FAQ
How should a CRE team use this article?
Use it as a checklist for the questions to ask during underwriting, not as a substitute for source-backed deal review. The final model still needs document citations, market checks, review states, and clear assumption ownership.
Where does Cactus fit in this workflow?
Cactus reads deal-room materials, checks assumptions against market context, surfaces conflicts, lets users approve the facts that drive the model, and preserves the logic as Proprietary Memory for the next deal.
Many entrepreneurs have successfully built storage businesses with no money. This 3-step plan outlines financing options and strategies to acquire a storage facility with no money.
The comparison that matters
"Starting a storage unit business with no money is impossible"… This is NOT true.
Step 1: Find an Existing Storage Facility for Sale
Building a new facility from the ground up requires significant investment. Instead, seek out existing storage facilities for sale. These facilities often have established customers, making them easier to take over and operate compared to new construction.
P.S. The average lease-up period for a storage facility today typically takes 36 months, depending on the size of the operation.
Sources for Existing Facilities: 1. Crexi.com - On Market Listings 2. Loopnet.com - On Market Listings 3. Sales Brokers in your selected area focused on Self Storage 4. Radiusplus.com - find existing facilities and addresses that match your criteria to manually reach out to the owner. 5. A good relationship with a Banking institution will know who's in distress and looking to get out of the business.
Step 2: Ask for Seller Financing
Seller financing is when the owner acts as the lender. Owners will often accept seller financing if a consistent paycheck is wanted or if they want to retire. Seller financing also helps owners avoid a larger capital gains tax.
Learn more about Seller Financing from our friends at Self Storage University's podcast episode here: https://www.selfstoragesuniversity.com/self-storage-mastery/understanding-seller-financing
Step 3: Secure Funding to Complete the Acquisition
When capital is necessary, bring in investors or business partners to cover the down payment or other funding needs. Offer a share of profits or equity in the business in exchange for financial backing.
Who to Seek:
- Private Investors: Look for individuals interested in real estate or the storage business. Pitch the business plan, highlighting revenue growth and profit potential. You can do this by signing up for app.trycactus.com
- Business Partners: Partner with someone who has capital but lacks operational experience. This allows both parties to benefit from the venture.
Other Funding Options:
- Crowdfunding: Use crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter, Indiegogo, or GoFundMe to raise money for the acquisition. In exchange for contributions, offer rewards or equity, such as discounted rental rates or a share of the business.
- SBA Loans: The Small Business Administration offers loans with low interest rates and long repayment terms. Some programs may be available for purchasing existing businesses, including storage facilities.
- Local Grants and Incentives: Investigate local government agencies, economic development offices, or community organizations that offer grants or low-interest loans to support business acquisitions.
Acquiring an existing facility, negotiating seller financing, and securing additional funding through investors, crowdfunding, or low-interest loans makes starting a storage business with no money possible. Remember seller financing reduces the need for a large down payment and avoids traditional bank loans. Bringing in investors or exploring government programs for grants and loans can cover any funding gaps. With persistence and smart planning, acquiring and operating a storage facility with no money becomes achievable. Feel free to look at our friend AJ Osbourne's plan here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQZvQQqBd8I
How Cactus turns this into defensible underwriting
A comparison only matters if it predicts which workflow can stand up in diligence. Cactus is built for teams that still need ARGUS-level analysis, but want source-backed extraction, premium third-party market intelligence, public records, review controls, and reusable firm memory around every assumption.
- Extract relevant facts from OMs, rent rolls, T-12s, leases, PDFs, spreadsheets, and customer templates.
- Check rents, expenses, growth targets, cap rates, sales comps, and site context against market intelligence from premium data providers, public records, and firm history.
- Surface conflicts, confidence states, reviewer comments, and assumption overrides before the model becomes the memo.
- Populate Excel or Cactus models, then store approved facts, templates, comps, and decisions in Proprietary Memory for the next deal.
The point is not to make the model less sophisticated. The point is to make the source, market check, assumption owner, review state, and output path visible before the number reaches a partner, lender, client, or investment committee.
Defensible underwriting
Defend every number before it reaches IC.
Cactus gives CRE teams ARGUS-grade underwriting intelligence with document extraction, market checks, source trails, reviewable assumptions, Excel-ready outputs, and Proprietary Memory around the workflow.
- Rent rolls, T-12s, OMs, comps, and assumptions live in separate files.
- Market evidence gets copied into the model without a durable source trail.
- Reviewer decisions disappear after the memo, email thread, or spreadsheet version changes.
- Extract deal facts from OMs, rent rolls, T-12s, leases, PDFs, spreadsheets, and customer templates.
- Check rents, expenses, growth targets, sales comps, and other assumptions against market intelligence.
- Populate Excel or Cactus models and preserve approved logic as Proprietary Memory.
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