Sheet C-07CalculatorRev.

Self-storage rent roll and unit mix analyzer

Enter each unit size with counts and rents. See how much rent is being left on the table, where the vacancy sits, and whether the unit mix adds up to the square footage you're buying.

01Unit mixMonthly rents
5×5
Size (ft)
Climate
5×10
Size (ft)
Climate
10×10
Size (ft)
Climate
10×10 CC
Size (ft)
Climate
10×15
Size (ft)
Climate
10×20
Size (ft)
Climate
10×30
Size (ft)
Climate

In-place: average paid by current tenants. Street: today's asking rate for a new tenant. Market: what comparable facilities achieve.

02ChecksOptional
From the offering memo; compared to the unit mix
For economic occupancy
Rent roll summary387 units
Loss to lease
$75K / yr
Occupied units below market rent · weighted upside 18.5%

Unit occupancy
82.2%
SF occupancy
80.2%
Economic occupancy
79.7%Collected ÷ GPR at in-place
vs. market potential
67.2%Collected ÷ all units at market
Scheduled rent
$403KAnnual, in place
Market potential
$587K100% at market
Avg in-place / SF
$0.99per month · $11.93/yr
Climate share
12%of unit-mix SF

Turn the rent roll into a valuation. Storage Underwriter uses this unit mix to project lease-up, rent-to-market and the NOI bridge.

iPhone app · coming soon →

By unit size

Rents monthly
SizeUnitsOcc.In-place$/SFStreet gapMarket$/SFLoss to lease
5×54083%$44$1.76+18%$55$2.20$4.4K
5×107083%$66$1.32+15%$79$1.58$9.0K
10×1011084%$99$0.99+16%$119$1.19$22K
10×10 CC5092%$128$1.28+13%$149$1.49$12K
10×156078%$131$0.87+14%$155$1.03$14K
10×204576%$160$0.80+12%$185$0.93$10K
10×301267%$214$0.71+14%$255$0.85$3.9K
Total38782%$106$0.99$126$1.16$75K

Street gap is how far today's asking rate sits above what current tenants pay. It is the room existing-customer rate increases would have to close.

Plan view

Units to scale · dark = occupied
5×540 u5×1070 u10×10110 u+35 more10×10 CC50 u10×1560 u10×2045 u10×3012 u
How it works

Reading the result

The example opens on a 387-unit, 42,100-square-foot facility. It is 82.2% occupied by unit count but 80.2% by square footage, because the large 10×20 and 10×30 units are emptier than the small ones. Tenants pay 18.5% below market on a weighted basis, a loss to lease of about $74,700 a year.

  • Unit occupancy vs. SF occupancy. When SF occupancy trails unit occupancy, the vacancy is in large units. Those units carry more revenue each and can be slower to lease.
  • Economic occupancy here is scheduled rent less collection loss, divided by all units at in-place rents: 79.7%. Measured against the full market potential it is 67.2%. That second number is the size of the whole opportunity, occupancy and rent together. More on the definitions.
  • Street gap by size shows where existing customers pay furthest below today's asking rate.

Loss to lease is not free money

Closing the gap to market takes rate increases that some tenants will answer by leaving, or it takes time as tenants turn over. A buyer who capitalizes the full loss to lease on day one is paying the seller for the work the buyer will do. In the Deal Analyzer, rent moves to market gradually over the lease-up months you choose, and the NOI bridge shows how much of stabilized NOI depends on it.

The plan view

The plan view draws each unit size to scale, one square foot to a fixed width, with occupied units dark. It makes the mix readable at a glance: a wall of pale 10×30s is a different problem from a few empty 5×5s.

Results are estimates based entirely on the figures you enter. They are not investment, lending, tax or legal advice.

FAQ

Questions

What is loss to lease in self storage?

The annual difference between market rent and what current tenants pay, on occupied units: occupied units × (market rent − in-place rent) × 12. It measures rent upside you could capture without leasing a single empty unit, through rate increases or turnover.

What is the difference between street rent and in-place rent?

Street rent is the rate a new customer is quoted today. In-place rent is what existing tenants pay, which may be below street if the owner rarely raises rates on existing customers, or above it if move-in promotions were followed by increases. The gap tells you how much room rate increases have.

What is a good unit mix for a self-storage facility?

The one that matches local demand. The best evidence is the facility's own occupancy by size: sizes that are full with rising street rates are under-supplied, and sizes with persistent vacancy are over-supplied. Converting or re-demising units can move the mix toward demand.

How do you calculate rent per square foot for storage units?

Divide the monthly rent by the unit's square feet. A 10×10 at $99 is $0.99 per square foot per month, or $11.88 per year. Smaller units almost always rent for more per square foot than larger ones.

Why compare the unit mix with rentable square feet?

The offering memo's rentable square footage and the rent roll should describe the same building. A difference of more than about 10% means one of them is wrong (units missing from the rent roll, double counting, or gross versus net square feet), and price per square foot will be misstated.