Sites! Sites! Sites! Lots of Gas Station Sites That Is.

Howdy Gas Nation!

It’s been a busy week here Georgia. Between hauling fuel, our GBG 911 challenge and family time, we’re up to more than ever. Here’s a quick update:

Site 1 is currently rented out. I received a verbal offer last week: all cash with a 30-day close. But things might not be as glorious as they appear. When I asked the potential buyer for proof of funds, he ghosted us. This is why you always want to see a POF before tying up your property so that you don’t waste time on deals that won’t work out.

Site 2 got the hole fixed and new doors installed. ‘Hole’ is a gracious term. It was a mess. What really happened is that there were two storm drains running through our parking lot. The pipes collapsed and washed away the earth underneath our parking lot. So when enough dirt washed away the parking lot collapsed. The previous owner wanted the DOT to pay for the damages, but the DOT didn’t want to accept responsibility.

When I bought the site I reached out to the DOT and went to meet them on-site. They were concerned with the gas tanks in there and didn’t want to dig around them. I got my own guys to clean the hole out and remove all of the existing piping. The DOT then agreed to replace the pipes and fill in the hole, after which I poured new concrete. I also put in new doors. The old doors sagged and the first thing a potential buyer would see is a sad pair of broken doors. It was as much about puttin the buyer in a right state of mind as it was about getting the doors to be fully functional again.

I’m excited because here’s where we are at: I have three parties who want to buy sites 1 and 2 together. I’ll get around $250k if I bundle them instead of selling them off separately. All offers are within 50K of one another for sites 1 and 2 combined. One will pay cash with a 60-day close and the two others need financing. I’ll work through this over the weekend and let you know next week what happens.

Site 3 - we had two offers on this site. It’s that rundown gas station. We had offer #1 that I was getting ready to sign and then offer #2 shows up for 20% more and an all cash quick closing. As I told you before I put the odds of offer 2 at 50:50 and sure enough offer #2 fell through. I went back to offer #1 and was able to get them back on board. We are under contract and set to close with cash in April.

Site 4 in Greenville is the burned down store. We are under contract and the buyer wanted to make sure the environmental was clean. So he ordered a Phase I which I don’t do but it’s his choice. Phase Is are basically reports that tell us what’s there now or in the past and if any reported ‘releases’ have occurred. Obviously this is a gas station so the report told him that and therefore they recommended a Phase II which is where they get physical samples to evaluate the presence or absence of petroleum products and hazardous materials. So now we wait until those reports come back in see if we’ll actually close. I traditionally go straight to a Phase II. I did not do that on these properties and I’ll cover that as we go through this process. I totally recommend everyone gets one so do not do what I just did there. 

Lastly is site 5. We got all kinds of calls but no offers. I actually listed it with a broker in the area to field all the phone calls for me and hopefully close a deal. The play on this is to either sell the land and if not we will build a store there and you’ll get to see that process from beginning to end. We also had the neighbor call. She’s furious and wants to buy it, said “it’s contaminated” but I have a “No Further Action” letter from the EPA and that’s really important. There was an issue with a previous release. The EPA got involved and we received the NFA letter, which means the EPA declared we have completed all the steps necessary to remedy all environmental problems.

So let’s talk about why I’m excited about this deal. I am taking you through several different properties that all have unique issues that we need to work through. We have several negotiations going on with a lot of different buyers. This is a very dynamic deal and it’s a real challenge but I LOVE IT! Best part? When we get done we are rolling into that Porsche Dealership wearing this Exxon shirt and we are going to celebrate.

Lastly, a little industry insider news. The past few years getting drivers to haul fuel has been very difficult. The name of the game was he who has the most drivers wins. During COVID we lost a lot of them to over-the-road companies that contracted with Walmart and Amazon. Well guess what? They are back and we have pages of drivers on a waiting list. I would full expect freight pricing to come under pressure and only the best will survive. It’s getting tougher by the day. 

See this all for yourself on our YouTube channel. Watch this week’s episode here.