INTERVIEW WITH KEVIN ROLLINGS, OWNER OF SELF STORAGE FACILITY MANAGEMENT LINDA PLIAGAS
Did you do other types of real estate deals
cial was not as hard as I thought it would be. If you
before, such as single family or apartments?
are a current investor then you would already know
some of the laws and certainly most of the
city/county requirements. Commercial has a few
I had previously been in the rental equipment and
sales business when I started to dabble with
residential. After a few residential and a venture
into multi family, I found the best commercial real
estate to be self-storage, simply because it had
tenants but they don’t live there. I did some single
family rental homes but honestly, tired of it after a
few years because of the tenants’ ridiculous
requests and complaints. The same was true of an
different rules and regulations on purchase but
nothing that you can’t learn.
With self storage,
because there are more factors for a successful
one than say a single family home, I have a 3
phase due diligence that I apply to any investment
opportunity. Once you do the due diligence stages,
it makes purchasing a facility much easier and, not
only that, it was simple to apply the numbers,
negotiate the price and get started.
even shorter venture into multi family. Self storage
allows a nice income with a low overhead and
none of the crazy phone calls at 2:00 in the
What type of investor would do well in self
morning. A rental home needs maintenance and up
storage?
keeping during and after a renter leaves.
I really think just about any type of investors would
How did self storage compare with other
do well in self storage. Short term, as well as long
types of deals?
term. I personally am a long term personality. I
want to build and then add on to what I have built,
all the while seeing the investment become a solid,
The self storage facilities were actually fairly easy
to complete. The shift from residential to commer-
reliable fixture in my portfolio. Many folks see the
BIG price tag on a facility and then the fears of steep