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Meet our Team of Self Storage Experts
Our Team
BEN BURKHART
Owner
Ben Burkhart is the owner of BKB Properties, a full-service consulting firm specializing in self-storage feasibility, buyer due-diligence, and development. Ben lives in central Virginia, outside of Richmond. Prior to opening his own consulting firm, Ben worked as a lender with Wells Fargo, specializing in self-storage transactions. He often participates as a speaker at regional and national self-storage conventions and seminars and has written several topical articles for MiniStorage Messenger and Inside Self Storage.
Ben is also owner and developer of multiple storage businesses around Richmond, Virginia. When not working in the self-storage industry, he enjoys songwriting, guitars, hunting, and fishing, participating in his local Church, and especially time with his young family.
A message from Ben: We love Self Storage, but business is not the most important thing! "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6
Allison Walton
Project Assistant
Prior to joining the BKB Properties team, Allison was an elementary school teacher and math specialist. During her 11 years in education, she was passionate about building positive relationships with her students and their families as well as staying on the forefront of new teaching strategies and technologies.
She is excited to bring her expertise in relationship building, project management and strategic planning to support the BKB Properties team as the Project Assistant. She is a proud graduate of the University of Mary Washington, with a B.S. in Mathematics and an M.S. in Elementary Education. But she never stops learning, and frequently engages in coursework to develop new professional skills.
In her free time, she can be found imagining and building with her son, playing family board games, reading novels, crocheting, and taking care of her many plants. She is also a cancer survivor and is dedicated to supporting the fundraising efforts of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society through the yearly Light the Night Walk.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
If you are competing in a market with multiple, strong competitors, then the answer is probably yes. Where the strongest competitors compete (urban and suburban areas), we generally cannot collect good quality data via phone survey, and we need to visit individual stores to gain a high-level of confidence in the data we report. We will tell you the truth about your project, even if it hurts your feelings or “dashes your dream.” Our objective is to provide the best analysis so you can make the best decisions as you invest.
No easy answer in today's volatile market. The average investment size for a new storage project is probably above $5M. We work on a lot of projects above $10M in total construction costs. Single-story construction can be from $65-80/SF, and multi-story is usually between $75-100/SF in most markets. Big urban centers often can be the exception, with higher construction costs. Outside of construction, permitting, lease-up expense, interest, design, land costs, and start-up costs are generally defined specific to individual projects. Don’t overlook these!
Not thinking like a developer. Some folks over the years have come to us thinking that because they have been successful in one career automatically foretells future success. The hardest people to work with, for us, are professionals who have no real estate experience, but think “I’m smart; it can’t be that hard.” Real Estate Development is tough and risky. Be prepared.
Absolutely. BKB Properties StorageStudy.com is a recognized industry authority on self storage. Our final reports are bankable, and organized to be easy-to-read for investors, developers and lenders.
We will be happy to look at it for you. If we think your idea is terrible, we’ll tell you!
Yes, we can, for around $6,500. These are easy for us. The problem for you could be the quality of data that can be collected. These make sense in rural areas, where the population is low, or where the competition is sparse or less-sophisticated. They do not make sense in large markets.
We have completed somewhere around 700+ studies. We do not track every project after we complete the study, but we only know of one project which substantially under-performed our projections. About 30% of studies we complete result in a “no-go” recommendation. In general, our underwriting is conservative.
About four to six weeks. Some of this depends on you. We deliver analysis that sometimes changes your investment strategy. In those cases, we want to make sure our final narrative report matches the actual project you will build/purchase.
We can help with design and development, bank financing, answering investor questions, and overall consulting through the development process.
In addition to being a consultant in the self storage industry, we have experience as self storage developer, owner, store manager, trainer, teacher, coach, project manager, designer, lender, borrower, and investor. Such broad experience, from all “sides of the table” brings immense value to any development or investor team. We are fully-vested in the self storage industry.
Maybe. Our average project is looking at investments exceeding $1M. If you are trying to build 50 units, we may not be a good fit.
Sure. For a small fee, we’ll be happy to carve-out some time to answer any of your questions. Unfortunately, we cannot talk to everyone. We are delighted to conduct a quick site review with you, at no cost, if you are serious about pursuit of a specific site. We will tell you quickly if your baby is ugly, or if a potential project merits further investigation.