Eric Scharaga
Founder, Damen Capital Fund
Private lender and direct land note buyer serving land investors nationwide. Featured on REtipster, Legends of Land, and Land Investing Online. LinkedIn →
Truck parking, RV and boat storage, and industrial outdoor storage yards. Banks do not understand this asset class. We built a loan program for it: $50K to $1M, no appraisal, closings in about 7 days.
Outdoor storage is one of the most profitable, least financeable asset classes in commercial real estate. Banks see gravel and a fence and pass. SBA wants buildings. Yet operating RV and boat storage lots, truck parking yards, and industrial outdoor storage (IOS) sites throw off strong, durable income on cheap dirt. We built a bridge loan program specifically for them: $50,000 to $1 million, interest only or fully amortizing, no appraisal required, closing in about 7 days.
| Loan amounts | $50,000 to $1,000,000 |
|---|---|
| Rates | 14% interest only ($100K+), 16% interest only (under $100K), or 13.9% fully amortizing |
| Term | 2 years on interest-only loans |
| Max LTV | 65% |
| Down payment | 20% minimum |
| Closing costs | $600 flat |
| Appraisal | None required |
| Closing | As fast as 7 days |
| Borrower | Business purpose, entity borrowers |
Banks send outdoor storage to an appraiser, and the appraisal dies for lack of comparable sales, five weeks and $4,000 later. We underwrite storage properties in-house, we know the asset class, we verify the income and the zoning, and we do not order an appraisal. That is how a quote arrives in days and a closing in about a week, on the same terms discipline behind our standard land loan program and 500+ funded loans.
Ground-up construction and raw land conversions, no exceptions, come back when the site is operating. Properties without legal access, sites in flood plains or wetlands, and yards with unresolved environmental history, junkyard, fuel, or repair use gets a Phase I condition. If the income only exists in cash that cannot be verified, we underwrite conservatively against the real estate.
The bank problem with outdoor storage is not risk, it is category: no building means no comps their appraisal process understands, so the answer is no regardless of the income. We underwrite these properties as what they are, income-producing land businesses, the same collateral-first discipline behind our land loan program and 500+ funded loans. Read the deep dives: financing a truck parking lot, RV and boat storage facility loans, and what IOS is and how yards get financed.
Yes. Operating truck parking is a core property type for the program: $50K to $1M loans, interest only or fully amortizing at 13.9%, no appraisal required, closings in about 7 days.
Yes, open, covered, or enclosed RV and boat storage lots that are operating. Acquisitions, refinances, and cash-out refinances, including value-add purchases of underperforming facilities priced on current performance.
IOS, industrial outdoor storage, means yards used for equipment, trailer, contractor, and materials storage. We finance operating IOS yards up to 65% LTV, whether leased to a tenant or operator-run.
No. We underwrite in-house and do not order appraisals, which is why quotes come in days and closings in about a week.
No. The program funds operating properties only, acquisitions, refinances, and value-add purchases. Ground-up construction and raw land conversions are outside the program.
Private lender and direct land note buyer serving land investors nationwide. Featured on REtipster, Legends of Land, and Land Investing Online. LinkedIn →