Buying or Selling A Gas Station 11:40 am
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Are you prepared to buy or sell your gas station?
In todays market buying or selling a gas station can mean financial disaster if you don’t do your homework and have all your environmental records in place. I have been in the gas station business for 35 years and I can tell you that keeping good environmental records is not only very important but mandated by state and federal law. The law requires that the station operator have all of their environmental records at the location for the past two years.
When selling a gas station you will need to have available for the buyer all your gas inventory records and if you have a service center you will also need your waste oil pick up and anti freeze pick up records on hand as well. You will also need to have underground storage tanks registration and all certified test reports. It’s also a good idea to have a phase I environmental report done and ready for the buyer. I can tell you that this is something the buyer’s bank will require so it’s best to have it on hand before you put your property on the market, if not, this will only slow down the process while the buyer takes the time to get a phase I report.
When buying a gas station in addition to the records that I spoke of you will also want to make sure that the underground storage are not steel tanks and have been replaced with certified fiberglass tanks. If the phase I report indicates that there may have been a gas leak (release) in the past then you will want to have a phase II testing done to make sure that the ground is not contaminated.
The environmental guide lines I talk about not only apply to gas stations but any property where there are storage tanks, gas, oil, grease or chemicals stored on the property and yes that also includes restaurants where cooking grease drums are stored.
I advise all sellers and buyers to make sure you consult a real estate agent that has a background in this area. Please do not hesitate to call on me to help you with your transaction.
Senior Associate
