Gas Station Tips?

Question

Hi everyone! I am in the very early stages of looking at a commercial property to invest in. It is currently an abandoned cafe about 25 min from greenville, and I would love to fix it up and get it back in business. It's sitting on 1.5 acres and right off a state road in between a few big towns. The closest gas stations are 3, 4, and 5 miles away. I plan to sell convenience items as well as fresh produce, baked goods, and hot meals. I am also thinking about having rental trucks on site too. I don't know much about gas stations though so if anyone has any tips or stuff to look out for I would appreciate it as I look more into it. I am also considering just running the convenience shop for awhile and later adding in the gas station if it makes sense. TIA!

Brian Cowan · Answer

I strongly recommend a Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment (also called a Phase I ESA). This is a high-risk site from an environmental contamination perspective. I posted about this on another thread, so I won't rehash the whole thing here.

Quick summary: A Phase I ESA gives you the "Innocent Landowner Defense" protection under federal Superfund regulations. It protects real estate owners (and investors like me) from liability for environmental contamination that they did not cause. I have clients at my W2 who didn't do this and are now paying environmental remediation companies (like the one I work at) hundreds of thousands to clean it up, by order of the EPA, even though the PREVIOUS owner caused the issue. That doesn't include legal fees and fines either.

Hope this helps but don't let it freak you out. These things can be accounted for with proper due diligence!

Michael Coco · Answer

I don’t know anything about running gas stations but if you do, I recommend getting extensive insurance coverage for environmental land contamination.