CHARLOTTE—Realty Mogul just announced the first-ever crowdfunded self-storage facility. The marketplace for accredited investors to pool money online and buy shares of pre-vetted properties helped raise $1 million to convert a self-storage facility into a StoreSmart-branded store through a private placement typically offered only to larger institutional investors.

“The fundamentals of both the property and its market area are solid,” says Jillian Helman, CEO of Realty Mogul. “The facility is in a strong market area but had below-market overall occupancy due to the deferral of some needed renovation as well as leasing and management issues that we believe can be corrected by our partners in the transaction, StoreSmart.”

The infusion of capital into the newly-acquired 168,540 square foot self-storage facility, spanning 24 buildings in Fayetteville, N.C. will smooth the transition into a new operating center for StoreSmart. Inside Self Storage magazine has named StoreSmart one of the top self-storage operators in the US.

“It's also clear that the Fayetteville self-storage submarket has been very strong recently,” Helman says. “We believe that the strategic renovation and rebranding program proposed by StoreSmart can bring the facility up to standards consistent with a class A self-storage facility and get the occupancy rate back to market levels.”

Helman says her team has been actively searching the market for an opportunity to get a self-storage operator on its platform. The company already lists multifamily buildings and retail shopping centers among its clients. Helman says she will continue working to move into other sectors.

“Commercial real estate is comprised of several major asset classes, and we intend to be a player in most if not all of them,” she says. “Any investment we bring to the platform must have strong cash flow characteristics but it's important that our investors have a chance to diversify across the various market segments, so we'll continue to bring them all types of commercial real estate investment opportunities.”

Realty Mogul's marketplace allows investors to become equity holders in real estate opportunities that were historically difficult to access. Through the use of the Realty Mogul web platform, investors can browse and screen commercial real estate investments, view details of an investment, and sign legal documents online.

When investing in a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), Helman says most investors have little to no information regarding actual properties the REIT invests in and cannot invest in their own backyard. With Realty Mogul, she says, investors can invest in individual commercial real estate properties giving added transparency and control over investment selection and location.

Instant Insights /

Crowdfunding Hits the Self-Storage Market

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