SBA 504 Self Storage Feasibility Study in Idaho

Idaho storage borrowers under 504 are small. A $431,500 median is 0.48x the nationwide 504 storage mark, and the 26 loans in the middle cluster between $301,250 and $987,500. The cell totals $25.3 million. Idaho ranks eleventh on loans counted, and storage is fifth of 39 within the state, a notably high place. No loan was franchised. The low ratio is the cell's main difference from the national class.

Two companies

East-Central Idaho Development Company shows 7 loans for $4.8 million; Capital Matrix, Inc. shows 5 for $2.8 million. Together they account for fewer than half of the loans, so many others are held elsewhere. Such a register records holders and not how they lend. Bannock and Kootenai have 4 loans each, Blaine and Madison 3, Bingham, Bonneville and Canyon 2, and Ada, Bonner and Franklin 1. Notably Ada County, the largest, has only 1.

Timing

Early on, FY2017 saw 3 loans, FY2018 a single $191,000 loan, and FY2019 3 loans at $1.2 million. FY2020 and FY2021 each had 5, the latter at $7.3 million, the largest dollar year. FY2022 had 3, FY2023 5 loans and $6.1 million, FY2024 none, FY2025 a single loan of $492,000, and FY2026 none. The end of the series is thin, which a study should note.

Missing rates and coding

Idaho storage cohorts fall short of the size needed to publish cancellation or charge-off percentages. Storage for vehicles and boats cannot be separated from ordinary storage.

An Idaho storage study

The study should show how storage demand arises in the chosen town: households, businesses, students or seasonal residents. Small towns fill slowly, so model lease-up month by month and identify the rent at which payments are met. Construction cost, utilities, snow loads and site work belong in the budget. With 504 financing the real estate, the appraisal should state value on completion and at stabilisation, and what a different user would pay. Phasing may reduce risk, so compare building in stages with building all at once. Fire separation, security gates and access for large vehicles also add cost that small-town budgets often leave out, and a lender will read their absence as a gap in the plan.