Alcorn said the transaction was part of a trend of national self-storage operators acquiring stable properties rather than developing them.The seller developed the properties in the past three to 10 years, he said, and included features such as individually alarmed units, monthly pest control service, climate control, month-to-month rental and digitally recorded camera surveillance and online account management. “National operators like our buyer and institutional investors like our buyer’s equity partner are not typically willing to take on the development risk that is inherent in speculative self-storage construction. However, they are usually eager to acquire the properties that have reached stabilized occupancy and profitability,” he said. “Conversely, the opportunistic ‘mom-and-pop’ developers are not able to achieve the same operating efficiencies, and their marketing methods are not as sophisticated. “This often results in a buyer that is willing to pay a premium over the value that the owner has on their books. However, price is not the only issue, and in this case we had a buyer and seller that were willing to accommodate the other party’s non-monetary concerns.”