Episode

#148 Self-Storage Real Estate with Jacob Vanderslice of Van West Partners

Podcast
Alt Funds Network
Published
May 29, 2026
Duration seconds
3456
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not_requested
Canonical source
https://altfunds.io/episodes/148-self-storage-real-estate-with-jacob-vanderslice-of-van-west-partners-CMOoU8Mu
Audio
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Markdown
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Summary

Background: Jacob is a principal at VanWest Partners, a self storage owner/ operator based out of Denver. Description: ​​Mike Schroeder and Skyler Steinke interview Jacob Vanderslice, principal of Van West Partners, a Denver-based self-storage owner-operator with 42 assets (~21,000 units, ~3.3M sq ft). Jacob shares his 20-year real estate background—starting with single-family (1,000+ projects), expanding into commercial, then pivoting to self-storage to become a longer-term operator. He explains why storage is operationally intensive (break-ins, gate damage, illegal activity), highly supply-sensitive within a three-mile radius, and difficult to forecast due to month-to-month leases and varied unit pricing. They discuss demand tied to mobility and higher mortgage rates reducing moves, resilience vs other asset classes, challenges in acquisitions (modeled ~900 deals, bought one small deal with seller financing), the benefits of self-managing via Clear Home Self Storage, staffing and expense pressures, capital raising headwinds, and using AI for revenue management, call center automation, and investor reporting.