E185: Investing in Self-Storage Syndications Made Easy with Mark Mcguire

<p>Mark Mcguire started his career in the music industry and eventually got a record contract on the table. But he got to a point where he felt he was in it for the wrong reasons – chasing dollars and eventually losing passion for it. At that point, he decided to transition into real estate, which has always been part of his family’s DNA.</p> <p>Today, Mark is the VP of Investor Relations at Hearthfire Capital, a real estate and property management firm specializing in self-storage operations and investments. With the pandemic as a huge catalyst, self-storage is now seeing an all-time high in physical occupancy. It’s much less competitive than other types of property investments, making it a highly viable alternative.</p> <p><strong>Here are some power takeaways from today’s conversation:</strong></p> <ul> <li>Mark’s eureka moment transitioning from music to real estate</li> <li>Why he initially backed away from getting involved in real estate</li> <li>Why self-storage is a great alternative to investing</li> <li>Investing in self-storage vs. a multifamily property</li> <li>Value-added elements to self-storage</li> <li>Lessons learned through failure</li> <li>The danger of running a business with just passion and love</li> </ul> <p><strong>Episode Highlights:</strong></p> <p><strong>Self Storage: The Bastard Child in Real Estate</strong></p> <p>There's a stigma attached to self-storage in that it’s only for the lower classes of society, which is far from the truth. Self-storage has an uptick in utilization, with the millennials as the largest group of users, whether for personal or business reasons.</p> <p>Since self-storage thrives on transition, the pandemic has been a strong catalyst for its massive success. Although self-storage space has a wide, addressable market, the keys to success include identifying what the market needs, how to target them specifically, and how much they’re willing to pay.</p> <p><strong>How to Add More Value to Self-Storage</strong></p> <p>Mark recommends scouting for unde