Alert on Self Storage

Foley, AL: $5,250,000; 107,546 RSF. Contact Broker Affiliate Bill Barnhill at 888-801-4534.
Mobile, AL: $2,695,000; 49,205 RSF. Contact Broker Affiliate Bill Barnhill at 888-801-4534
Palm Springs, CA: $4,050,000; 61,565 RSF. Contact Broker Affiliates Clifford Crowe/Mike McVay at 760-929-9700.
Montrose, CO: $1,425,000; 50,120 RSF. Contact Broker Affiliate Joan Lucas at 720-855-6587.
Post Falls, ID: $2,250,000; 47,120 RSF. Contact Broker Affiliate Larry Hayes at 406-728-0088.
Rome, NY: $300,000; 9,403 RSF. Contact Broker Affiliate Mike Bellinger at 315-445-8523.
Syracuse, NY: $630,000; 36,000 RSF. Contact Broker Affiliate Mike Bellinger at 315-445-8523.
Cincinnati, OH: $1,750,000; 50,000 RSF. Contact Broker Affiliate Robert Off at 513-272-1850.
Columbia, SC: $4,250,000; 62,875 RSF. Contact Broker Affiliate Dale C. Eisenman at 843-342-7650.

Check out all of our Current Listings

Argus Closes Successful 2nd Quarter

The Argus Self Storage Sales Network sold $9,505,000 in self storage properties in Q204. These eight properties totaled 363,714 rentable square feet. Congratulations to all of our Argus Broker Affiliates on a great quarter!

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Cap Rates... Interest Rates...
What Does It All Mean?

You definitely don't want to miss the July Market Monitor! Chris Sonne of Self Storage Economics has written an insightful article on the relationship between cap rates and interest rates. Your copy will be in your mailbox before month end. There's a special invitation enclosed, so be sure to open your Market Monitor as soon as it arrives!

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Subscribe today for our free print newsletter. It's chock full of information, articles, property listings and industry news.

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WELCOME... Argus welcomes Charles H. Peterson of Corporate Realty in New Orleans as its Broker Affiliate for the state of Louisiana. Charlie brings with him a wealth of knowledge about commercial and investment real estate. Welcome aboard, Charlie! Contact Charlie at 504-587-1450 or via e-mail chpeterson@selfstorage.com.

Congratulations to Argus
Broker Affiliates

Bill Barnhill
of Omega Properties, Inc. on the sale of
Storage Stop in Pensacola, FL!
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Dale C. Eisenman
of Midcoast Properties, Inc. on the sale of
The Lock Box Self Storage in Acworth, GA!
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Bruce Bahrmasel
of The Preferred Realty Group on the sale of
Benck's Recreational Vehicle Storage
in Manhattan, IL!
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Joseph Mendola
of The Norwood Group on the sale of
Bow Mini Storage in Bow, NH!
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Dale C. Eisenman
of Midcoast Properties, Inc. on the sale of
Interstate 85/385 Storage in Greenville, SC!
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Peter Hitler
of Investment Real Estate Specialists on the sale of
Diehls Storage in Lake Geneva, WI!
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The Argus Self Storage Sales Network
"America's Self Storage Brokers"
1-800-55-STORE
info@argus-realestate.com

SSA 2004 Developers Seminar, September 7-8, 2004 at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas. For more information, read the Seminar Program.
SSA Fall Conference & Tradeshow, September 8-11, 2004 in Las Vegas. For more information or to register, visit the SSA website at www.selfstorage.org.
"Building Your Future in Self-Storage", getting started in self storage seminar presented by BETCO, Inc. November 5, 2004 in Asheville, NC. For more information, visit the website.
Inside Self Storage Expo, November 17-19, 2004 in Miami. For more information or to register, visit the ISS website at www.insideselfstorage.com/expo.

Low Rates “Increasingly Unnecessary”!

Alan Greenspan made it clear that interest rate increases are coming, probably in small doses. He told the Senate Banking Committee that the central bank’s current low interest rate policy is “increasingly unnecessary” in the wake of strong economic growth. He added that the “removal” of this policy would be measured over the next few quarters. He has given notice that loans tied to Prime or LIBOR are on the way up. The first jump was .25%. Loans that are tied to Treasury yields have already increased by more than 1% since March. However, the Treasury yields are still low in comparison to historic yields.

I would suggest that this is the time you may want to jump from a loan that adjusts every time the Prime rate or LIBOR moves upward to a loan that is fixed for a longer period of time.

Consider making two changes to your loan: 1) lock your rate for a longer term and 2) increase your amortization. You can lock into a fixed rate loan at around 5.75% for 10 years and 5.25% for 5 years. It is probably safe to assume the Prime rate will increase by at least .5% by year-end. By way of example, by changing from a $2,000,000 floating rate loan currently at 4.75% amortized for 20 years to a $2,000,000 10-year fixed rate loan at 5.75% amortized over 30 years your monthly payments would decrease from $12,924 to $11,671.

Neal Gussis is a principal at Beacon Realty Capital and can be reached at 312-207-8240.

Steel Prices Continue to Surge. As many of us are painfully aware, rising steel prices have translated into higher costs of equipment and construction materials from some manufacturers. For those that have not yet raised prices, that may soon follow. During the first several months of 2004, steel prices rose nearly 66% due to increased demand for steel and the weakened U.S. dollar. In December of 2003, the Bush administration lifted tariffs on imported steel, hoping to decrease the price of steel, but the weakened U.S. economy coupled with the building boom in China had just the opposite effect. And to worsen the situation, high energy prices add to the cost of steel since its production is an energy-intensive process.

Self storage industry vendors and the National Self Storage Association are watching this situation closely as this issue can impact the self storage building projects currently underway and those not yet started. It is anyone's guess as to when this crisis will end, or even begin to taper off. If you are thinking of building a self storage project, you may want to consider buying an existing facility with extra land so, when steel prices begin to decline, you may expand by building. If you are going to build, consult with any of the self storage building manufacturers -- they will have good strategies for developing your facility.
Public Storage will release its second quarter numbers on August 5, 2004. A teleconference is scheduled for the following day. For more information on the conference call, see Press Release.

BETCO Becomes Premier Industry Vendor on www.selfstorage.com

BETCO, Inc. participates in new offering on the premier industry website, www.selfstorage.com. BETCO will receive the many benefits of the "Premier Industry Vendor" program. For more information on the program and how to participate, please call Melanie Aaron at 1-888-414-7871.

The BETCO Advantage... When considering a self-storage provider, look at the three advantages of a full-service, single source manufacturer such as BETCO.

Quality Products: BETCO offers the highest quality products in the industry. This means our buildings are virtually maintenance-free and worry-free for years.

Single Source Manufacturing Services: BETCO can provide everything the facility owner needs from design to manufacturing, to erection from a single source.

Good Value: With BETCO, the customer gets an excellent value for the money. Too often, buyers look for the lowest price, then end up paying more in the long-run, when inferior materials and workmanship break down.

For more information, contact BETCO at 1-800-654-7813 or visit their website www.betcoinc.com.

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Looking for a vendor?
Check out www.selfstorage.com!
Search for a vendor by location or category, solicit proposals or request a bid on the Marketplace, post a question or discussion topic on the Forum.

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Owners... Managers...

Earn a COOL $100 this Summer!

Simply use the MARKETPLACE on www.selfstorage.com. As a self storage owner or manager, you have easy access to the premier vendors in the industry. Solicit bids, proposals and answers to your self storage questions from hundreds of industry vendors. The person/facility that uses the MARKETPLACE most often between July 25th and August 31st will get $100.* Take me there!

*No purchase obligation. However, all inquiries and requests must be legitimate.