Selling commercial real estate can be one the most rewarding and profitable types of real estate to work in, but with large-scale properties come large-scale precautions that you need to make sure you’re taking. Your client’s best interests should be your top priority and warrants that you provide them with your most trusted recommendation for a Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment.
Say you’re trying to sell a building that was once an old gas station. There’s a prospective for massive profit, but you have to be wary about this site’s history before closing a deal.
Old gas stations understandably housed vestibules that carried oil and gas, and if the previous owners didn’t take appropriate care of their land there’s a chance there could have been a leak. With oil leaks come ground contamination, and the EPA has some severe rules that property buyers need to adhere to before purchasing.
Warehouses, junkyards, and salvage yards are also good examples of commercial sites that may have been exposed to some sort of leakage or contamination.
These properties are known as Superfund sites. The EPA recognizes a Superfund site as any land in the US that has been contaminated by hazardous waste. These lands pose a risk to human health and are candidates for cleanup. Before you’re able to buy or sell the contaminated land, you need to make sure the area no longer poses a risk to human health.
That’s a no-brainer, right? As a realtor, your buyer may not be aware that an ESA even needs to take place before moving forward with a purchase, which is where your expertise comes in to play.
Having an expert recommendation on hand for a trusted company that can do an Phase 2 ESA is imperative to a successful purchase for both you and your client. Imagine giving your client a dud of an endorsement and their property slipping through the cracks of a bunk assessment. That could have extreme risks with the federal government and is, quite simply, not a situation you want to be in.
Alpha Environmental has been in the business of Environmental Site Assessments for over 15 years and has the knowledge, expertise, and know-how to properly assess commercial spaces. You can rest easy knowing that their highly qualified staff won’t cut corners and is renowned for thoroughly and professionally assessing a site. Having Alpha Environmental in your back pocket for your go-to commercial real estate ESA recommendation will ensure that both you and your client are in the trusted hands of some of Oregon’s most seasoned environmental experts.
