Masters in Business

Unconventional Real Estate Investments: Masters in Business with Bob Moser

February 6, 2026

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  • Bob Moser's success in real estate began by systematically identifying undervalued, fragmented assets using public records like water and sewer permitting before the internet made such data easily accessible. 
  • Self-storage is a highly defensive, need-based real estate asset class characterized by low break-even occupancy and the absence of lease risk due to month-to-month agreements. 
  • Prime Group Holdings focuses on acquiring off-market assets by investing heavily in proprietary software and dedicated deal teams to cultivate long-term relationships and solve problems for sellers, bypassing competitive open-market bidding. 

Segments

Bob Moser’s Early Career Start
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(00:01:59)
  • Key Takeaway: Bob Moser started acquiring real estate properties in college, eventually expanding into RVs and mobile homes before focusing on self-storage.
  • Summary: Bob Moser is the founder and CEO of Prime Group Holdings, the largest privately held self-storage owner in the country. He began acquiring properties shortly after college, initially focusing on RVs and mobile homes. His methodology centers on identifying undervalued properties through meticulous research.
College Thesis and Valuation Methods
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(00:03:14)
  • Key Takeaway: Moser’s college thesis focused on valuing income-producing properties using hedonic and non-hedonic regression analysis to find consolidation reflection points in fragmented assets.
  • Summary: The thesis analyzed property valuation by adjusting for quality and location attributes, excluding the revenue stream to isolate other value drivers. Moser targeted fragmented real estate assets, seeking the point where larger groups begin consolidation. He initially focused this research on manufactured housing communities.
Sourcing Assets via Public Records
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(00:04:41)
  • Key Takeaway: Moser used the Freedom of Information Act to obtain physical printouts of water and sewer permitting data to systematically identify non-institutional owners of real estate assets.
  • Summary: Lacking personal wealth, Moser leveraged public records to create comprehensive lists of assets like self-storage, mobile home, and RV parks. This physical data allowed him to research assets deeply, knowing more about the property than the owner before initiating contact. He would then follow up with owners every 30 to 45 days until they became sellers.
First Acquisition and Early Transactions
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(00:07:14)
  • Key Takeaway: Moser’s first acquisition was financed using a home equity loan taken out by his parents after he successfully brokered a fee-generating transaction.
  • Summary: His first property acquisition followed a successful brokerage transaction where he sold an asset to a buyer and then bought it back from that same buyer ten months later for a higher price. He ran the first asset himself for two years to understand the operational side before buying his second and third properties. A major liquidity event occurred in 2005 after selling five assets to Sam Zell.
Transition to Self-Storage Specialization
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(00:12:04)
  • Key Takeaway: Moser shifted his singular focus to self-storage after observing its superior defensive performance compared to other asset classes during the first financial crisis around 2007-2008.
  • Summary: During the financial crisis, self-storage assets outperformed others because they are need-based real estate, unlike aspirational properties. This stability led Moser to sell off his mobile home, RV park, and multifamily holdings over the following years. He began building his self-storage portfolio using his own capital until launching a co-mingled fund business in 2014.
Self-Storage Investment Characteristics
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(00:18:38)
  • Key Takeaway: Self-storage boasts the lowest break-even occupancy (around 40%) among institutional real estate assets and carries no lease risk due to month-to-month agreements.
  • Summary: The asset class is highly risk-adverse, requiring minimal capital expenditure for unit turnover, costing only about $5 compared to thousands for multifamily units. Ancillary revenue streams, like tenant protection programs and after-hours access fees, significantly boost value creation. Self-storage serves both residential needs and acts as essential warehouse space for 30-40% of its business tenants.
Prime Group’s Off-Market Strategy
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(00:15:28)
  • Key Takeaway: Prime Group exclusively buys assets off-market, using proprietary AI software to pre-identify target facilities and deploying deal teams to cultivate relationships with owners over years.
  • Summary: The in-house software analyzes 60,000 facilities to populate a target list that fits the firm’s criteria, even if the asset is not currently for sale. Deal teams conduct extensive research on each target before calling, aiming to know more about the asset than the seller. This long-term, relationship-driven approach converts sellers who value having their problems solved through the transaction process.
Competitive Landscape and Operational Differences
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(00:21:48)
  • Key Takeaway: Prime Group competes with public REITs by prioritizing top-line revenue over maintaining high occupancy, allowing them to hold rents during the off-season for higher payers in the spring.
  • Summary: Public competitors like Extra Space and Public Storage focus heavily on keeping occupancy above 90-92%. Prime Group trades occupancy for revenue by strategically timing rent adjustments based on seasonal demand. The firm also avoids the labor-intensive mobile pod business because self-storage allows them to take no bailment risk, as they never take possession of the stored goods.
High-Tech Storage Innovation
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(00:43:54)
  • Key Takeaway: Prime Group is deploying proprietary, battery-free digital locks that harness ambient energy from a cell phone to unlock units via electronic key, offering superior security and audit trails.
  • Summary: This technology eliminates the risk of lost physical keys or dead batteries in traditional digital locks, which is crucial for large facilities. Business customers can grant temporary or one-time access to employees, and the system automatically freezes access if rent is unpaid. The customer receives a full audit log detailing when their unit was accessed.
Long-Term Vision and Investment Horizon
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(00:48:26)
  • Key Takeaway: True value creation in real estate requires a long-term vision exceeding ten years, focusing on defensive assets with built-in inflation hedges like self-storage’s 30-day rent adjustment capability.
  • Summary: Moser believes real estate is boring for the first 30 years, emphasizing patience through economic cycles. Investors should prioritize buying defensive assets where they can implement operational improvements, such as optimizing rent rolls and unit mix. Key metrics like traffic patterns are fundamental, reminding investors to stick to basic location principles.
Career Advice and Management Lessons
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(00:52:19)
  • Key Takeaway: Key advice for young real estate investors includes maintaining enthusiasm, consistently doing more than paid for, and mastering the ability to manage and empower people.
  • Summary: Moser stressed that enthusiasm is a primary driver of success in any endeavor. He noted that learning how to manage people and empower their strengths took him a decade and a half, which he wishes he had learned earlier. He also advised recent graduates not to focus on what others are earning but to concentrate on their own performance.