Many times when I introduce myself to storage owners and I tell them that I'm a broker, they say something along the lines of, "Oh, so you want me to sell my property?" And the truth is that I have no idea if it's even the right time for you to sell.
Of course, as a broker, I'm only going to make my commission when someone buys or sells, but those transactions oftentimes start with just a conversation that happened five years ago, because I'm the one that's out here on a day-to-day basis, meeting and talking with storage owners across the state. I'm the one that's out there understanding the trends, the challenges, the threats, impacting the industry.
So, whenever the time does come for a store owner to start considering doing something, whether that be buying, selling, refinancing, or expanding the property, I'm the guy that they go to because I can be a valuable resource for them and I can help them make the right decision at the right time.