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By Anita Cooper
“A house is just a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get more stuff.” – George Carlin
If you want to build wealth through investing it’s important not to become myopic when thinking about what you’ll invest in.
As a seasoned real estate investor, developer, and property investment educator, Scott Mednick has a keen sense of the marketplace and the foresight to keep ahead of changes in the market.
“I’m kind of new…I started about 30 years ago and I started in Commercial Real Estate with – back then it was Coldwell Banker, today it’s CBRE – selling apartment buildings. I did that for a few years and then sort of got the bug to work for myself, so I started building custom homes back in the 80s…
“My timing was not good. I got right in before the market crashed, so my home building career didn’t last long. I started working for banks as a general contractor, fixing up the REO properties for them. I remodeled about 2500 houses, here in Southern California, and in 1997, the market changed pretty quickly; at that point, I started buying and selling houses myself and have been flipping properties for over 20 years now.
“I’ve been investing here in Southern California as well as Florida, Texas and Las Vegas, but I primarily invest in Southern California – as I like to stay close to home where I can keep an eye on my projects.
“I’m a licensed real estate broker, so I often broker my own deals. However, even though I am a general contractor, I do hire a GC to run my projects. It’s been a long road, but it’s been a lot of fun…”
Using knowledge and experience gained from years of investing, Scott helps other investors do what he’s done.
“I train investor’s how to buy and sell houses. Having done hundreds of flips – there’s not much I haven’t seen. I have over 30 years of real estate experience and I manage a fund buying value-add self storage properties across the United States.”
Just as he helps investors learn how to buy and flip properties, he’s helping them build up their portfolios through investing in storage facilities.
In case you were wondering, the self-storage industry is no small market…
According to Self Storage Association – a not-for-profit advocacy and support organization for the self-storage industry, there are approximately 49,000 primary self-storage facilities.
The total amount of storage space among these facilities is estimated at 2.6 billion square feet, generating approximately $32 billion in revenue each year.
Other fast facts:
- Facilities across the nation are about 90% occupied
- There are, on average, about 540 units at each facility across the country
- The percentage of households in the U.S. using these units is estimated to be about 9.3% (as of the first quarter of 2018)
Through his company Square Storage, Scott buys self storage properties located in diverse markets, buying only those facilities where there’s an opportunity to add value and the demand for storage, retail and housing are strong.
Some of the reasons why a self-storage facility may be doing poorly include:
- Mis-management
- Under-capitalization
- Not enough storage space
- Insufficient or ineffective management tools
Anyone who’s been investing for a while understands the need to diversify their portfolio. Self-storage facilities are the perfect accompaniment, either through ownership, as part of a REIT, or other investment vehicle.
Says Scott, “It’s also the perfect business model, because in a down market when homeowners loses their house, they put their stuff in storage and they move in with mom and dad.
“And then, the economy comes back, they get a new place, they get their stuff. But usually when the economy comes back they’re so happy to have money again they buy too much stuff, so the extra stuff they put back in storage…so it’s the perfect cycle.
We are seeking accredited investors to partner with us in the self storage business. If you want to be a part of the next commercial real estate boom, give us a call and we can explain why self storage is the next big thing. This is your chance to get into the Uber of real estate.”
Scott Mednick
Founder
949 632 2600
