commercial-property-research

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# Commercial Property Research

## Overview

How to research a company's physical facilities, warehouse operations, and real estate footprint using only public sources. Covers address discovery, property records, ownership verification, lease analysis, facility intelligence, floor plan acquisition, co-tenant mapping, zoning and permit research, and market rate comparison.

Developed and validated on BROGAV Solutions LLC (4 addresses discovered: warehouse in Ramsey MN, office in Elk River MN, former HQ in Ramsey MN, registered office at residential address; recovered architectural floor plans from the developer's marketing site; identified the landlord as PSD Land Development / BLIP II LLC; mapped 4 co-tenants; found Facebook Marketplace rental listing revealing $9,200/month lease cost; June 2026).

Use this skill when you need to:
- Verify a company's physical footprint and facility costs
- Assess whether a company owns or leases its space
- Find floor plans or building specifications for due diligence
- Map co-tenants for competitive or partnership intelligence
- Estimate facility costs as a percentage of revenue
- Identify expansion capacity or constraints at current locations

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## When to Use

- **Acquisition diligence:** Verify the target's real estate position (owned assets vs. lease liabilities) before making an offer.
- **Competitive intelligence:** Understand a competitor's warehouse capacity, shipping infrastructure, and expansion room.
- **Credit assessment:** Facility costs as a percentage of revenue indicate operational leverage and fixed-cost risk.
- **Supplier qualification:** Verify that a vendor actually has the warehouse space they claim for staging, integration, or inventory.
- **Employment verification:** A company claiming 25 employees but operating from a 1,200 sq ft office may be overstating headcount.

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## Prerequisites

- Company name and at least one known address (or the state of incorporation to start from)
- Access to web search and county assessor/recorder websites
- Familiarity with commercial real estate terminology (NNN, CAM, TI, etc.)
- Optional: Google Earth Pro for satellite measurement
- Optional: LoopNet/Crexi account for listing data

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## Method

### Step 1: Identify All Addresses

Collect every address associated with the company from these sources:

| Source | What It Shows | How to Access |
|--------|-------------|--------------|
| Secretary of State filing | Registered office (often residential for LLCs) | State SOS website, search by entity name |
| BBB profile | Public-facing business address | bbb.org search |
| Website footer / contact page | Marketing address (may differ from registered) | Direct website visit |
| Wayback Machine captures | Historical addresses (company may have moved) | web.archive.org CDX API |
| SAM.gov / federal registration | Address on file for government contracting | sam.gov entity search |
| ConstructConnect / Blue Book | Subcontractor listings with address | thebluebook.com |
| Procore | Construction procurement registration | procore.com |
| D&B / Hoovers | Corporate address and branch locations | dnb.com |
| Job postings | Sometimes list office location or "in-person" requirement | Indeed, LinkedIn, Glassdoor |
| Google Maps / Business Profile | Verify each address is real; identifies property type | maps.google.com |
| USPS address validation | Confirms deliverability and classifies as residential/commercial | tools.usps.com/zip-code-lookup |
| LinkedIn company page | "About" section sometimes lists HQ address | linkedin.com |

**Classify each address:**
- **Office:** Professional workspace, typically leased
- **Warehouse/Industrial:** Staging, inventory, shipping operations
- **Former location:** Company has moved but old address persists in databases
- **Residential (registered office):** LLC formation address, not an operational location
- **Remote/Field:** Employees working from home in sales territories
- **Virtual office:** Regus, WeWork, or similar shared-space address (indicates no permanent presence)

**Address timeline:** Companies move. Map when each address was active by cross-referencing Wayback captures, SOS filings (which update addresses), and job postings from different periods.

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### Step 2: Property Records

For each commercial address, pull records from the county assessor and recorder.

#### County Assessor Records
- Determine the county first (cities can span multiple counties; e.g., Ramsey, MN is in Anoka County, not Ramsey County)
- Search by address or parcel ID (APN)
- Extract: owner name, assessed value, year built, square footage, lot size, property type, zoning classification, tax history
- Common assessment platforms: Beacon (Schneider Corp), CAMA, county GIS viewers, Esri-based portals

#### Parcel Ownership
- Owner may be an LLC (holding entity) rather than the company itself
- If the company name does not appear as owner, they are a tenant, not an owner
- Search the owner LLC name in the state SOS database to find the landlord/developer

#### Key Question: Own or Lease?

| Scenario | What It Means |
|----------|--------------|
| Company is the parcel owner | They own the building (balance sheet asset, no lease liability) |
| A different LLC owns the parcel | The company leases from that LLC (operating expense) |
| A related LLC (e.g., "Brogav Properties LLC") owns it | The founder may own the building personally and lease it to the operating company (common tax optimization — rental income to the founder, lease deduction for the company) |
| A developer/investment LLC owns it | Standard commercial lease arrangement |

**Why this matters:** A company that owns its real estate has different financial characteristics than one that leases. Owned property is a balance sheet asset that can be collateralized. Leased property is a recurring obligation that constrains cash flow.

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### Step 3: Building Intelligence

#### Landlord / Developer Research
- Search the owner LLC name to find the property management company or developer
- Developers often have marketing websites with building specs, brochures, and floor plans
- Example: PSD Land Development published Phase I and Phase II architectural drawings for Bunker Lake Industrial Park on their website, revealing suite layouts, loading dock configurations, and building specs that BROGAV never disclosed

#### Co-Tenant Mapping
Multi-tenant buildings have other companies in adjacent suites. Co-tenants reveal the building character and sometimes the target company's industry positioning.

How to identify co-tenants:
- Search "[street address] Suite [number]" for each suite in the building
- Check Google Maps business listings at the address
- Check city business license records
- Search the building name or address on LinkedIn (companies listing it as their location)
- Check the landlord's tenant directory if published

**Co-tenant classification:**
| Co-tenant Type | What It Reveals |
|----------------|----------------|
| CNC shops, fabricators | Light industrial building; compatible with warehouse operations |

From ever-just/agentskills, MIT.

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