Walla Walla, Washington

I invested in Cedar Creek Capital with high expectations given AJ Osborne's reputation and expertise in the self-storage industry. The marketing of this fund was well done. The execution and management...not so much. Unfortunately, my experience has been very disappointing. The fund has significantly under performed even its conservative underwriting projections. Of the six properties in the fund, all have struggled to meet expectations. While three facilities have already been sold, the fund continues to generate losses, which raises concerns about the overall investment thesis and execution. Communication has been late and not very thorough as to the real problems. Investor updates have often been delayed, inconsistent, and lacking in transparency. AJ was highly visible and engaged during the fundraising and early stages of the fund but became largely absent for an extended period, only briefly reappearing after the departure of the CEO. For more than two years, updates have frequently referenced operational improvements, technology initiatives, and efficiency gains. While these efforts may have value, investors ultimately need to see measurable financial results. At some point, the focus must shift from planned improvements to actual performance. In my opinion, the properties were not underwritten well and were managed poorly and the fund's results have reflected that. Based on my experience, I would not recommend this Cedar Creek to future investors.

AJ, the sponsor, presents himself as a self-storage expert, writing books and discussing "market-proof deals", "bad operators", and his "technology" on podcasts and his YouTube channel. However, his actions do not match his words. Fund 1's performance has been disastrous, falling far below even their most conservative projections. In three years, the annualized cash-on-cash return has been a mere 0.3%, and distributions were halted two years ago with no sign of returning. This is so severe that *multiple* properties are being liquidated to stop financial losses. They blame the market, but I know that's not the issue. I invested in another self-storage fund with another operator at the same time, and it has been performing exceptionally well because the deals were sound, underwritten correctly, and not in the oversaturated markets that the "gurus" flocked to. This clearly shows the problem lies with Cedar Creek's poor deals and management, not the market. Adding to this, the fund has suffered from terrible communication, seemingly regular employee turnover, forcing them to hire a new leader to save a sinking ship. I would not recommend investing with this group.