Real estate often causes cannabusiness owners to spin their wheels. With short application windows and the need to have contingency plans in place, it’s easy to prolong your search for the right cannabis property.

But finding the right location for your cannabusiness doesn’t have to take forever. If you do it right, you can speed up the process and get to building your business faster. That said, a cannabis property must meet very specific zoning requirements and should thus be approached differently than other kinds of real estate.

To that end, we’ve developed an expedited process to help you find a cannabis property without getting blindsided by common real estate roadblocks. 

Here’s our step-by-step process for finding your cannabis property more efficiently.

Start With the Green Zones

The first thing you need to know is how to choose the areas in which to look for your cannabis property. Many people do this by choosing a city, downloading a list of 1,000 or so properties in that city, and narrowing the list down to 100 properties from there. 

But once they start going through those specific properties, they find that none of them actually qualify as cannabis properties because they aren’t zoned properly. 

We created our green zone assessments for this very reason — because no one wants to settle on a location only to find out their cannabusiness isn’t legally allowed to operate there. Instead, our process starts with establishing where the facility you plan to operate is allowed to be, and then choosing from those locations.  

Research the Requirements

Once you know where your cannabis property can legally exist, do your research to find out what requirements it will need to meet, with special attention to regional and municipal setbacks. 

Usually, a city will determine setbacks based on how far the property is from a dispensary or how many dispensaries and cannabis facilities can be in a certain ZIP code or territory. But they’ll also dictate how far a facility must be from churches, day care centers, schools, and rehab facilities. 

These kinds of facilities are constantly shutting down and opening up, but the city might only update their green zone map once per quarter — meaning the map can become inaccurate within a week. 

At HYC, we use a number of systems and databases to create our own up-to-date green zone maps with all relevant setbacks factored in. From there, we search for addresses within those areas, giving us a narrowed list of addresses we then verify with the city to determine if they truly qualify to be used as cannabis properties.

Get Boots on the Ground

Once we have our narrowed list of potential properties, the next step is to get out there and physically scope out the area. Sometimes you’ll even find a cannabis property that isn’t in the system because it isn’t for sale or lease just yet.

Don’t be afraid to knock on the doors of qualified properties and ask about the company’s lease and when it expires. But be very targeted in which doors you knock on, otherwise you’ll be wasting your time. 

Above all, you need to have a process. A lot of brokers make the mistake of thinking any property will work and end up whittling down the list of possibilities into locations that in fact won’t. 

Protect Yourself From Real Estate Pitfalls

Even once you’ve found the property, you still need to be strategic as you negotiate with the landlord. Some landlords may try to charge more or create a bidding war once they find out you intend to use the space as a cannabis property. 

Protect yourself when negotiating for a cannabis property with a contingency agreement, which keeps you from being bound to the property if your license application is denied. Contingency agreements can be difficult to negotiate because of the risk they pose to landlords, so you may have to explore creative solutions.

In some cases, you can put the landlord’s mind at ease by putting down a deposit or agreeing to a smaller monthly lease until your application is officially approved. You might even have to give up equity in your business to be able to lock down the property. 

If you’re lucky, you might work with a developer who’s early in their career, has a bunch of properties, and is willing to roll the dice on your cannabis property while they get the others up and going. 

Finding a Cannabis Property Doesn’t Have to Take Forever

Choosing your cannabis property can be one of the most difficult parts of opening up a cannabusiness, especially if you approach it like you would any other type of real estate. But with the right process and tools, you can minimize risks and choose your property efficiently. 

To get expert guidance and a tried-and-tested process, contact HYC for a green zone assessment and to find the most lucrative cannabis property for your business.

Unlike most commercial real estate, the cannabis real estate landscape is limited by regulations and ordinances that go far beyond choosing the best location for traffic counts. You’ll need expert help navigating all the green zones and setbacks to ensure your cannabusiness is compliant and in an advantageous location. 

Each municipality is different, and even neighboring municipalities can have entirely different requirements. So, it’s important to work with someone who can help you choose the best location for the cannabusiness you’re building.

