Commercial land with a dilapidated gas station on it.
My three sons are interested in buying a piece of commercial land on it with a dilapidated gas station on it.  I am about certain that the tanks are still in the ground, which, I am sure will have to come out.

I expressed interest in this piece of property to the realtor that sold us our farm, and he said if someone that could not afford to remove the tanks themselves, that it could get listed as a superfund site, and that the govt would pay to remove the tanks.

The boys received an inheritance from my dad when he passed, his house and land which is worth about $230K, and $90K in stocks.  This, once sold, will be enough to pay cash for this property, and install the equipt to start the new business that they want to start.

But the only one working right now is the middle boy.  The oldest one is maintaining the house in Albuquerque, and readying the place to sell, and the youngest son is only 17, and developmentally delayed.  In fact, the husband and I have been the ones paying for the related expenses on my dad's house (utilities, property taxes, and care of his animals).  So between the 3 of them, the total income is $30K/yr.

Has anyone ever deal with anything of the sort? Is there anyone that can even point me to where to find the answers?
[{"id": "f8ve1ms", "text": "My grandfather owned a bunch of gas stations and an oil delivery/transport company that a spin off of Standard Oil ended up buying before it was completely broken up (now Exxon and 50 others). Make sure they have an environmental inspection done. Could be chemicals dumped there or leaking tanks and to clean that up would be hundreds of thousands of dollars. My mom inherited a gas station with that issue (leaky tanks).\n\nOther than that, good for them for wanting to invest it instead of blowing it.\n\nI own 10 properties myself, a mix of commercial and multi family, but I don\u2019t have direct experience with gas stations.", "replies": [{"id": "f8vfp9f", "text": "&gt; My mom inherited a gas station with that issue (leaky tanks).\n\nSince she has the station with the leaky tanks, what happens?  Does she just sit on it the rest of her life, or did she get it cleaned up, or can she superfund site it?\n\n(edit - thank you for your response!)", "replies": [{"id": "f8vm0q0", "text": "Please listen to this guy.  An environmental inspection is your answer.  You will most likely have to get a phase 1 and 2.  Also, I wouldn't count on government help on the property.  Too much goes into that and it's generally a very long process if it happens at all.", "replies": [{"id": "f8vo796", "text": "I feel the same way as everyone else.  But my problem is convincing the kids of it. And maybe an environmental inspection is the way to go, so they a) spend a fair bit getting that done, and b) they can be told in person what it would cost to remediate.  Maybe that will help them to understand the gravity of the situation.", "replies": [{"id": "f8vojj3", "text": "If you would like I would be glad to explain to them why it is important on a phone call. I'm just a broker/consultant in Atlanta so they may not care what I have to say but I can easily explain the problems.  Buying this property without an environmental done would be the equivalent of taking a loan out and putting it all on black at the casino.", "replies": [{"id": "f8vpjad", "text": "I don't think anyone will even give you a loan without the env work being done.", "replies": [{"id": "f8vq7ak", "text": "You're right.  My example was just saying you could lose more than what you have into it and it's an absurd gamble that's not necessary to take.", "replies": [], "depth": 7}, {"id": "f923fo5", "text": "I am currently (unsuccessfully) trying to talk the middle kid out of it.  But in case you missed it, they would be in a position to pay cash for the property, so they don't need a loan, and would still have about another $100,000 to build what they want on it.\n\nIf they would go with a piece of property that I approve of, I could chip in another $7,500 every 3 months to help them maintain, until this business really kicks off.  I am invested into a barge group, and get about $60,000/yr (then subtract 50% for taxes) in dividend checks.", "replies": [], "depth": 7}], "depth": 6}], "depth": 5}, {"id": "f8vr2dx", "text": "A Phase 1 costs about $1500. A Phase 2 is an additional $10,000. This is the price tag to understand the environmental issues with the property. The costs to remediate any issues will likely be substantial, six figures isn\u2019t unusual.", "replies": [], "depth": 5}, {"id": "f8vya36", "text": "I am a commercial appraiser and I can easily say that I personally would never buy that property without getting at least a phase 1 done.  Listen to u/agentsean.", "replies": [], "depth": 5}], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}, {"id": "f8vsus6", "text": "Since she inherited it, she wasn\u2019t obligated to kick the current tenant out and clean up the land out of her own pocket. The situation is unique (it\u2019s in the state of CT) where there is a current gas station there but on the same land there are tanks buried that are 50+ years old off to the side. She can\u2019t sell the station land bc it\u2019s basically worthless as any buyer will have to pay more than what the land is worth to clean it up. So she just rents it out to the current user.", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "f8vflqv", "text": "this is not a good idea. environmental issues can be extremely expensive to remediate. going into this with little experience or knowledge of real estate or environmental issues is super risky. this is not a learning type of deal. the reality is, if no one has purchased it to date, there's probably a good reason.", "replies": [{"id": "f8vg3hw", "text": "I understand exactly what you are saying.  