Self-Storage Break-Even Analysis: Month 36 Operating Break-Even

Fixed costs $68.2K/mo Year 1 base

Contribution margin 95.5% After variable costs

Break-even revenue $71.4K/mo Monthly target

Break-even timing Month 36 Model break point

Break-even calculator

This checks monthly revenue, variable expenses, and fixed costs against break-even for a self-storage investment platform.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue Monthly rental and fee income that covers the cost base. $ Low revenue High revenue Variable expenses Direct deal, reporting, and operating costs that rise with revenue. $ Low costs High costs

Money available to cover fixed costs $116,400 $120,000 revenue - $3,600 variable expenses

Margin ratio

97%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

Fixed monthly costs Monthly payroll and overhead the business must cover before profit. $ Lower base Higher base

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which expenses are fixed and which move with sales in a self-storage investment model?

Cost classification

Your break-even is only useful if stable overhead goes in the fixed numerator and revenue-linked spend reduces contribution margin (revenue left after variable costs). With breakeven at Month 36, misclassifying success fees or payroll steps can move the target month.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Office Lease	Fixed	Put $8,000 per month in the fixed numerator from Month 1 through Month 60.	Scaling office rent with asset sales or facility count.
Professional Services (Legal, Accounting)	Fixed	Put $5,000 per month in the fixed numerator as recurring overhead.	Mixing recurring retainers with success-based deal fees.
Software Subscriptions (CRM, Data, Asset Mgmt)	Fixed	Put $3,500 per month in the fixed numerator for the planning range.	Treating platform subscriptions as a percentage of revenue.
Core Payroll	Fixed	Put recurring salaries in the fixed numerator; payroll runs about $46.7k per month in Year 1 and $70.8k per month in Year 5.	Leaving payroll out because it is not property-level spend.
Investor Relations Manager	Semi-fixed	Add the salary step when staffing begins after launch, starting Month 13 with 0.5 FTE in Year 2.	Smoothing the hire across Month 1 and understating early burn.
Utilities & Office Maintenance	Semi-variable	Keep the $1,200 monthly base in fixed overhead and model usage increases separately if assets drive higher activity.	Treating the full amount as fixed after the portfolio grows.
Deal Execution & Due Diligence (Success-Based)	Variable	Reduce contribution margin by the success-based rate, from 3.0% in Year 1 to 1.5% in Year 5.	Putting success fees in fixed overhead and overstating margin.
Investor Relations & Reporting Platform Costs	Variable	Reduce contribution margin by the revenue-linked rate, from 1.5% in Year 1 to 0.7% in Year 5.	Counting reporting platform spend as flat overhead.

How does break-even change from a lean launch to a base case and a full build?

Scenario table

Higher fixed overhead pushes the needed monthly revenue up, while lower variable drag improves the cushion. Here’s the quick math: the base case reaches break-even by Month 36, and the full case carries the strongest margin.

Planning assumptions only; actual results can move with acquisition timing, deal mix, and overhead control.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean launch case	$714k	$32k	$682k	95.5%	$0	Still tight; one extra cost line can push it back below break-even.
Base case at Month 36	$849k	$26k	$823k	97.0%	$0	Break-even lands by Month 36, so the model finally covers overhead.
Full stabilized case	$944k	$21k	$923k	97.8%	$0	Best cushion here, but it still depends on keeping fixed costs contained.

What pushes this self-storage investment below break-even?

Stress test

The plan reaches break-even in Month 36, but cash bottoms out in Month 35 at -$27.358 million. So a small revenue miss, higher overhead, or weaker margin can push the business past the cash line before operations turn positive.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change.	$848,000/month	$0 cushion	Cash turns negative one month early.
Revenue shortfall	Each $100 of missed revenue reduces coverage by about $97 before fixed costs.	$848,000/month	$97 gap per $100 missed	Almost all lost revenue hits fixed coverage.
Fixed-cost increase	Year 5 overhead rises to $923,000/month from $823,000/month in Year 3.	$952,000/month	$104,000 gap	Overhead growth needs about $104,000 more monthly revenue.
Margin pressure	Variable expenses rise from 3.0% to 4.5% of revenue.	$862,000/month	$14,000 gap	A 1.5-point margin drop lifts break-even fast.
Combined pressure	Year 5 overhead and 4.5% variable expenses hit together.	$967,000/month	$119,000 gap	This is the tightest case and leaves no cushion.

What should you verify before committing more capital to this self-storage portfolio?

Founder checklist

Don’t commit more capital until the model can carry the Month 35 cash trough and still reach Month 36 break-even. The low point is negative $27.358M, so every acquisition, build, hire, and system cost has to fit inside that runway.

1Owned stack$29.0M

Verify the four owned purchases total $29.0M before you close, because that capital commitment sets the base the rest of the model has to carry.

2Lease burn$45.0K/mo

Verify the three rented sites only add $45.0K a month in rent, because that burn starts before the assets are built out and can drag the break-even month.

3Build plan$14.25M / 6-20 mo

Verify the seven construction budgets sum to $14.25M and the longest build runs 20 months, so the rollout pace stays inside the cash plan.

4Systems load$190K + 4.5%-2.2%

Verify setup capex lands at $190K and variable deal and reporting costs fall from 4.5% in Year 1 to 2.2% in Year 5, because that margin has to absorb $21.5K a month of fixed overhead.

5Payroll ramp$560K→$850K/yr

Verify hiring stays tied to asset growth, since wages climb from $560K in Year 1 to $850K in Year 5.

6Cash runway-$27.358M @ M35

Verify you can fund the Month 35 cash low and still reach Month 36 break-even, or slow the launch stack before the next close.