Investing in self storage units is becoming increasingly popular.
Self storage units provide strong passive income with fewer management hassles than multifamily properties.
Watch as Luke Wong talks about how he manages his self storage units remotely.
Transcript:
Chris Bounds 00:02
Some of the Self Storage Units that you self manage, correct?
Luke Wong 00:09
Yes.
Chris Bounds 00:09
So with a relative ease from what I recall with these past conversations.
Luke Wong 00:17
Yes. I have one here that I acquired in October 2020 and it’s less than two hours away. So it’s not like a job in my car and visit it every day. I mean, I could if I needed to, but it’s not like five minutes away where I can go check on it. So with technology these days and the systems and setting it up right from the beginning, a lot of it can be managed remotely. Because it’s not very management intensive. The website, you can lease, look at the available units, the prices, manage your payments online and we have a call center that answers the phones. I’m actually switching that now to actually have more than phones come to me now. So I can get a better grip and even squeeze it a little bit more because it’s my facility. I’ll know what I can do and what options rather than if it’s a call center. They can only do so much. The pace is pretty much 96% full. So it’s not getting a lot of calls. But there’s a capabilities out there that I mean, even smart key locks are out there. So as long as you have these, you still need some boots on the ground. Some local good boots in the ground which I’m lucky to have. I have two people over there that I can text call and they can be at the facility probably within five minutes.
Chris Bounds 01:42
Just like some of the other guests mentioned. We could probably manage it. I think throughout this entire show will kind of understand that it has been one of the most important pieces, at least long term. You’ve got even though you’re very active in the management still, even though you’re far away, you have boots on the ground for the Johnny on the spot, whether it’s a handyman or some type of assistant that can address issues as needed as they come up the curtains.
Luke Wong 02:15
Because you’re going to have those instances where I’m having trouble with the door, I need somebody to go there or the AC guy does AC, something happened with AC or, you know, you’ve got to have somebody that that’s responsible and responsive that you can that you can trust.
Chris Bounds 02:33
You named a few tools. Like technology allows us. 20 years ago, you wouldn’t. It’s not that you couldn’t do it. Investors, they did invest out of state at that time, too. It’s so much easier for just ordinary folks that we don’t have billions of dollars and lots of staff and multiple states. Like we can invest in different markets with ease. Well, you mentioned a couple of the tools, what are some of the primary tools that you’re using to effectively manage both the experience from the client side or the customer side but also your end for data financial just tracking security?
Luke Wong 03:18
Well, yeah. One of the main tools is finding a good Self Storage Management Software, which is also my website. So it’s a vendor. I mean, I use easy self storage. They have a great factor.
Chris Bounds 03:36
Easy Self Storage Management is the title?
Luke Wong 03:38
Easy Self Storage is actually the easy self storage solutions. They manage the website which is also the CRM or your management tool because it gives you all the reports but it also gives you the ability to look at your dashboard. It also gives the ability for people to sign up online, look at your facility, manage their account online, purchase additional insurance, there’s texting back and forth and you can be on a waiting list.
Chris Bounds 04:11
It’s kind of like that’s a full suite. If you’re in self storage like that, that’s something you need to look pretty hard into.
Luke Wong 04:19
Yeah. I can just say go to the website. I mean, it’s easier to do that than for me to do it over the phone with the person on the phone. Because it has a mapping it shows you exactly where your your unit will be. If you choose that unit because we have two buildings. Yeah, that’s a game changer right there. I mean, it’s mobile friendly. I can pull it up on my phone any time and it works. It works really well. It also has the access control in there so I can control the doors and letting people in or locking people out.
Chris Bounds 04:58
I love it.