Mar 03 2025 54 mins 2
Self-storage is an under-the-radar asset class that can be a real game-changer for creating wealth. Today’s guest has incredible knowledge about it and is on a mission to teach others about its benefits.
On this episode of Zen and the Art of Real Estate Investing, Jonathan welcomes Mark Helm, a self-storage and real estate veteran. Mark is the author of “Creating Wealth Through Self-Storage” and co-owner and principal broker of Nexus Commercial Advisors. He also developed the self-storage financial analysis software Storage World Analyzer. Mark owns several self-storage facilities, is a self-storage developer, investor, speaker, consultant, and trainer, and is the co-owner and partner of Resolve.
Jonathan and Mark begin their conversation by exploring Mark’s early career in real estate as a way to create supplemental income for his day job. Mark quickly discovered he loved real estate, attaining his CCIM designation and working as a commercial broker before moving into investing in self-storage. You’ll hear the challenges he initially faced, why no other asset is more localized, and what makes self-storage recession-resistant. Mark shares his strategy for self-storage, how he evaluates occupancy levels, and his opinion on dynamic pricing. Finally, he explains what he likes about conversions and expansions, the five KPIs Mark uses for every facility and manager, and technology’s impact on the self-storage industry.
Mark Helm is a veteran real estate professional and self-storage guru. This episode is a must-listen for a deep dive into the self-storage world.
In this episode, you will hear:
- Mark Helm’s interest in real estate as a way to supplement his income and how that led to a full-time career in real estate
- His attraction to commercial real estate, getting his CCIM designation, and then moving into investing in self-storage
- The challenges Mark faced when he started in self-storage and the benefits that outweighed them
- The importance of visibility in self-storage and why no other asset is more localized
- How this asset class can fail, and what makes it recession-resistant
- Mark’s strategy for self-storage and determining which deals are a yes or no
- Where he believes the deals are today
- Evaluating occupancy levels in a self-storage space
- Mark’s take on dynamic pricing
- Why the income increase should be higher than operational costs
- What Mark likes about conversions and expansions
- The five KPIs Mark uses for every facility and manager and how technology has changed the business
- Constructing self-storage units and some of the issues that can arise
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Supporting Resources:
Creating Wealth Through Self-Storage - creatingwealththroughselfstorage.com
Mark Helm on YouTube - www.youtube.com/channel/UCFwEQnGiNYB46SSs2_HoTsA
Find Mark on Facebook - www.facebook.com/mark.helm.33
Connect with Mark on LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/markhelmccim
Resolve - resolveself-storage.com
Get the “Creating Wealth Through Self-Storage” book - www.amazon.com/Creating-Wealth-Through-Self-Storage-ebook/dp/B00TP5VWVM
Website - www.streamlined.properties
YouTube - www.youtube.com/c/JonathanGreeneRE/videos
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Email - [email protected]
Episode Credits
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