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dizposition

Sell your industrial outdoor storage

Truck yards, laydown yards, container storage. Gravel or concrete, leased or vacant, non-conforming use and all.

Industrial Outdoor Storage at a glance

Typical deal size
$1M – $15M
Lease structure
NNN or modified gross, often short-term
Typical term
1–5 years
Escalations
3–5% annually
Regional trucking and 3PL operatorsConstruction contractorsEquipment rental companiesContainer and drayage operatorsUtility and telecom contractorsLandscaping and site-work firms

Overview

What industrial outdoor storage facilities are really worth

Our read

Industrial outdoor storage is the asset class that spent thirty years being treated as leftover land and is now among the most supply-constrained property types in the country. A trucking company needs somewhere to park sixty trailers within reach of a distribution corridor. A contractor needs somewhere to stage pipe and equipment. Neither use needs a building, and both have been steadily zoned out of the places they need to be.

That is the whole story. Municipalities do not entitle new outdoor storage, existing sites frequently operate as legal non-conforming uses, and the tenants have almost nowhere else to go. Rent per acre has moved accordingly.

What makes IOS unusual to underwrite is that the building is nearly irrelevant. The value is in the dirt, the zoning file, and the geometry — whether a 53-foot trailer can get in and out without a three-point turn. Owners who try to value it on square footage consistently misprice it in both directions.

Valuation

How we underwrite it

The method

We underwrite IOS on rent per usable acre. That word usable is doing most of the work: setbacks, detention, easements, and slope routinely remove a quarter of a site, and the deed acreage tells you nothing about what a tenant can actually park on.

The zoning file is the second half of the underwriting and often the more important half. A site permitted for outdoor storage by right is worth meaningfully more than an identical site operating as a legal non-conforming use, and a non-conforming site at risk of abandonment is a different asset again. We read the file rather than assuming.

Surface condition, truck geometry, and access route get priced as real items. A yard reachable only through a weight-restricted residential street is worth less than one off a truck route no matter how good the dirt is.

What we do not penalize heavily is short lease term. One-year tenancies are normal here, and with essentially no new supply being entitled, re-leasing risk is genuinely lower than the lease documents suggest.

What moves the number

  1. 01Zoning and whether outdoor storage is a permitted use by right or survives only as a legal non-conforming use
  2. 02Proximity to a port, intermodal yard, or interstate interchange, which is most of what the tenant is paying for
  3. 03Usable acreage versus gross acreage after setbacks, drainage, and unusable slope
  4. 04Surface condition — millings, gravel, or concrete — and whether it supports loaded trailers year-round
  5. 05Truck ingress and egress geometry, including whether a 53-foot trailer can turn without a three-point maneuver
  6. 06Rent per usable acre against the submarket, since IOS is priced on land utility rather than building square footage

Capital markets today

10-yr Treasury
5.24%
4.12% a year ago
SOFR
3.87%
4.2% a year ago
30-yr mortgage
7.28%
6.3% a year ago
CRE loan delinquency
1.53%
1.57% a year ago
CRE prices, YoY
6.58%
-2.7% a year ago

Sources: FRED DGS10, 2026-10-01 · FRED SOFR, 2026-10-01 · FRED MORTGAGE30US, 2026-10-01 · FRED DRCRELEXFACBS, 2026-04-01 · FRED COMREPUSQ159N, 2026-01-01

Diligence

What a buyer actually looks at in a industrial outdoor storage

  1. Check 01

    Zoning verification letter for outdoor storage

    IOS is the asset class most often operating as a legal non-conforming use. A letter confirming the use is permitted, or confirming the non-conforming status, is the single most valuable document in the file.

  2. Check 02

    Usable versus gross acreage survey

    Setbacks, detention ponds, easements, and slope routinely remove 20-30% of a site. Rent per usable acre is the only number that matters and it cannot be derived from the deed.

  3. Check 03

    Surface condition and load capacity

    A gravel yard that rutted out under loaded trailers is a capital item, not a maintenance item. Resurfacing acreage is expensive.

  4. Check 04

    Stormwater permit and detention compliance

    Large impervious or compacted surfaces attract stormwater scrutiny. An out-of-compliance site can face enforcement that halts operations.

  5. Check 05

    Environmental — prior industrial and fueling use

    Yards frequently had on-site fueling, equipment washing, or salvage history. These are cheap to test for and expensive to discover late.

  6. Check 06

    Access easements and truck route restrictions

    A yard reachable only through a residential street with a weight limit is worth materially less than one off a truck route, regardless of what the site itself looks like.

Backfill risk

What happens if the tenant leaves

The tenant-goes-dark scenario

IOS backfills faster than almost any industrial asset, for a simple reason: there is very little to re-tenant. A trucking company leaving a gravel yard leaves a gravel yard. There are no tenant improvements to write off, no demising walls to move, and no specialized fit-out that limits the next user.

The constraint is supply, and it is severe. Municipalities have spent two decades zoning outdoor storage out of existence, and almost no new IOS is being entitled. Sites operating as legal non-conforming uses cannot generally be replaced if the use lapses. That scarcity is the entire investment thesis and it is why rent growth in this asset class has outrun most of industrial.

The real risk is not vacancy, it is entitlement. A site that loses its non-conforming status through abandonment goes from an income-producing yard to raw land that cannot be used as a yard. Underwriting IOS means underwriting the zoning file at least as carefully as the rent roll.

Why this matters to you

Every buyer prices the tenant-goes-dark scenario, whether or not they say so out loud. It is the largest hidden input into the cap rate you get offered.

Understanding it before you go to market is the difference between negotiating and being negotiated with.

