Converting Commercial Real Estate into Self-Storage with Clint Harris
Self-storage offers investors a passive income opportunity with minimal tenant interactions that are instead focused on their belongings. Even more appealing is that it can become an incredibly lucrative investment if you're not constructing the facility from scratch.
On this episode of Zen and the Art of Real Estate Investing, Jonathan welcomes Clint Harris, a seasoned general partner and investor relations specialist at Nomad Capital. Clint's journey in real estate investing began with single-family properties, transitioned to multifamily ventures, Airbnbs, and finally settled on self-storage syndications. What sets Clint's self-storage strategy apart is his unique approach to converting retail spaces like old Kmart buildings into efficient self-storage facilities. Clint also has 15 years of experience in medical device sales.
In their conversation, Jonathan and Clint delve into Clint's real estate ventures and what he discovered that led him to achieve independence of purpose. They discuss the motivations behind Clint's pivot to self-storage, the fallacy of passive income, and the considerations anyone should make before committing to any real estate venture. Clint shares insights on property management, advocating slow hiring and swift firing. The conversation explores Clint's approach to self-storage conversion, leveraging vertical integrations for success, and the conversion timeline to achieve positive cash flow. As they wrap up, they explore the importance of passive investment strategies within a diversified portfolio and offer practical advice for new investors. Clint makes a compelling case for passive assets like self-storage and the long-term benefits of strategic investment choices.
Jonathan and Clint more closely analyze the following points:
Single-family, multifamily, and Airbnbs brought Clint financial independence, but they didn’t offer the time and location independence he really desired.
There is no truly passive income.
Don’t get attached to your property manager because the situation probably won’t be the same in two or three years.
Self-storage conversions can be cash flow positive at 40% occupancy with the right metrics.
Self-storage conversions may be ideal for those looking for passive income investments with minimal work.
If you want to learn more about Zen and the Art of Real Estate Investing Podcast, check out http://www.trustgreene.com/podcast/zen/132 .