I read some where that having laundry or dry cleaners as a tentant might cause environment issues and would have trouble financing the deal or will be difficult selling it. Is it true? If so can some one explain whats the deal with it. Thanks in advance
I don't know about financing issues. But a local strip center ( West Hazleton, PA) recently paid $40,000 to clear up a dry cleaning spill or contamination from the early 1980's. The problem was the tenant was no longer there and the center had been owed by another party at the time of the spill, however, the fine was paid by the present owner. My thoughts are no tenants using a large volume of any type of chemicals.
I worked in acquisitions for a big buyer. Financing was a problem and it affected re value. We completely avoided buying when there was an onsite drycleaner. Make sure they clean off site unless you charge enough rent to offset costs. However, there may be modern methods for the dry cleaner to clean onsite very safely - you could check into this.
It is important to know which process the dry cleaner uses. Older processes use hazardous chemicals. That is one question you have to ask. The newer processes do not require all those hazardous chemicals and are more environmentally friendly.
I knew a guy that owned a neighborhood shopping center with a dry cleaner tenant. He sold the property several years ago. Somehow the hazardous chemicals contaminated the ground underneath the property and contaminated the ground underneath several adjacent properties. He was eventually sued by the other property owners even though he hadn't owned the property for like 8-10 years. I don't know if he had to pay anything besides attorney fees, but still, whatta pain. I don't touch anything with a dry cleaning tenant unless I have environmental reports and they are using the latest in environmentally safe technology. Not worth the risk...
I think that they are supposedly now required to use noncontaminating chemicals, but how do you know if they comply? I know of incidents where there was contamination adn the property owner had to remediate the site. It was very expensive and far surpassed the rent collected - the cleaner dumped the chemicals on the ground and down the drain polluting the area. I'd find out more about potential risks before proceeding.