And I suggested to him yesterday that we start looking for other property, and just bail on that one.  This one is about 8 acres, with freeway frontage on about quarter mile of the frontage road.  It also borders one of the heavier traveled farm to market roads on the other side.  Kind of a triangular shape, with easy access to the freeway.  But...  there are power lines running through the middle of it, that gas station, and what I feel are other, undesirable features.", "replies": [{"id": "f8vgduh", "text": "It doesn't sound like you're sophisticated or cash flush enough for something like this. Can you maybe get it listed as a superfund site? sure... but your site is small and you'll be at the bottom of the list. It may be years before you see funds, and a fair amount of paperwork lies between you and the goal. Even if they do remove the tanks, will they do the cleanup? Gas stations (and dry cleaners, and nail salons...) leeched a whole lot of VOCs into the ground back in the day. The responsibility to cap and remediate that lies with the owner and it can be very expensive. \n\nThe utility means they have easements, which may limit what you can build.", "replies": [{"id": "f8vltbw", "text": "&gt;or cash flush enough for something like this.\n\nAnd you are right.  While we might make that a year, that wouldn't leave us money for mortgage, food, and gas.  ;)", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "f8vgrjs", "text": "Put a gigantic steel tank in the ground. Wait 50+ years. See what happens. It\u2019ll rust and leak. The site is definitely contaminated and will cost likely into the 6 figures to remediate it.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "f8vhht4", "text": "I have known 2 people who got royally screwed to the time of 500k+ on having to clean up land contaminated by old fuel tanks they had no part of until purchasing the property. Be careful and do the due diligence.  I assume there is a way to do it and not incur such hardship but they unfortunately did not get that lucky.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "f8vi978", "text": "Would a six figure environmental remediation make the deal far less palatable? I would count on that.", "replies": [{"id": "f8wu0d9", "text": "I bought some commercial land that was a former gas station. The site was mildly contaminated and took two years to sell.\n\nIt cost me $15k to test the site to get the state approval plus another $15k to retest before the buyer would take it. The land was 99% clean but those minute drops of light contamination cost me interest payments at $2000/month.\n\nBuying an ex-gas station can be difficult. Like people are saying, do your DUE DILIGENCE.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "f8vr1xk", "text": "Old gas stations are a huge risk. You don't want to mess with them. The kids can do their business anywhere, just check zoning and start small, with enough funds to back up operations for at least a year. Good luck!", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "f8vrsxm", "text": "Check out the EPAs website on superfunds. The government isn\u2019t going to give you any money to fix any problems. What they will pay for is a bunch of oversite to make sure you clean it up correctly.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "f8w1vda", "text": "Do not do this plan. The remediation could be very very very expensive, and don't expect the government to clean it up without confiscating it from you. Bad idea all around. If they want to start a business or whatever, have them do it from a garage like every other startup. Don't waste the inheritance on this.", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "f8xt1ck", "text": "Why are you paying all cash? \n\nPut a downpayment Of 20-25% down and loan the rest. The leftover cash can be used as reserves or rehabbing. After all this. \n\nGet the gas station performing well. Refi on the loan and get all your money back. \n\nLocation has to be good and you are buying it at a good price. \n\nHow much were other stations in your area sold for and how do they look? \n\nIf you sell it for just land how much would get an acre? \n\nWhat\u2019s the cost of building a new one compared to this? \n\nPut the property under contract for 3 months at least and a refundable deposit. Get a phase 1-2 inspection done. You can always terminate the contract if you find something you don\u2019t like. \n\nIt\u2019s not hard to run a gas station.", "replies": [{"id": "f8ynr4m", "text": "I am hoping that the boys pass on this particular piece.  \n\nBut...\n\nThis is one of those things that is supposed to be their own deal.  None of them can get a loan through a bank, so they have to go straight cash, as far as buying it.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}]