Self Storage Review

In order to get to my financial freedom, I too started with investing in real estate, just as you might have heard from many other investors. My story is similar in which I acquired my first piece of real estate as a home and investment and from there I went on to purchase several properties that allowed me to become free of the corporate world.

So the question is why Self Storage?

After having to deal with my many issues related to owning residential real estate. And I am certain that you all know of the head aches related to dealing with tenants and all related issues. We have had nightmare stories from, our tenants turning the neighbourhood into gang infested areas, to prostitution to the final straw of drug dealing.

You might ask why did we let these people into our apartments to begin with. Well first off, we did not let these people into our apartments and secondly, I am not sure how they have one side to them when applying for tenancy and another once they have moved in. Anyhow, this article is not about my woes in owning apartment buildings.

This article is more about how to use your experience in investing to analyze other possible investments. The one in particular I am going to talk about today is Self Storage. It turns out that there are probably 4 or 5 big Real Estate Investment Trusts (REIT’s) that are fundamentally in the Self Storage Business. Their names are Public Storage, Extra Space, Uncle Bobs, Shurguard and U-Store-It. All these REIT’s are in this business for one reason and one reason only… to make money, and they make lots of it. If you get a chance, look them up as they are public and you will see how well they operate and the dividends they provide to their investors.

So why Self Storage? The answer is quite simple… no plumbing issues! You see all Self Storage Buildings are composed of is walls and a tin roof. This warehouse space is then broken down into multiple units of varying sizes that are rent-able to the general public for a nominal fee. The clients are people who live in the area and sometimes small businesses as well who typically need the extra space to put away their so called junk or store their product in the interim. These clients are typically recurring and once you have a facility filled, then it is just a matter of operating the business effectively to give you a maximum cash flow. This is done by raising the rents when necessary to meet demands to cutting operating costs by using less utilities and maintaining the building.

How would one go about investing in Self Storage? The answer to this one is not so simple as it takes money to make money and unfortunately these self storage properties sell for quite a hefty sum. So if you do not have your cash stashed away or are not doing a 1031 exchange from an existing property to one in the self storage arena, you are out of luck.

There is always the option of buying shares of one of the REIT’s above, however there is one other option if you fall under the category of an Accredited Investor who is someone is quite well to do to begin with. This is how the rich get richer! The other option is to partake of a syndication where there is a known investment company that puts together several Accredited Investors into a pool of investment dollars to go out and purchase one of these Self Storage Businesses with its underlying land.

I will share with you more on what an accredited investor is and how it is classified under the Securities Act. This will be a separate article at another time.

In the mean time all the best with your investments and I look forward to meeting you in the fast lane to freedom.

Visit us at http://www.financialresource.org/blog/plumbing-and-tenants-are-driving-you-crazy-consider-self-storage-investments/ and make comments with the author directly.

Network Appliance Inc. (NetApp) is one of the world leaders in unified storage solutions. Network Appliance storage solutions account for a wide range of specific hardware, software and services, offering advanced storage management for various network environments. For the advantages it offers, lots of people these days dream to have a Network Appliance certification (NAC). NetApp certifications are highly recognized worldwide, as they facilitate the acceptance in a wide range of IT environments.

NetApp solutions and tools administration graduates can easily build a solid, lucrative IT career virtually anywhere in the world. Attracted by the benefits of NetApp certifications, lots of IT aspirants dedicate their time to expanding their area of knowledge on NetApp solutions and tools, hoping to obtain a certificate in the field as soon as possible. However, it is important to note that hard-work doesn’t always improve your prospects of becoming a NetApp graduate!

In order to improve your chances of achieving your goals, you should consider replacing self-study oriented materials with appropriate Network Appliance training programs. Trainer-oriented Network Appliance training programs are by far the best means to quickly assimilate the knowledge and the skills required for becoming a NetApp graduate! Conducted upon a set of active-learning techniques, trainer-oriented Network Appliance training programs involve a higher degree of comprehension, feature that renders them far superior to self-study oriented programs!

A complete, well-structured and comprehensive NetApp training program allows trainees to quickly familiarize with the NetApp curriculum, guaranteeing students that they will be able to pass their future exams. Over the entire course of the training program, the trainees are encouraged to interact with their trainers and the other attending students, allowing them to exchange opinions and ideas regarding various topics of the NetApp curriculum. NetApp training programs are taught by the best professionals in the field, who provide students with feed-back over the entire duration of the program. Structured in various sets of seminaries, laboratories and courses, NetApp training programs allows the attending students to develop all the skills and abilities required in their future careers. Professional Network Appliance training programs guarantee graduates acceptance in the best IT companies in the world!

In present, the most requested certifications are NACA (NetApp Certified Storage Associate), NACP (NetApp Certified Storage Professional), NACE (NetApp Certified Expert), NAC-NA (NetApp Certified NetCache Administrator) and NAC-NIE (NetApp Certified NetCache Implementation Engineers). You can obtain these much desired certifications in no time by attending to a professional, reliable NetApp Storage training program (NAS).

