By Ed Clement
Sketch by Marc Goodin, CEO Storage Authority
Franchise owner Michael recently moved from looking for land to having his New Jersey facility under design. Michael was gracious to share a bit about his finding land process.
Question: What was your routine finding land?
Michael “ Lots of windshield time and using Radius to develop a daily plan and routine as well as multiple brokers and using public records to find owners of land that may have potential.”
Question: Do you have any suggestions or secrets for people looking for land?
Michael “ Drive the areas you want to build. Call every listing agent on every for sale sign you drive by. Don’t be afraid to cold calling landowners that have a property of interest listed or not.”
Question: How many hours a week on average did you spend looking for land?
Michael It would vary but some days it felt like full time when we found a site worth investigating. When I found a parcel that met the basics I would buckle down and spend all the time it took to get to the decision-making point. In nine months, we found 3 great pieces of land and made 3 offers. The first one got to complicated because the town wanted to swap land and the town could not provide any time frames for the swap. The second parcel and offer looked very promising but slowed down because the city wanted details and assurance on the development of the balance of the 80 acres of land I was not buying. But in the end it all worked out because we found a great site at a reasonable price and the project is under design for 100,000 sf plus RV parking on just under 10 acres. And to make things more interesting it looks like the owner of the second parcel of land and the town are agreeing on the use of the 80 acres land balance so I might be building a second facility faster than I thought.
Question: Was it harder or easier to find land than you initially thought - Why?
Michael “ As difficult as I had imagined especially dealing with the brokers and various municipal agencies.
Question: Did the Storage Authority team meet your expectations?
Michael “ Yes, I had low expectations regarding Storage Authority actually finding land for me and knew it was something I had to do myself. Marc was great after I found certain properties and helped me through the process.”
Question: What suggestions do you have for the Storage Authority Team to help franchisees find land?
Michael “ I think each person needs a tailored plan that is detailed regarding what they have to do every day until they find the right property.”
Question: What is your background - any development expertise?
Michael “ I ran a commercial real estate lending operation and have a background in commercial real estate that was definitely a plus.”
Michael, I want to thank you for your time and your wisdom.
I was recently hired and one of my favorite duties is to help our franchisees find land. We have recently implemented more ideas and ways to find land including more online and offline resources
Finding land is unique for each person and each location. But the bottom line is we are there to guide you, it does take effort and that effort does payoff.
If you want to learn more about The Storage Authority Franchise, please leave your contact info here: www.storageauthorityfranchise.com/opportunity6
If you’re a go getter and can’t wait you are welcome to contact Ed at Ed@storageAuthority.com or 727 946 0745 today for more information.