As our first full year of operations comes to a close, I would like to take this opportunity to present a brief recap of our successes. The last year has been a dynamic year of growth, change and possibilities that have been realized many times over. We grew in size, stature, and strength. Our team has solidified and we have established processes to reflect our vision, mission, and philosophy of doing business. Sure Storage USA has grown in several impactful ways.
Sure Storage USA dedicated itself this year to building a high impact business brand identity that will allow us to consistently develop a consumer vision at both the corporate and property level. We have pledged to our customers that they can consistently count on us for best-in-class self-storage facilities that offer the safety and security they desire complimented by outstanding customer service.
Our team grew this year as we added team members with an exceptional depth of experience in all aspects of business. We created positions in marketing, administration and finance and will add additional team members in the first quarter of the New Year.
As always I thank you for your never ending support during this past year. We continue to strive to build an organization that is driven by our vision and is focused on following the guiding principles that will help us fulfill that vision. It is my hope that you and your families enjoy all of the joys of the season.
The pace of the firm is now like something out of a Star Trek movie. We have executed agreements and docs are at title for our first Las Vegas property and I am confident we will have additional properties in escrow before Christmas. I want to extend my deepest thanks for all the support and assistance each of you has given us here at SSUSA, Inc. SSUSA, Inc. has a very simple plan. We are buying properties…properties that are performing. We can track their history and know what it is we are buying. We are not heroes nor do we want to commit our time to being saviors. We have absolutely no interest in buying severely distressed or troubled properties. We have created a very strict underwriting system that is governed by our own RRA (Risk-Rating Assessment) program. The RRA takes into account 11 critical factors that lead the potential asset to the approval committee.
It is truly amazing how exciting the world of self-storage has become! We continue to focus our acquisitions in targeted major metropolitan areas in the Western and Southwestern United States that offer the greatest opportunity for above average demographic growth.
that uses a 14 x 20 self-storage unit as their practice and recording studio. This made me interested in what other unusual activities occur in self-storage facilities. One interesting story was about a man who loved to play the piano and his wife disliked hearing the music, so he kept his piano in a self-storage unit and would go there every day and play. How amazing would it be to if you were renting storage space from his location and to be able to listen to a live piano concert? There are many articles about people operating their business out of self-storage units so that they can keep their operation costs lower. One small business owner took it a step farther and opened a martial arts gym in a self-storage unit. The possibilities are limitless as long as the self- storage owner has all the facts.