
The highlights:⬇️
How I bought 4 crappy self-storage properties in 14 months by:
Listening to 1 podcast episode🔊
Sending 50 letters💌
Making 1 phone call📞
Paying $1,500 to a stranger on the internet for a 1 hour call 💰
While starting and quitting 2 day jobs along the way.
The story: 🧵
Bought my 6th crappy storage property 6 months ago.
"Overpaid" at a face-melting 3.6% cap rate, watched 80 yr old seller laugh all the way to the bank, then went to work.
After shedding some blood, sweat, and a few tears, I'm now chuckling a bit too.
The story of
#6
:
⬇️
4 years ago, my boy Will started life weighing just over 2 lbs and beat spinal infection twice.
Today, he struggles with gross motor skills but adapts.
Also today, 6 wks after putting on skis for 1st time, he made it top to bottom without help.
I cried!
I have a lot of free time. Mostly ski, sometimes work.
Made possible by a badass team of 3 in Venezuela & Peru, who will manage 8 properties to🤞generate:
$1,400,000 revenue &
$1,000,000 net operating income this yr
The people, processes, & tools making it happen:⬇️
I once had a mentor tell me “if you want to grow your career, you’re going to have to move”.
She was right. For that career.
I live in a small, secluded town in the mountains. 6 hrs from Denver, 3.5 hrs from Albuquerque.
In late 2016, I had an amazing professional (and
Local burrito joint needed $ for remodel. Ran “burrito bonds” campaign offering 10% off gift cards.
Fam spends $1k/yr on burritos. Bought $2k bonds for $1800.
Shop put up art w/ names of bond buyers. More bonds = bigger name. Turns out we bought more than most.
Burrito baller.
14 months ago: listened to
@sweatystartup
throw down with
@theSamParr
and
@ShaanVP
and thought "I can do that!"
Next day built a database of 50 storage props in my hood.
Cringed as I dropped a stack of letters in the mailbox.
Today: I own 4 of those properties.
Story to come.
If you’ve been following me for a while, you know my boy, Will, is a bit of a miracle.
Born 3 months early, beat meningitis twice, and carries a shunt in his skull to keep hydrocephalus at bay.
A few months ago, he was diagnosed with mild cerebral palsy, caused by the early
Last Thursday, our boy Will was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Explains a lot but doesn’t change a thing.
He’s extra clumsy, walks on his toes, and can’t squat, but he’s perfect. Spend a few minutes with him and you’re guaranteed to smile.
Can’t wait to see where this kid goes!
Took the biggest swing of my short real estate career in October.
Made what most would consider a crazy move and paid $12m for an asset generating $620k in annual revenue and $350k in net income.
Borrowed $6m from my bank (@ 7.75%), $5m from the seller (@ 4%), and brought $1m
A friend just had shoulder surgery.
Insurance was billed $200k+ for the surgery.
His hour in the recovery room was $30k alone.
America is great, but our healthcare system is so fucked.
In the last 19 months, I quit my corporate job (twice), bought 7 crappy self-storage properties for $7.5m (now worth $11m), and am finally happy with my work.
I've done some right and a lot wrong.
If you're trying to make a similar change here are some hard words of wisdom:
⬇️
Over the last 3 yrs, I've acquired 10 storage props for $21.5m.
I'm a one-man show, using only my $, no investors, no fees, just cash flow.
How am I still finding deals worth buying? Maybe I'm lucky, maybe I'm dumb. Prob both.
My Stupid-Simple Guide to Storage Underwriting:*
Let the lock-cutting begin!
Opened up 13 units today for which we had no customer information.
What we found:
- 1 unit with $5k+ in electrician supplies/tools. Found box with name. Found number on WhitePages Premium. Called and got him first try. Thought unit was sold 7 yrs
At 38, I was debt-free, saving maniacally, grinding my way to early retirement.
At (almost) 42, I'm now $17.5m in debt, have loosened spending, and give no thought to retirement.
3 yrs ago, I found the power of leverage.
How I've Financed $21.5m in Self-Storage Acquisitions*:
I've found the Colorado mountains to be a hard place to live, even for someone who's lived here most of their life.
Even harder than Denver.
Many people are surprised by this and only see the beauty.
Why?
The constant pressure to take advantage of outdoor recreation
My real name is Baird Kleinsmith.
Baird is a surname, borrowed from my grandmother.
