Can self-storage rent and occupancy cover the lease and opening cash?

Define the rented unit and earning period

This reference leases an existing non-climate drive-up facility. It assumes 40 units of 5 × 10 ft, 100 of 10 × 10 ft and 60 of 10 × 20 ft: 200 units and 24,000 sq ft of unit floors. Circulation, office, drive lanes, setbacks and site works are additional. It prices neither a property acquisition nor construction.

One occupied unit-month is one unit rented for a full month, or the equivalent earned portion of shorter periods. Monthly averages can be fractional while physical units remain whole. Customer deposits, future-period rent, collected taxes, parking, moving services, late fees and insurance commissions are outside current rental revenue.

Census: 2022 NAICS 531130 · 2022 NAICS definition · Checked 2026-10-04

Self-Storage Facility reference economics · Authored leased existing-site non-climate 200-unit scenario and paid roster; not observed performance, an acquisition price or a construction budget.

Separate occupancy from realized rent

The authored size-specific net rents are $60, $100 and $160. Full rental potential is $22,000 monthly. Equal 80% occupancy rents 32 / 80 / 48 unit-months and earns $17,600. The $110 weighted rent is derived from that assumed mix; it is not an operator quote or national average.

Track occupied units, occupied floor area and earned rent against matched gross potential rent separately. The reference has equal 80% unit and area occupancy because it holds occupancy equal by size. Actual larger-unit vacancies, promotions, credits or losses can change the result. A provider asking price needs its exact size, access, climate condition, promotion, recurring price and charges; it does not establish achieved yield or paid demand.

Self-Storage Facility reference economics · Authored leased existing-site non-climate 200-unit scenario and paid roster; not observed performance, an acquisition price or a construction budget.

San Antonio Westore: non-climate drive-up offers · Offers observed October 4, 2026 · Checked 2026-10-04

Pay the full operating roster

A 3% assumed payment cost leaves $17,072 contribution from $17,600 revenue. Net rent already reflects the stated concessions and expected collection losses; charging them again double-counts the reductions. Employee labor remains separate.

The paid weekly roster is 20 manager hours, 20 leasing/customer-service hours and 8 maintenance hours, annualized by 52/12. BLS May 2025 medians of $33.65 / $21.53 / $23.84 give $5,608.72 direct monthly wages. The assumed 18% employer addition gives $6,618.29 payroll. Adding the $6,000 all-in lease and $2,500 other standing costs produces $15,118.29 fixed operating commitments. Occupation medians and this load do not quote actual hiring, relief or after-hours response.

BLS May 2025 national occupation wage workbook · May 2025 · Checked 2026-10-04

Self-Storage Facility reference economics · Authored leased existing-site non-climate 200-unit scenario and paid roster; not observed performance, an acquisition price or a construction budget.

Name the threshold’s financial boundary

Mature EBITDA is $1,953.71 after the full roster, lease and standing costs. EBIT additionally deducts $750 depreciation on the selected $45,000 asset allowance, leaving $1,203.71. Cash after capital maintenance subtracts $400 from EBITDA rather than depreciation, leaving $1,553.71 before receivable movement, financing, tax and owner distributions.

Contribution per occupied unit-month is $110 × 97% = $106.70. The approximate thresholds are 70.84% occupancy for EBITDA, 72.72% for cash after maintenance and 74.36% for EBIT. With equal size occupancy and the same costs, 72.8% produces $17.23 cash; 72.7% produces negative $4.11. At 74.4%, EBIT is $8.67; at 74.3%, it is negative $12.67. These are sufficient financial levels at 0.1 percentage-point resolution under the stated assumptions, within the default paid clocks. They are not observed demand or recommended cushions.

Self-Storage Facility reference economics · Authored leased existing-site non-climate 200-unit scenario and paid roster; not observed performance, an acquisition price or a construction budget.

Check every paid workload at the proposed ceiling

At 200 occupied unit-months, manager work is 40 standing hours plus 0.1 hour per unit-month: 60 hours. Leasing is 20 standing hours plus 0.08 routine hour, 5% turnover × 0.75 hour and 5% account issues × 0.3 hour per unit-month: 46.5 hours. Maintenance is 10 standing hours plus 0.08 routine hour, 5% turnover × 0.5 hour and 2% incidents × 0.5 hour: 33 hours. All fit the paid 86.67 / 86.67 / 34.67 hours.

Expected recovery grows with proposed occupancy. Net additional rentals consume another 0.5 leasing hour each. The default first month rents 64 unit-months from a vacant opening and uses 60.48 leasing hours. Physical supply binds at 200; the next 0.1 unit-month cannot fit. Lower paid hours or a larger inventory can make labor bind instead. A funded financial case remains infeasible when its paid work exceeds the roster.

Self-Storage Facility reference economics · Authored leased existing-site non-climate 200-unit scenario and paid roster; not observed performance, an acquisition price or a construction budget.

Fund the vacant-to-occupied sequence

Opening allowances total $65,000. The refundable two-month premises deposit adds $12,000; 32 paid training person-hours add $1,018.20 at the roster’s loaded average. Total opening payments are approximately $78,018. Gate/access, cameras, doors/leasehold improvements, office, setup, marketing, supplies and contingency remain unquoted allowances. The $45,000 depreciation base selects the first four asset allowances and a 60-month teaching life; actual capitalization and tax treatment need separate advice.

The assumed ramp reaches 40 / 55 / 70 / 82 / 90 / 96 / 100% of mature occupancy. It describes rented unit-months from a vacant opening, not observed lease-up. The deepest cumulative cash deficit is $20,058.81 in month 5. A two-month standing-cost buffer adds $30,236.58. Opening payments plus the deficit and retained buffer require approximately $128,314. A refundable deposit uses cash rather than becoming an expense; retained cash is not another expense.

Self-Storage Facility reference economics · Authored leased existing-site non-climate 200-unit scenario and paid roster; not observed performance, an acquisition price or a construction budget.

Stress yield, activity and collections separately

At the same 160 occupied unit-months, 10% lower size-specific net rents give a $99 weighted rent and negative $153.49 mature cash after maintenance. Holding rents fixed but reducing activity 20% to 128 unit-months gives negative $1,860.69 cash and negative $2,210.69 EBIT. Neither case has an assigned probability.

The default assumes zero month-end rent receivable. A justified settlement delay increases receivables as earned rent grows, changing cash and funding without changing when rent is earned. Promotions and expected losses belong in realized rent; delayed settlement of otherwise earned rent belongs in receivables. Restricted customer funds, lawful recovery costs, taxes, debt and actual payment dates need separate records.

Self-Storage Facility reference economics · Authored leased existing-site non-climate 200-unit scenario and paid roster; not observed performance, an acquisition price or a construction budget.

Read the complete schedule before claiming recovery

The first twelve modeled months earn $181,808 rent but use approximately $9,866 operating cash after maintenance. The 60-month operating cash totals about $64,712, below $78,018 opening cash uses. The reference has no sustained opening-cash recovery within the horizon. Positive mature cash is not asset value, owner income or launch payback.

The JSON and CSV use the same valid inputs and all 60 monthly rows: earning, EBITDA, depreciation, EBIT, capital upkeep, receivables, cash, funded balances and paid workload status. Blank or disallowed values clear the result; reset restores exact authored inputs. Month-end balances can understate a daily trough. Replace them with dated lease, payroll, supplier and customer cash before arranging finance.

Self-Storage Facility reference economics · Authored leased existing-site non-climate 200-unit scenario and paid roster; not observed performance, an acquisition price or a construction budget.