Solar Covered Boat & RV Parking
aka partners strategy
GreenFill EV Charging Station Logo
AKA has begun branding for “GreenFill” for a chain of self-storage and RV/Boat storage properties to take advantage of the “Green” tax-advantaged technologies. Electric and hybrid vehicles, which currently account for 2% of auto sales, are expected to grow to 30% of sales by 2025*. Owners of these vehicles who are typically environmentally-focused will now be able to fill their batteries with “green” sourced power generated by solar arrays installed at properties near high traffic locations. These arrays will also shade tenant RVs providing an additional source of value-add revenue to increase NOI. AKA Partners is the Manager for all GreenFill Storage properties.
* “Driving into 2025: The Future of Electric Vehicles”, J.P.Morgan, Oct. 2018
GreenFill Environmental Solutions Mission Statement
GreenFill Storage provides communities with clean, well-organized and secure self-storage locations serviced by knowledgeable and professional staff. We also provide real value to the communities we serve by incorporating environmental technologies and solutions that help them reduce their carbon footprint.
Adding Solar Canopies for Boats and RV's
Adding Solar to Existing
Self-Storage
Adding Solar Powered
EV Charging Stations
Building New Solar
Powered Self-Storage
aka research
"Why self-storage"
When assessing the comparative risks and returns of alternative real estate investments, the following are some of the common benefits and characteristics of self-storage.
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Higher Cap Rates: While most real estate sectors are experiencing record low cap rates, self-storage cap rates in many MSAs exceed 7%, providing significant investor upside.
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Low Overhead Costs: The operating expense ratio is typically lower than alternative commercial real estate, ranging from 30% to 40% of total revenue.
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Low Dependency on Single Big Renters: Self-storage typically has a much lower cost per unit to purchase and to manage. One vacant unit has less impact on overall occupancy and owner return.
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Low Impact Due to Non-Paying Tenants: Bad debt expense from non-paying tenants has a lower impact due to a large tenant base and the lower relative expense to turn units.
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Higher Rental Rate Adjustment Frequency: Tenant leases can be adjusted more frequently due to shorter lease periods.
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Relative Resistance to Recession: In financially difficult times tenants still need to store their personal items and recreational vehicles.
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Higher Rent Growth: Because higher percentage increases result in smaller changes in rent compared to alternative real estate options, owners can implement higher percentage increases in rent without impacting occupancy.
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Self-storage Garners Sticky Tenants: Due to the lower rents, changes in rent are not noticed as much by tenants, thus reducing turnover.
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Inexpensive Value-Adds: Self-storage can be inexpensively upgraded by repainting the property, climatizing units, and adding solar technology which currently enjoys significant tax benefits and will improve the “green” image of the property.
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Make Money When You Buy, Operate, AND Sell: Returns for self-storage enjoy good cash flow and appreciation, with total returns exceeding alternative real estate choices as can be seen in the chart above.
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Fragmented Market: 72% of the market is owned and managed by “mom and pop” operations and are therefore are often undermanaged, creating a good opportunity to buy these properties at a lower price and reposition rents to improve NOI (“2019 Self-Storage Market Report”, Real Assets Advisor, March 2019).
