A special purpose property has unique features that make it suitable for very specific businesses. While they have limited uses, they can meet the needs of particular buyers. For example, a funeral home with a crematorium will only seem useful to someone who wants to operate a funeral home. There isn’t much flexibility.
When you have a client that needs a special purpose property, you can help by knowing how to find the right options for them to consider.
Know What Type of Special Purpose Property You Need
There are many types of commercial real estate. Knowing what kind of special purpose property you or your client wants will make it much easier to focus on real estate that matches your requirements.
Some popular types of special purpose properties include:
- Landfills
- Quarries
- Nursing homes
- Hospitals
- Hotels
- Marinas
- Gas stations
- Dairy farms
- Car washes
- Amusement parks
- Bowling alleys
- Oil wells
- Car repair shops
It would take an exceptional amount of money and work to make any of these properties function differently than their intended purpose. An amusement park will always be an amusement park. Unless someone is willing to tear it down, you cannot adapt it to meet another need.
Know what you want from a special purpose property precisely. Do you want a bowling alley with six lanes or 24 lanes? Do you want a car repair shop with an attached salesroom? The more information you have, the fewer properties you will need to compare before finding the right one.
Connect With Local Authorities and Industry Professionals
The businesses that use special purpose property often need to comply with government and industry regulations. Therefore, reaching out to local authorities and industry professionals could help you find properties that match your needs.
For example, suppose you have a client that wants to invest in a landfill. In that case, you can contact an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) office to learn more about options in your region. The EPA has strict rules regulating municipal solid waste landfills. If your area has an unused landfill, the EPA will likely know about it. Collect the information the agency gives you. Then, reach out to the current owner to discuss selling the property.
You can apply similar techniques to practically any industry that uses special purpose properties.
Join a Real Estate Investment Group
Real estate investment groups exist in official and unofficial capacities. Some groups work professionally to identify, evaluate, and invest in real estate opportunities. These real estate investment groups usually keep their findings private to make strategic decisions without interference from competitors.
Other investment groups operate much more loosely and altruistically. These aren’t registered businesses that work in real estate. Instead, they’re groups of like-minded people interested in earning money from the real estate industry.
Joining an investment group can make it easier for you to learn about opportunities that haven’t been widely publicized. For example, someone in the group might know about a business that plans to relocate within the next year. The move will leave behind an empty factory. You could use this information to approach the current owner about purchasing the property or arranging a sale for one of your clients.
Use a Subscription Real Estate Database
A subscription real estate database gives you the fastest, most reliable opportunity to find special purpose property for sale. ProspectNow has a database with 155 million residential and commercial property listings. You can search the database by keyword to find special purpose property that suits your needs. Additionally, you can use filters to refine your search and find the perfect real estate for a commercial client.
A lot of real estate professionals buy leads. ProspectNow lets you prospect your own commercial real estate leads. By taking this path, you can learn about a special purpose property for sale and market it to clients that might want to buy or invest in the real estate.
Get Off-Market Special Purpose Property Leads
An in-demand special purpose property can sell quickly. How can you get the owner’s attention before your competitors do?
ProspectNow uses machine learning and artificial intelligence to predict real estate trends. The platform’s predictive analytics can even pinpoint specific properties that will likely get listed within the next 12 months. If a special purpose property operates in an industry experiencing financial challenges, the owner will feel pressure to sell the real estate before it loses more value.
Similarly, an owner who leases special purpose property to a business that struggles to make its monthly payments might consider selling the real estate to someone else. That way, they can make a quick profit and avoid the financial risk of having a tenant that doesn’t pay on time.
Get free commercial real estate comparisons so you can decide which special purpose properties you want to pursue.
Find Special Purpose Property on ProspectNow
Special purpose property can play an essential role in helping clients find the real estate they need. Unfortunately, you might run into several obstacles as you look for the perfect location with the required zoning and features.
ProspectNow gives you an easy way to find and compare all of the special purpose properties in your area. The database contains almost 40 million commercial properties that you can filter by feature. Since the platform gives you details about every property, you don’t need to waste time visiting sites that don’t match your needs.
Plus, ProspectNow can help you identify off-market properties that will likely get listed within the next 12 months. That gives you an advantage over competitors that don’t have access to strong predictive analytics.
Do you want to see how ProspectNow helps real estate professionals exceed their goals? Get started today with a free demo that walks you through the platform’s top features!