I live in Durango, Colorado.
I'm married w/ 4 & 8 yo kids.
I own storage in CO & NM.
I ski at Purgatory (inbounds) & the San Juan Mtns (backcountry).
I drive a 1995 Land Rover Defender 110.
I bought 10 self-storage properties between Feb '21 and Oct '23.
8 of 10 were acquired off-market via direct-to-seller outreach.
My Stupid-Simple Guide to Sourcing Off-Market Commercial Real Estate:*
*First, a couple of disclaimers:
1) Some of the bros here are gonna be mad
It’s easy to scan the highlights here and think everyone else has got it all buttoned up:
- That guy doesn’t personally guarantee his debt and sleeps really well at night!
- That guy makes $250k a MONTH!
- That guy’s wife is bangin’ and dang he loves her a lot!
- That guy makes
I’ve backed off using “crappy” to describe the storage properties I buy, but I’m bringing it back.
See, 10 days ago I closed on this physically beautiful property. 115k sq ft of storage, mostly drive up non-climate controlled with some drive-up and interior climate controlled
Bought my first storage property in Feb 2021 for $1.1m.
Traded it today (via reverse 1031 exchange) for my 10th storage property, bought on 10/31 for $12m.
How it went down:
Sent letter to owner of prop
#10
sometime last year.
Total Hail Mary. Biggest, nicest property in my
My 4 and 8 yr olds adore me and I adore them.
I see so many parents whose teenagers hate them. I fear becoming them.
For the parents w/ great relationships with their teenagers: how’d you pull it off? I want to be you someday.
How I discovered leverage and went from debt-free to owing banks $2,500,000 to buy 4 crappy self-storage properties in 14 months while:
Quitting my day job(s) 🖥️
Increasing my net worth by $1.8m 💰
Finding joy in my work 😀
The money story: 🧵
Even if you aren't a cycling fan, you should tune in to the next few days of the Vuelta a Espana.
Sepp Kuss, from Durango, CO (my home), is trying to pull off an incredible feat.
See, Sepp is what's called a "domestique", which means his role is do whatever he can to help
If you've followed me for a bit, you know my boy, Will, is something of a medical miracle.
Born 3 mo early, beat neonatal meningitis twice, lives with a valve in his skull keeping hydrocephalus at bay.
Met with his preK teacher this week, Will proudly showed off his work, and
Just hit 20 months of owning my first self-storage property.
Gone on to buy 6 more since then, but it's time to reflect on
#1
.
The story of my first deal, past and present:
⬇️
Another 38 locks cut.
The results from Day 2 of Operation WTFIIATSU (who the eff is in all these storage units):
- 3 units are full of valuable stuff but we could find zero evidence of owner. Kayaks, drum set, art, some sort of giant water filtration contraption. Someone is
When I started buying mismanaged storage properties a few quick years ago, there was one in my backyard that I most wanted.
It's the biggest, nicest storage property in a supply-constrained market growing in population and affluence.
Seemed way out of reach for a little
In 2014, I had a windfall and paid off my $250k home mortgage. One of my worst money moves to date.
In 2021, refinanced out $500k at 2.9% fixed with a $2k monthly payment.
Used proceeds to buy property that cashflows $90k/yr+ after debt service. Better money move.
I get a bunch of requests for paid "how to buy storage" coaching calls.
Didn't like the idea of trading my time for $, but gave in, and did a bunch of 'em.
Recently decided to stop those and share it all for free.
These 4 posts will give you more than one of those calls: ⬇️
Closing on the house across the street today, 13 months after this Tweet. How it went down:
- Introduced myself to owner’s fam, offered help
- Later expressed interest in buying house
- Owner passed, gave it time and checked back in with fam
- Fam said they weren’t sure of plans
I’ve long wanted the house across the street. Owner is in 90s and recently went to nursing home. Fam is local.
How can I tactfully approach fam without being a nob? Any strategies from my emotionally intelligent yet scheming
#retwit
friends?
Bought my 7th crappy storage property in Sep.
Owner kicked the bucket (RIP), kids valued cash over crappy storage.
Monthly rev was in decline, avging $7k/mo.
Spooked by mkt, almost backed out, nervously closed.
Rev hit $14k in Jan. Glad I stayed.
Story of
#7
:
⬇️
My remote team of 3 in Latin America costs less than 4% of revenue, shrinking as we scale.
