Podcast

Zen and the Art of Real Estate Investing with Jonathan Greene

180: How to Increase Efficiency and Upscale Value in Self-Storage Investments with Tom Dunkel

Self-storage is one of the most passive asset classes in real estate, and when done correctly, it also requires little hands-on operation.

On this episode of Zen and the Art of Real Estate Investing, Jonathan interviews Tom Dunkel, Chief Investment Officer at Belrose Storage Group. Tom has more than 30 years of real estate finance and investing experience. He manages Belrose’s financial underwriting, playing a critical role in win-win deal structures that ensure achievable investor returns.

Jonathan and Tom dive into their conversation by exploring the three characteristics of self-storage as a passive investment, how Tom leverages technology to run these facilities efficiently, and what makes this asset class somewhat recession-proof. You’ll hear how more and more people are using self-storage for business use and flex space, Tom’s background in real estate, and what caused him to move toward real estate versus other investments despite his background in finance. Tom shares how experience teaches you what a good buy looks like, the differences between residential and commercial financing, what Tom looks for when buying a new facility, and the growing interest investors are showing in self-storage.

Self-storage is picking up steam as an investing option, and with Tom’s advice on choosing a property, this passive asset class could be the right one for you.

In this episode, you will hear:

The three characteristics of self-storage as a passive investment
Leveraging technology to run a self-storage facility efficiently
Why self-storage is somewhat recession-proof
Self-storage for commercial usage and flex space
Tom Dunkel’s background in real estate
Why Tom veered toward real estate versus other investments, even with a finance background
The legalities of insider trading in real estate investing
How experience teaches you what a good buy looks like
The differences between financing in residential and commercial real estate
Where Tom likes to buy and the demographics he looks for in a facility
Growing interest from investors in self-storage

Follow and Review:

We’d love for you to follow us if you haven’t yet. Click that purple ‘+’ in the top right corner of your Apple Podcasts app. We’d love it even more if you could drop a review or 5-star rating over on Apple Podcasts. Simply select “Ratings and Reviews” and “Write a Review” then a quick line with your favorite part of the episode. It only takes a second and it helps spread the word about the podcast.