In this episode of Deal Flow Friday, David sits down with Gerrit Van Maanen, Principal at Playground Properties and Co-Host of the Best Ever Conference. Gerrit shares his journey from Spartan Investment Group’s self-storage growth story to pioneering the niche asset class of garage condos. They dive into how garage condos differ from traditional self-storage, who the typical buyers are, investor return profiles, pipeline opportunities in Colorado, and the importance of capital raising and reputation. Gerrit also highlights the evolution of the Best Ever Conference and its role in building a strong real estate community.

Chapters

01:49 – Intro
04:17 – Background and transition from Self Storage into Garage Condos
06:05 – COVID impact on Self Storage and institutional growth
10:44 – Lessons learned from Self Storage and challenges with operations
13:35 – Why Garage Condos: shifting from storage to for-sale product
14:25 – Key differences between Storage and Garage Condos
16:49 – Typical buyer profile and market selection
18:38 – Why buyers choose to own instead of rent
20:47 – Investor returns, IRR focus, and deal metrics
30:40 – Pipeline update: Golden and Grand Junction, CO
32:19 – Colorado focus and market education for Garage Condos
33:50 – Biggest misconceptions and importance of marketing
35:02 – Best Ever Conference mission and growth
37:20 – Origins from the Best Ever Podcast
38:30 – Where to connect with Gerrit
39:13 – Closing & Sign-off

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Garage Condos & Self Storage: Gerrit Van Maanen - Playground Properties