They beautifully manage 9 self-storage locations, which will generate:
$1,114,000 Net Operating Income on
$1,580,000 Revenue
They are:
- Loyal
- Hardworking
- Excellent English speakers
This tax game is so rigged in favor of real estate pros.
Just got draft of my 2021 tax return (yeah, I'm tardy):
RE pro status + bonus depreciation =
All W2 taxes paid coming back (me & wifey) + extra child tax credits + healthcare subsidy + giant loss to carry fwd
Sheesh.
Of my 9 storage facilities across 2 states:
7 - I've not visited in over a year
1 - I've never seen in person
1 - Is a dumpster fire down the street and I've been there a lot
The People, Processes, and Tools of my Remote Property Management Operation:
---------------------
The
I drive a used truck, bought for $20k.
My wife drives a used SUV, also bought for $20k.
Traveling as fam of 4 to England/Wales/Scotland for a month this spring, cutting no corners, renting a lux van, staying in castles, eating great meals. Cost: $20k.
Priorities!
Moved into what I hope is my professional “forever home” last week.
For most of my 16 years working for others from cubicles and open floor plan offices, I dreamed of:
1) working for myself
2) from a space I enjoy
I’ve never wanted to work from home. Many people enjoy that,
2 yrs ago, I naively set out to build a crappy storage empire.
Didn't set goals.
Didn't calc time it'd take.
Went to work.
If rev is flat this yr, will gen $418k cash flow.
If rev is up 10%, will gen $505k cash flow.
$1.234m of my money in for 34-41% CoC return.
Process>Goals
New rentals are decent and move-outs have slowed. Strange considering it's one of my more podunk locations.
If rev flatlines @ $21k/mo, expenses kept to 30% (expect lower), it'll gen:
- $252k rev
- $176k net income
- $83k cash flow
- 35% cash on cash return
Yahtzee!
Two things top of mind for me right now: Death & Money
Just sent my wife an email with the subject line: "If I die"
The email is a long-overdue playbook for her if I were to die suddenly.
On paper, we're well-prepared. We set up a family trust long ago. Our homes, bank
I'm not a Sultan, guys. I'm a very small player. But I kinda like it that way.
My biz runs mostly w/o me.
I ski, bike, or just F-off when I want.
My kids make my schedule more than my work.
The stuff of my dreams, but the pull to go big is constant.
Stay small or go big?
Just got this LOI for storage
#9
signed.
A couple miles down the road from one of my current props. Full, higher quality than mine, much lower rates.
My offer was less $ than the seller wanted.
Why do you think he signed?
14 months ago: Bagged my 3rd crappy storage property. It's just a lil guy with big dreams.
Former owner limped it to:
$49k rev
$36k net income
On track to kick off:
$110k rev
$76k net income
The story of the crappy little storage that could:
🚂
⬇️
Two views of my boy, Will.
Outside, he’s a happy, silly 3 yr old.
Inside, he carries 5 ft of plastic tubing that drains fluid from his brain to his abdomen, coiled to extend as he grows. Invisible but critical.
Most of us are carrying something unseen. Be kind!
Our 11 yr old neighbor is already an entrepreneur.
He went out this afternoon knocking on doors to shovel snow and took Will, my 5 yr old son, with him.
Doubt Will helped much with the shoveling, but he def helped close some sales.
Proud dad moment as he beamed with pride
3 wks ago: Storage bro messages group needing help.
Lender backed out morning of close. Seller won't budge.
Bro needed hard money THAT DAY to close.
Called bro, got deets, wired him $350k.
Got $351k back this morning. Bro to make 6 figs on flip.
Twitter magic!
2 yrs ago I was:
Recent owner of 2 crappy storage props.
Unemployed after leaving job to buy more.
Living on wife's $50k salary.
Now I'm:
Owner of 9 decent storage props.
Still unemployed.
Banking most of $500k+ storage prop cash flow.
Buying more.
My mid-yr money review:
⬇️
4 years ago, my wife and I were in the deepest of darkness.
Our son, Will, was born 3 mo early, weighing 2 lbs.
Doc explained that infection had moved into his brain. Meningitis.
50% chance of cognitive defects. 25% chance of death.
Tonight he hit an incredible milestone:
Close my 8th storage acquisition in 12 days. Again, cash for down payment is coming straight from operating accounts of existing properties.
This compounding thing is so cool.
