Hello REtipster Community!
I started my first direct mail campaign and phone calls are starting to come in. Today I received a call regarding 1.5 acres of vacant land. It is zoned as industrial (light manufacturing) in an industrial park. It is landlocked, but it looks like I can get to it without much difficulty. My concern is about the railroad tracks that run directly through the middle of the property. Has anyone encountered something similar to this and if so is it worth my time to pursue this property if I can get it at a low enough price?
If it's zoned industrial, you'll probably want to order some environmental work on that property to make sure the railroad tracks (and/or the trains running over it) haven't caused any contamination to the property. I know from experience that the presence of railroad tracks on (or even near) a property can be a problem - and granted, this is only an issue with commercial/industrial (with residential, it's less of a concern). Environmental reports can be expensive (into the thousands), and if they actually find contamination, then it gets really expensive.
Aside from that, you also have the practical side to consider... is anyone going to want a property with railroad tracks running through it? If so, why? What would be the highest and best use for a property like this?
I mean... anything is a deal at the right price. For something like this, unless there's some other HUGE upside you haven't discovered yet, I would think that price has to be very, very, very low.
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I always sort out any indurstrial properties from my lists.. Due to what Seth said.
Another thought is, 1.5 acres is pretty small to have train tracks through the middle. That is earth shaking close. Pass on it.
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@jawollbrink agreed. Unless I owned the railroad company, I can’t think of any good reason to own property like that.