Investment Strategy

The self storage industry is expansive – a $48 billion dollar market and growing. There are more self storage facilities than Starbucks, McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts, Pizza Hut, and Wendy’s combined. When considering it for an investment, self storage is historically down-side protected and a recession-resistant asset class. There is a great opportunity to capitalize on this fragmented sector, as nearly 75% of self storage facilities are owned by individual operators that lack expertise and the ability to maximize revenue.

VanWest produces attractive, risk-adjusted returns from self storage real estate located throughout the U.S. We have an excellent track record and vast network of industry relationships, which position us to apply an entrepreneurial approach to value-add investments. Combined, our team has over 50 years investing experience through multiple economic cycles and a variety of product types.

Our number one goal is to preserve investor capital and deliver on investors’ expectations. When we accept capital from an investor, we take it seriously and treat it as if it were our own money. In addition to guaranteeing debt, we are committed alongside our investors with a substantial co-investment of 3% of the Fund’s total equity.

The vast majority of our compensation only occurs after two milestones are met: 1) initial investor equity is completely paid back and 2) preferred return (historically 8%) is current and distributed. Said otherwise, 100% of our Fund’s cash flow goes to investors until their equity contribution is paid back and they receive an additional 8% return. Investors have to get paid before we do – and we believe that’s good alignment.

Because our Fund is 506 (c) designation, only accredited investors may invest with us. Accredited investors are classified as having a net worth of over $1 million excluding their primary residence, or an annual individual income greater than $200,000.

Yes, we accept capital contributions from numerous entity types including IRAs, 401ks, LLCs, Trust, and of course individuals.

We pride ourselves on detailed and honest investor reporting so you’re always aware of how your investment is performing. Investors have 24/7 access to an investor portal to see quarterly statements and distribution history, as well as anytime access to a performance dashboard to view more granular data on each property. We also provide detailed quarterly updates that measure the performance of key metrics we track within each Fund.

We accept capital contributions from investors who are not US citizens; however, the tax implications of this vary from investor to investor.

The minimum required capital contribution we accept is $100,000. We would be glad to speak to you if your desired investment amount is lower than $100,000 and discuss other options.

All properties are 100% owned and controlled by VanWest Partners. We self-manage for one simple reason – nobody cares about our properties more than we do. By utilizing our in-house management company, ClearHome Self Storage, we can drive revenue growth, control expenses, and create a positive customer experience. This is also hugely beneficial to investors, as we have a below-market management fee of 5% with no minimums, as well as 100% pass-through of ancillary revenue streams.