My primary source of income is cash flow from my real estate businesses.
I live well below my means and let it build.
Bought another prop this week. Down payment came straight from operating accounts of existing businesses.
I think this is what you all call compounding.
Lotta people asking: "Dang bro, how you get all that cheddar to buy $7.5m of crappy storage?"
TLDR: Cheap college, joined startup, sales guy->biz dev leader, company sold 2x, tiny slice of exits, angel exit, spent small fraction of income along way, avg junk.
Long Story:⬇️
I'm here as Sultan of Storage, but my most important title is Rad Dad.
I woke up this morning wanting to tell a story about my boy, Will, cuz I'm really REALLY proud of him.
Dubs is now a thriving 3 yr-old but he had a rough start.
⬇️
30 days owning this piece of crap. Countless years taken off my life.
Nah, actually, this is the fun part. Here's where we're at:
770 total units
500 units occupied by confirmed customers
25 available units
~245 units occupied by unidentified "customers" (like, we have no clue
I’ve backed off using “crappy” to describe the storage properties I buy, but I’m bringing it back.
See, 10 days ago I closed on this physically beautiful property. 115k sq ft of storage, mostly drive up non-climate controlled with some drive-up and interior climate controlled
5 years ago this morning, my wife’s water broke in the middle of the night at 6 months pregnant.
3 brutal days later our 2 lb fighter was born.
The proceeding months were the darkest I’ve ever seen.
As he battled and beat meningitis twice the docs prepared us that he might not
Just answered the best cold call ever.
Incoming call from a random CA phone number. Normally wouldn’t pick up, but I did.
On the other end was a very well-spoken high school freshman from Los Angeles.
He follows me here, is hungry to learn, and wants work as an unpaid intern.
Confession: I hate cold calling.
Forced myself to pick up phone 3 wks ago. Called owners in a town where I have property to compare notes on demand (then ask if they wanna sell).
10 calls. 1 under contract.
People here who say cold calling will make you rich are not wrong.
There will never be a video game console in our house.
Grew up with 2 gamer bros. Begged them daily to come outside and play catch. They never did.
Wife's wedding present to me many years later was 2 mitts + baseball with a note:
"Now you'll always have someone to play catch
No worse habit in the world.
I think there is a direct correlation with being overweight, lonely, single, broke and depressed.
My kids will not own video game systems while in my home.
Timed my storage shopping spree perfectly with the peak. Bought $7.5m of storage in '21 & '22, loading up $6.4m in debt.
Occupancy is falling, revenue will follow.
Worried about this (likely) scenario all along the way, so I don't have to now.
My worst-case scenario & plan:
If you know me, you know I like bikes.
Longtime mtn biker, recently started road riding to build fitness.
Elite cyclists in my town have a weekly group ride - Tuesday Night Worlds.
“A” Ride is mostly former and current pros. “B” Ride is fast amateurs.
I’ve got no biz even
Refi'd $500k out of my house in Nov 21.
2 options to spend $:
A) Buy Addams Fam mansion for $2.2m, put another $500k into remodel, spend $100k+/yr to live in a baller pad
B) Buy my 5th crappy storage prop for $1.85m and add ~$100k/yr to cash flow
Which option did I choose?⬇️
Closed today on
#9
. Former owner had a website, managed Google profile, accepted cards, used software, had 90% of customer emails, gate & cameras, 100% occupied.
Easily the least crappy yet.
BUT, prices are 50% below another property I own 2 miles away.
Playbook simplified.
My primary source of income is cash flow from my real estate businesses.
I live well below my means and let it build.
Bought another prop this week. Down payment came straight from operating accounts of existing businesses.
I think this is what you all call compounding.
I've always been a saver. It's never been easy for me to spend money.
That has served me very well in some ways. In other ways, it hasn't.
I don't regret not buying more things. I do wish I had spent more on experiences.
That has changed. Travel is now a $ priority and
Property I bought couple mos ago had a customer renting 13 units (?!) at $28/mo each. $364/mo total.
Raised rent to $64. Made em real mad. So mad they consolidated to 9 units.
Now paying $576/mo and I can rent the 4 to new customers at higher prices.
Never woulda thought hemorrhaging money could feel so good.
For 15 years I was a corp slave, livin lean, stashin cash, buying equities, tryin to retire early.
Found a vehicle to put that cheddar to real work while having a blast building a biz.
