Why Self-Storage Due Diligence Could Be Your Best Investment

2026-03-10

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Send a textCould a few thousand dollars spent on a Property Condition Report actually save your self-storage investment…and pay for itself many times over? Joe Downs and guest David Harkness of Fivefold Technical Consultants prove exactly why the answer is yes. This is the inspection tool that saved Belrose and their students over $200,000 this year alone. David brings his engineering expertise, drone technology, and boots-on-the-ground experience to every acquisition, and in this episode he reveals what he actually find...

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Could a few thousand dollars spent on a Property Condition Report actually save your self-storage investment…and pay for itself many times over?

Joe Downs and guest David Harkness of Fivefold Technical Consultants prove exactly why the answer is yes.

This is the inspection tool that saved Belrose and their students over $200,000 this year alone.

David brings his engineering expertise, drone technology, and boots-on-the-ground experience to every acquisition, and in this episode he reveals what he actually finds on site: failing metal roofs, catastrophic drainage problems, hidden vehicle damage, and deferred maintenance that sellers routinely underestimate.

This is the self-storage investing intelligence that separates the investors who survive from the ones who thrive.

Listen For:

:12 What due diligence mistake turned a “$200,000 roof fix” into a $1 million problem?

1:50 What is a property condition report and how is it different from a home inspection?

7:07 What are the three most valuable things investors get from a property condition report?

17:36 Why did this Buffalo-area facility really need a full roof replacement?

28:25 What hidden self-storage issues help investors renegotiate major discounts?

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