Who sells to us

Situations we see most often

  • Owner-operator selling the trucking business and keeping or shedding the yard
  • A contractor consolidating yards after finishing a regional project
  • Land owner approached repeatedly by developers and unsure whether to sell or lease
  • Legal non-conforming use at risk if the site sits vacant past the abandonment window
  • Estate holding raw industrial land with no interest in operating it

Buy box

What we buy

  1. 01Yards from 1 to 40+ acres, $1M to $15M
  2. 02Legal non-conforming use is fine — we read the zoning file
  3. 03Gravel, millings, or concrete
  4. 04Vacant yards and short-term tenancies welcome

Process

How selling to Dizposition works

The full process
  1. Day 0

    01

    Send us the property

    Address, asset type, and the lease if there is one. That is enough for us to start.

  2. 02

    We underwrite it

    Our underwriting runs the income against current market pricing and the cost of capital. No lowball anchor.

  3. 10 minutes

    03

    You get a firm offer

    In 10 minutes, with the math shown. You will know exactly how we got there.

  4. As fast as 30 days

    04

    Close on your timeline

    As fast as 30 days, or as slow as you need. We are the principal, so the date is yours.

FAQ

Selling an industrial outdoor storage

My yard is a legal non-conforming use. Is that a problem?

It is the norm in this asset class, not an exception. What matters is whether the non-conforming status is documented and whether it is at risk of abandonment. Send us whatever zoning correspondence you have — a verification letter is worth more to us than another year of rent roll.

The yard is just gravel. Does it need to be paved?

No. Most IOS is gravel or millings and tenants price it accordingly. What we look at is whether the surface holds up under loaded trailers through your local weather, because a rutted yard is a capital cost either way.

How is IOS valued if there is barely a building?

On rent per usable acre, not per square foot. The building, if there is one, is usually incidental — a small office or shop. We underwrite what the dirt earns and what it would re-lease for, then check that against comparable yards in the submarket.

My tenant is on a one-year lease. Does short term hurt the value?

Less than in almost any other asset class. Short lease term is normal for IOS and the re-leasing risk is genuinely low given how little new supply exists. We underwrite the market rent, not just the in-place term.

How long does it take to sell a commercial property to Dizposition?

You get a firm written offer within 10 minutes of sending us the property. If you accept, you can close in as little as 30 days — most of that is title work and your own timeline. There is no listing period, no marketing, and no waiting on a buyer's financing contingency.

Can I sell my property as-is?

Yes. We are the buyer, so there is no lender requiring repairs and no inspection contingency to renegotiate against you. Deferred maintenance, a failing roof, an aging tank system — we price it into the offer rather than asking you to fix it first.

Can I sell with a tenant in place?

Yes, and in most cases a tenant makes the property more valuable to us, not less. We will ask for the lease, a rent roll, and any estoppel certificates. You do not need to deliver the property vacant.

What if the property is vacant?

We buy vacant assets. Pricing shifts from an income approach to what the building and land are worth to the next user, which is a different calculation — but it is one we do routinely rather than one that disqualifies the property.

Do I need a broker to sell to you?

No. We buy directly, and there is no commission because there is nothing to market. If you already have a broker, we will pay them. Selling without one saves the commission, but you should understand you are also giving up price discovery — a broker's job is to find out whether someone will pay more than we will.

What documents do I need to get an offer?

The address and the lease are enough to start. To finalize, we will want the rent roll, the last two years of operating statements, the title commitment, any existing survey, and any environmental reports you already have. You do not need an appraisal or a broker package.

How do you determine your offer?

We underwrite in-place income against what the space would re-lease for, adjust for capital needs and any environmental tail, and apply a cap rate supported by comparable transactions. We show you the inputs. If you disagree with an assumption, we would rather argue about the assumption than about the number.

What are typical seller closing costs?

Title and escrow fees, any transfer or recording tax owed in your state, prorated property taxes, and payoff of any existing debt. Because we are the buyer, there is no commission and no marketing cost. Transfer tax varies significantly by state and is often the largest single line.

Will I owe capital gains tax when I sell?

Usually yes, on the gain above your adjusted basis, and depreciation recapture is taxed separately from appreciation. State treatment varies. This is a question for your CPA before you sign, not after — the structure of the sale can change the answer.

Can I do a 1031 exchange?

Yes. A 1031 exchange lets you defer federal capital gains by reinvesting in like-kind property, subject to a 45-day identification window and a 180-day closing window from the date you sell. You must have a qualified intermediary in place before closing — it cannot be arranged afterward. Most states conform to federal treatment, but a few do not.

Can I sell if I am behind on payments or facing foreclosure?

Yes, and speed is the reason to move early rather than late. We can close on a defined date, which is what a lender or a receiver generally needs to see. Send us the payoff figure and any notices you have received.

Can I sell a property I inherited or that is in probate?

Yes. Probate sales take longer because the court timeline governs, not ours, and multiple heirs need to agree on the price before anything can close. We are used to working around both. Inherited property also generally receives a stepped-up basis, which can change the tax math substantially.

What if there is environmental contamination?

Send it anyway. Environmental history is one of the most common reasons a conventional sale falls apart, and it is one of the reasons owners call us. We price the remediation and the residual liability into the offer rather than walking away at the Phase II.

Is there any cost or obligation to get an offer?

None. There is no fee, no listing agreement, and no obligation to accept. If our number does not work for you, you keep the underwriting we showed you and we part ways.

Markets

Top markets we buy industrial outdoor storage facilities in

10-minute offer

Ready to sell your industrial outdoor storage?

Send us the property and the lease. You'll have a firm offer, with the math shown, in 10 minutes.