Rarely think of retirement now.
Been almost a yr since I bought my 4th crappy storage property.
Entered at a nauseating 4.3% cap rate, but would do it again in a second.
Old owner eeked out:
$38k revenue
$27k net income
I'm on track for:
$86k revenue
$60k net income
The story of storage
#4
:
⬇️
5 years ago I moved my fam to London from Colorado. Set a goal to bring back a Land Rover Defender on return.
Red just got a new coat of sunscreen for that high altitude sun. 🙌🏼
My storage portfolio of 9 properties is managed by my ultra-lean yet highly-effective property management business, run at breakeven.
The beauty of achieving a little scale is watching the cost of the PM biz decrease as a % of total revenue.
We generated $133k revenue in July
My 8 yr old daughter rode her mountain bike every day for the last 10 days, logging 102 miles and 15,149 ft of climbing.
She’s fallen & cried at least once every day, but got back on and finished every ride with a smile.
Limits are optional!
England ✅
Wales ✅
Scotland
My buddy harvested this bull elk last week.
Came back from two weeks in the remote Colorado wilderness with legendary stories:
- 4 college buddies (now with kids, jobs, responsibilities) tromping through remote wilderness mostly above 12k feet. Camp complete with whiskey,
I’ve willingly paid a whole lotta Benjamins to title companies, yet I have no idea what I’ve paid for.
Someone explain to me, like I’m a 6 year-old, what I’ve gotten in exchange for all that cheddar.
Will looked at Mom and innocently asked:
“Wanna see me toot?”
Before Mom could answer, he turned around, dropped trow, bent over, and ripped a giant one.
Atta boy, Dubs! 🤣
Closed on crappy storage property
#6
today.
Outgoing manager enthusiastically gives me the deets on all these delinquent customers.
Casually drops that an abandoned unit contains a classic Corvette.
Dad died. Kids can’t be bothered.
Does that mean it’s mine?
My wife and I have deliberately made physical suffering (in the form of mountain biking) normal for our 8 yr old daughter.
Yesterday, we joined friends for a 14.5 mile bike ride with 2,200 feet of vertical gained in the CO high country.
7, 7, 8, and 10 yr olds all pedaled it
But this letter got you 4 deals - it must be good!
I assure you, it was not. See for yourself. Sorry to let down so many of you who asked for this.
(Edited to protect my identity and that of my prey. My wife isn't always named Karen. My kids are sometimes Biz and Dubs.)
Just connected w/ storage owner in 70s, ready to retire.
Meeting after he returns from 2 mo skiing road trip & I return from 10 days cycling in Spain.
Just before he goes bike-packing in Croatia & I go mtn biking in Great Britain.
Kindred spirits united by storage.
Obligatory “about me” for the 1k+ new followers who’ve joined in the last 24 hrs:
- Spent 16 yrs as a Biz Dev leader for a couple of fintech co’s.
- Had a couple of exits along the way, lived below means, stashed a lot of cash.
- Left W2 in 2020, started buying self storage
During my 16 yr career leading biz dev teams in fintech, I developed a reputation as a sandbagger.
I'd set challenging but attainable goals, and regularly knock them out of the park. My paychecks were fat and my stakeholders happy. I took flack, but didn't really care.
Not
Crappy storage property
#5
under contract.
Biggest one yet at 30,000 sq ft and the first outside of an hours drive (5 hrs away).
Owner financed, so why wait? Closing March 4th.
Ya'll can ride along.
You’ve heard of a 1031 Exchange, but have you heard of a Reverse 1031 Exchange?
I hadn’t until a few months ago and just completed my first yesterday.
Here’s how it works:
With any 1031 Exchange, there’s a relinquished property (or properties) and a replacement property.
A
👋🏼 to all my new peeps!
Obligatory bio:
-16yrs corp BD, didn’t love it
-Late ‘20: midlife crisis, heard
@sweatystartup
on
@myfirstmilpod
, copied him
-Bought 7 (soon 8) storage props, replaced W2 $+, freed time
-Live in mtns, do mtn stuff w/ wife+2 groms
-Drive old Defender 110
100% occupied & rent roll of $15k/mo but lax collections means only ~$10k/mo was coming in.
Guessed I could get rev to $20k/mo if I:
- Raise rent
- Kick out deadbeats
- Backfill @ higher prices
- Require rent be paid
Results of my guesses below: