Portfolio totals nearly 500,000 sf and is 91 percent occupied; Gelt continues to seek additional self-storage assets in the region Los Angeles, Calif., June 25, 2020 – Gelt, Inc., a Los Angeles-based real estate investment and asset management firm, is pleased to announce it has acquired a portfolio of eight institutional quality self-storage properties for $41 million. The portfolio is approximately 91 percent occupied and totals 490,187 rentable square feet (sf) with 3,867 units that encompass 3,482 indoor units and 385 outdoor RV and parking rental spaces.
The well-located properties are within a 40-minute driving radius of each other in the greater Memphis area with five assets in Memphis, TN; two in Olive Branch, MS; and one in Nesbit, MS.
Luke Elliott and Michael Mele of Cushman & Wakefield represented the seller, Merit Hill Capital. Gelt was self-represented. The single-story properties were built between 1972 and 2006 and feature commercial office space, manager’s apartments, and a mix of drive-up, indoor and climate-controlled units. Portfolio-wide, the unit sizes range from five sf to 430 sf and average 141 sf.
“Gelt will be embarking on an aggressive value-add program that includes stepping up operational efficiency and a capital renovation program,” said Keith Wasserman, Co-Founder and Partner with Gelt. “We plan to hold this property for five to seven years with the goal of creating a favorable return for our investors.”
Wasserman noted that Gelt has named Citizen Storage, a seasoned property management company whose principals have managed over 80 assets, to streamline day-to-day operations and increase economic occupancy. Additionally, other planned capital expenditures to the property include converting portions of outdoor areas to RV parking, renovation of offices, and new asphalt, among other cosmetic upgrades.
“Memphis is the third largest city in the southeastern United States, and this portfolio has had a high historical occupancy which reflects the strong customer demand for self-storage in this thriving region,” added Kartikeya Kejriwal “KK” of the Wasserman Group, who is directing storage acquisitions for Gelt. “We will continue to seek out additional self-storage assets throughout the Memphis MSA over the coming years in order to bring greater economies of scale to our portfolio holdings.”
Memphis has earned the distinction of the distribution hub of America with FedEx’s corporate headquarters located downtown. It is also the home of a super-regional distribution hub for UPS and is one of the largest intermodal logistics centers in the country. Adding to the strength of the market, in addition to FedEx, other corporate headquarters include AutoZone, International Paper, Service Master, and Mueller Industries.
“Gelt is looking to acquire self-storage facilities in key markets throughout the nation, and with this acquisition we have significantly expanded ownership of this property sector, bringing our self-storage holdings to nine facilities and a total of 4,536 units,” said Kejriwal.
Self-storage has proven to be recession resistant as evidenced during the Great Recession when it out-performed most other asset classes. Storage as an asset class has attracted some of the world’s largest real estate private equity firms due to its stable and consistent performance during and after the recession.
About Gelt, Inc.
Gelt Inc. is a regional real estate investment and asset management company that seeks to acquire properties in strategic markets in the Western U.S. Since the company's inception in 2008, Gelt has acquired more than 14,652 apartment units, RV and mobile home sites, self-storage units, and apartment units in development, valued in excess of $1.85 billion. The firm’s philosophy is to be a prudent steward of investment capital, to invest wiselyand confidently in emerging, constrained markets. Gelt seeks appropriate risk adjusted returns while achieving income from current cash flow and appreciation through superior performance of its assets.
Gelt consists of a team of real estate professionals that possess a wealth of knowledge and expertise in law, real estate, finance, property and asset management, and construction.
Gelt’s affiliated companies include Domuso.com and Gelt Venture Capital. Gelt developed Domuso.com, the first financing-as-a-service resident portal for the $540 billion rental payment industry. Domuso offers online certified and financing options for move-in payments, one-time rent payments, debt payments, refunds, and late payments. The company developed its own proprietary risk scoring model to offer point-of-sale financing utilizing rental application data, property operational data, and historical payment history. Gelt Venture Capital is a seed-stage venture capital firm investing in companies capable of making a large global impact. We believe automation, mobility, robotics, artificial intelligence, and space tech form the fundamental technology layer are transforming our world and we focus on applications of these foundational technologies.
In 2017, Keith Wasserman and Damian Langere, co-founders of the Gelt companies, established the Resident Relief Foundation, a 501(c)(3) public nonprofit whose mission is to provide temporary rental assistance grants to responsible renters going through an unexpected financial crisis that was outside the residents’ control. Examples include medical emergencies, natural disasters, job gaps, auto accidents, and government subsidy discrepancies. These residents prove they can recover with a little help, have paid rent on time and are otherwise good residents wishing to stay in their apartments. They must complete an online financial education program as a condition of the grant. The grant is paid directly to the property on their behalf. RRF has helped a significant number of individuals and families recover and avoid homelessness.
The firm strives to stay on top of industry trends and is always on the lookout for new technologies that simplify life for its leasing agents and help its properties run smoothly.