Unconventional Real Estate Investments: Masters in Business with Bob Moser

February 6, 2026·49 min·4 clips

A college student used FOIA requests to get boxes of DOS printouts listing every self-storage facility in the country.

U-Haul is not only about moving trucks. The guest notes that it owns a meaningful self-storage business, then explains why it does not manage that business exactly like REITs that watch occupancy closely. Occupancy matters, but it is not the whole game. U-Haul may accept some empty space if holding rent protects top-line revenue and leaves room for higher-paying customers when spring demand shows up. That is the operating difference. REITs, in this telling, tend to keep occupancy around roughly 92%, which can make the business look tidy while leaving less flexibility when the busy season arrives. The host then pushes on mobile pods, because from the outside they can look like storage with wheels. The guest draws a sharper line. Pods take more labor to deliver and collect, and the risk changes when the company has possession of the customer's goods. In self-storage, the customer locks the unit and keeps sole access. That keeps the operator more hands-off, which matters more than it may sound at first. Pods can get closer to possession of property, and the liabilities follow. The conversation then moves to why self-storage went from niche to mainstream and what commercial real estate investors missed. The guest's answer is fragmentation. Scattered ownership created the opening, much like the earlier interest in mobile home parks and RV parks. The practical point is simple enough: market structure, seasonal demand, and operating discipline can beat a property type that looks boring on the surface. The host keeps the episode grounded in investor questions about value, risk, and why this corner of real estate got taken more seriously.

As heard by us

A focused operator's view of storage, seasonal pricing, and why occupancy is not the only number.

This episode frames self-storage, mobile home parks, and RV parks as fragmented asset classes, then zeroes in on how an operator can use seasonal pricing and occupancy as practical levers.

Read the full review in PlayNext →

Why you'd press play

You want a self-storage operator's playbook that treats occupancy as a lever, not the whole game.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Masters in Business