Considering the fact that there are many websites out there that offer you the opportunity to participate in NetApp Storage training programs, the only issue is to choose the right one! In order to obtain the best results, it is advised to participate in NetApp Storage training programs that provide students with official NetApp curriculum-based study materials. In addition, don’t be lured by the idea that websites who charge the most are better than others! You should spend some time in comparing the costs and the credentials of such websites before choosing to participate in a NetApp Storage training program.

If you search the internet for “passive income”, you may find a definition or two, but mostly, what you find are websites trying to sell you on the passive-income-flavor-of-the-day. It’s frustrating, I know. I don’t know about you, but before I jump into any opportunity or even before I take a trip, I like to do my research. That being said, there are a lot of good opportunities out there. But before you start spending money, let’s discuss what passive income is and, most importantly, what it isn’t.
Webster’s dictionary defines passive income as “of, relating to, or being business activity in which the investor does not have immediate control over income”. I don’t think that tells the whole story. Passive income is money that you receive over and over again without having to do much work (notice I didn’t say “any work”). It is different than earned income in that you are not receiving money for your time (like you would a job). But depending on the passive income stream that you choose, you may in fact have immediate control over your income. But I’ll get to that later.
Why would you want passive income? Well, like Robert Kiyosaki explains in his book Rich Dad Poor Dad, that is the main difference between the rich and the middle class. The rich invest their money in various passive income streams. When their passive income exceeds their expenses, then they are financially free. “Financially free” simply means that you do not have to have a day job to pay your expenses. And you are “free” to then do whatever you want!
What Passive Income Isn’t
Before I go into telling you what passive income is, let me first tell you want it isn’t. Passive income is not the same thing as “residual income”. Residual income is money that you receive on a regular basis after having done work once. The best example would be TV sitcoms. Some actors get “residuals”. Actors get paid for filming the show. Afterwards, some actors get paid each time the show repeats. Sales people that sell services, subscriptions, or renewable products (like insurance) sell that item once and, providing the customer renews, will get a commission off of each renewal. Royalties from the sale of books and music are also residual.
Many say that multi-level-marketing or network marketing sales provide you with passive income. Guess what? That’s residual too.
If you have a small business or are self-employed, even if you are making a lot of money, this is NOT passive income. If you receive a salary from your business, that is earned income. There is a way to turn this into passive income, however — so stay tuned.
You know, I have to say that starting your own website cannot be passive income. Whether you are selling a product (such as an eBook, seminar or other information) or a service, you still have to market your website. You will have to do this regardless of whether you are selling your OWN products or have the rights to sell other’s products. Marketing your website is work, simple as that. But it’s not a job. And once your marketing efforts start taking off, you can make a lot of money with little additional effort. But that is residual in my book, not passive.
What Passive Income IS
Passive income is a lot of things. The first thing that comes to mind, and also, I believe, the most popular example is real estate. If you own investment property and are getting a positive cash flow from a house, commercial property, or apartment, that is passive income. If you rent rooms in your house, that’s passive income too. You only have to set this up once, and then the income comes in month after month. Interest income from savings accounts, CDs, and money-market accounts are passive — the bank pays you for keeping your money in those accounts. If you have a website with banner ads or Google Adsense ads, that can be called
passive as well.
If you invest in any business, but don’t manage it, your profits are considered passive income, exactly what Webster was thinking about when he wrote the definition.
What about business? Well, that depends on how you set it up. Rich people create businesses and set up a system that the business follows. That way, if the owner goes on vacation for a month to Fiji, the employees follow the system and the owner still gets the profits. Any business will of course start out with a lot of work, but if you take the time to set up a business so that it gets reproducible results (exactly like a franchise), those profits become passive. And, according to the IRS, any salary you get from your business is considered “earned” but profits are considered “passive”. It is vital when starting a business to check with an accountant and an attorney to set up your business that financially benefits you the best.
What else can be considered passive income? How about self-storage facilities, parking garages/lots and dry cleaners! They all require some time to start up, but once they are set up, you collect money over and over again.
Residual vs Passive Income
Residual and passive income are like siblings. They are both very similar and most people really consider them synonyms. What does it matter, anyway? They are both excellent ways to get money in your hands month after month after month without trading your time or your freedom. How can it get better than that?
Reality Check
Beware of anyone that tells you that there is NO work involved in passive income. Passive income does not mean no work! If you are going to invest in a business, a stock, or a real estate property, you will have to do your research (this is called “due diligence”). Research is work! You will also be required to manage your investments, to check up on their progress and make changes as necessary. That’s work too!
The good news is that research and management is only a part-time endeavor. And most of the time, that work can be done from almost anywhere, including on a beach in Fiji.
Let us not forget the FUN factor. I’m sure there are some of you reading this who like, even love their jobs (if you still have one). Some of you have your own business– and congrats to you! But most of us are in jobs just because we need to feed our families and pay the bills. Looking into passive income streams and investing your time and money can bring you many, many returns. Researching for and implementing your passive income plans so that you can live your dreams is FUN. Getting money every month, week, or even every day is FUN. And trying out new strategies and managing your money — when you have some to manage — is FUN.
I hope I’ve done my job and given you the passive income basics. If you have any questions or thoughts, feel free to contact me through my website. I’d love to hear from you!