Strengthening our balance sheet
We have always taken a conservative approach to managing our balance sheet. Last year we tapped the capital markets at just the right time, raising total gross proceeds of $288.5 million through offerings of our common stock. At year end, we had sufficient current capacity to satisfy our debt maturities through July 2010 and to date in 2009 we have closed a $9.1 million term loan and a $50.0 million revolving line of credit. We are currently negotiating 17 term sheets totaling approximately $154.0 million of potential loans.
Our strategy of approaching community and regional banks where our properties are located seems to be working. While fewer lenders are making larger loans, the self-storage product type, due to the smaller loan size, is perfectly suited for banks that are still in the commercial real estate lending market. These new banking relationships will give us increased future financial flexibility.
Despite a challenging lending environment, we remain comfortable with our capital position, especially given our stable cash flows, our well-staged loan maturities and our longstanding joint-venture relationships with institutional investors.
