The fact is, with the help of an expert, buying commercial or residential real estate for construction – or even an existing business – can be a walk in the park. Without expert help, that park becomes a minefield. There are hundreds upon hundreds of potential pitfalls so, in this situation, the Devil really is in the details.

CDC is the real estate expert many, many people turn to when buying vacant land to build a business or residential property, buying a pre-existing commercial building or even leasing space for a business. Since CDC was born of Corrigan’s Custom Built Structures (CBS), we know what it takes to build a business, retrofit an existing business or create a truly breathtaking home, from site selection to ribbon cutting. We’ve literally been through every possible scenario and have negotiated the hurdles successfully. Most importantly, we know what to look out for.

Let’s say you’re looking for a site to build a fast-food franchise. Before you even break ground, there are local and state regulations – some old, some new and some changing – for sewage, water treatment, industrial waste, storm water, environmental issues and more. Plus there can be hidden issues like buried utility lines, private easements, down to and including seemingly inconsequential details.

As an example, one recent CDC/CBS project was just such a fast-food franchise. Before turning over the first shovel-full of dirt, we warned the new owner that his signage (yes, the “simple” sign on poles out front) was subject to regulations from four government agencies: local, County, State DOT (since the location was off a state highway) and Federal DOT (since the sign would be visible from an interstate highway). If we had not known all the issues, the owner might have put up the multi-thousand-dollar sign and torn it down three times to comply with all the agencies as they issued summonses. And this is a perfect example of how knowing the ropes can save the customer time, money and a lot of grief.

As we’ve said, our expertise in Real Estate comes from our experience in Design Build construction – taking a piece of property from concept to ribbon-cutting.

Here are a few more tips on what to look out for if you’re going to search for vacant real estate on your own:

TIP: Contact the appropriate local agencies to confirm that the property is zoned for your intended use.

TIP: Do a competitive analysis of the property to establish if it is (a) competitively priced, (b) appropriate for and (c) potentially profitable for your intended use

TIP: Contact the city planner and establish that the streets can handle your projected traffic volume.

TIP: Research storm-water management restrictions.

TIP: Find out if your district forces businesses to pay a Utility District Tax for storm water management.

TIP: Check for Flood Plains.

TIP: Check for Flood Ways. (In 2004, FEMA maps converted many Flood Plains to Flood Ways, and all are unbuildable. It helps to stay current.)

TIP: Do a site survey of the property lines listed with the municipality to see if they coincide with the property lines built-to.

TIP: Contact the Environmental Protection Agency and check for ESAs (Environmentally Sensitive Areas), endangered and protected species of fauna and flora, air and noise restrictions, etc.

TIP: Get a geological survey to check to see if the site is on bedrock; in this area, it would most likely be The Niagara Enscarfment (which severely restricts some improvements, changes, structures, etc.)

TIP: Contact the power utility and check power accessibility and limits (you need to know what your needs would be).

TIP: Contact the natural gas utility and check accessibility and limitations. Installing gas extension lines to adequately supply a business can cost tens of thousands of dollars (you need to know what your natural gas needs would be).

TIP: Contact the city sanitation department and check sewer capacity (You need to know what your needs would be.)

TIP: Contact Local, County, State, Federal departments for regulations on signage.

TIP: Contact utilities for maps of buried lines or pipes. (You can not build over high-pressure gas mains, high-volume water transmission mains and many other newer utility line types.)

Considering an existing building?

TIP: Do a complete building inspection and note every detail that could hint at an issue.

TIP: Find out when the building was built and first occupied. This will tell you if asbestos, lead paint or lead pipes are a concern.

TIP: Get the repair records and look at the kinds of work that might indicate structural issues.

TIP: Check city and state records for any building code violations and their resolutions, ongoing issues, etc.

TIP: Contact the local Federal office for Americans With Disabilities Act and investigate any compliance issues

TIP: Find out if previous owners/users used the building for storage, what they stored and where.

TIP: Find out if there is any storm-water management in place and when it was put there.

TIP: Inspect roof's integrity.

TIP: Get records of original roof installation and any repair since.

TIP: Get copies of original HVAC design, records of installation and any repair since.

TIP: Get copies of original plumbing design, records of installation and any repair since.

TIP: Contact previous owners to find out if any underground utilities were granted by private easement.