Q&A with 10 Federal’s Brad Minsley

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This month StorTrack’s Jeff Brink chats with Brad Minsley from 10 Federal

StorTrack: Tell us a little about your company…

Brad: 10 Federal is active in the self-storage and multifamily industry. We are big believers in vertical integration and have in-house management, call center, development and construction. We have carved a niche for ourselves in self-storage by operating facilities on an unmanned autonomous basis.

StorTrack: How important is market intelligence and competitive data to your company and how it operates?

Brad: It is the foundation of our business. Everything we do is grounded in the data used to formulate those decisions. Good data increases the chances of making good decisions.

StorTrack: How do you use data to help you make decisions on an ongoing basis?

Brad: Two areas primarily. First is on assessing the viability of an acquisition or development. The market, demographic and comp data ultimately render the viability of the project. Second is the ongoing adjustments to our revenue model. We strive to maximize revenue and having accurate real time information is critical towards that goal.

StorTrack: Does your company use any software or systems to make pricing decisions, or is it done by people?

Brad: Unfortunately we have not encountered a good pricing algorithm in the self-storage industry yet. That is a gaping hole in our industry. We use Yardi’s Rentmaximizer to great effect in our multifamily portfolio. At present we make the adjustments manually in our self-storage portfolio.

StorTrack: What kind of changes have you seen in the markets you operate in over the past few years?

Brad: Since the recession, the industry has become hyper focused on developing the vertical urban deals… while that market has been undersupplied I think it is coming into balance overall at present. Technological advances continue to work their way in as well… Cloud-based management systems, automated overlock release systems, smart cameras, and intelligent monitoring systems all come to mind as recent advances.

StorTrack: What do you see as key changes coming to our industry in the next few years..?

Brad: I think there will be more consolidation. Small operators make up the majority ownership of stores in our country at present. That is the inverse of every other major real estate sector and I do not think self-storage will be exempt. I am biased, but I believe more and more facilities will be operated in an unmanned autonomous manner as the technologies continue to improve and the savings are better and better quantified.