You have two main options: work with a commercial real estate agent to choose your property, or work with a cannabis consulting firm that can act as a sort of one-stop shop for the entire setup process. But which is the best, most cost-effective choice in the long run? 

Read on to find out whether a commercial real estate agent or a cannabis consultant is the best choice to help you with your cannabis real estate. 

Commercial Real Estate Agent: Help Selecting Property

When dealing with cannabis real estate, you’ll need a brokerage relationship of some sort to navigate contracts and coordinate all the moving parts of the transaction. A commercial real estate agent will likely have experience with the contract process and can help you assess traffic counts to choose a potentially profitable location. 

However, especially if you’re in cultivation, there’s a lot more to consider than just traffic. For example, if the building previously housed any sort of cultivation, you’ll need to know whether they used any pesticides or left anything else in the building that could potentially harm your crop. 

You’ll also need to know what it will take to operate the building as a cannabis facility. While the property might look good on the surface, things like mold, lighting,  and ventilation will impact the facility’s operation, as well as the cost of retrofitting the property into a cannabis facility. 

A commercial real estate agent may not be familiar with all these considerations or know what to look for in an ideal cannabis real estate location.

Cannabis Consulting Firm: A One-Stop Shop

When choosing your cannabis real estate property, working with someone who has a cannabis background is essential. You need someone who knows what to look for and about ordinances and regulations for the particular municipality you’ll be operating in.

While a commercial cannabis real estate agent will start by identifying the best traffic count area — without regard to green zones, setbacks, etc. — a cannabis consultant can start with the areas where a cannabis facility can actually be placed. From there, they can help select the best of those available locations. 

Also keep in mind that for cannabis real estate, you’ll need more than just the property. You’ll also need to coordinate design and build, METRC compliance, security, and so on. Having one firm handle all of those considerations will save you a ton of time and money. 

Real estate is a large purchase — one of the largest parts of your business — and it’s something your business is going to be connected to for a really long time. You want to make sure that the property you purchase is going to work for cannabis specifically. 

The last thing you want is to start the process of a cannabis real estate property purchase only to find out it won’t actually work for cannabis and have to start all over again. A cannabis consultant can offer perspective on all the different elements of a cannabusiness and help you avoid any unexpected missteps.

Making the Best Choice for Your Cannabis Real Estate

When choosing who to work with for your cannabis real estate, weigh heavy on finding someone with at least some cannabis knowledge. The industry has so many nuances to stay compliant on, and you don’t want to overlook any minor detail. 

You also don’t want to get yourself stuck with a property you can’t actually use, which can happen in more than one way with this industry. Choosing the wrong property is one, but it could also be a simple matter of the licence you applied for falling through. 

This sort of situation is unique to cannabis real estate, so someone without cannabis experience may not know to prepare for the possibility. A cannabis consultant, on the other hand, can help put contingencies into your contract to protect you if you don’t end up winning the license. 

Along with industry-specific knowledge and experience, cannabis consultants are often equipped with specialized tools. For example, at HYC, we use geomapping and other software systems to locate the best cannabis real estate properties.

Get Help Navigating the Cannabis Real Estate Market

Especially in a saturated market, choosing a cannabis real estate property can quickly turn into a game of Where’s Waldo?, so it’s important to work with someone who has the tools and knowledge to set you up at your greatest advantage.Ready to talk to a consultant about choosing your cannabis real estate property? Reach out to us to schedule a consultation.

When it comes to finding a home for your cannabis operation, you may be challenged by zoning regulations, competition, and a looming deadline. Some cities and states require you to provide proof you’ve already secured compliant cannabis real estate as one of many rigorous criteria to apply for a license. We have some tips for finding and securing cannabis real estate, even in a tight market.

There’s a lot the cannabis industry has working against it – like sophomoric legislation, gray legal areas, and closed-minded banking partners – but one of the most overlooked factors is real estate. Finding the perfect marijuana property for your budding business is no small feat, and there are far more factors than most business owners realize. From key decisions such as “To buy or to lease?” to “To vertically integrate or niche down?” the nuances of securing success start in the earliest days of building your business. Here’s what you need to know as you’re scouting out your business’s new home.