Cannabis entrepreneurs face a series of obstacles when looking for real estate to fulfill their production and distribution. Here’s what you need to know.
With the legalization of cannabis in several states across the United States, there has been an increased demand for cannabis products. Marijuana businesses are struggling to keep up with demand, and are in turn being forced to expand their warehousing capacities in order to deal with the rising demand. However, attempts to acquire real estate usually end up facing several obstacles. Here are some of the obstacles that green businesses face when trying to acquire real estate for their operations. You will also learn about how you can overcome some of these obstacles by working with marijuana business loan partners such as Lender 420 .
Legal Issues
While cannabis production and sale are legal in various states across the United States, the federal government still regards marijuana as a prohibited drug. This means that green traders often face resistance from landlords who are keen to avoid getting into legal problems. This is especially true for Class A and B marijuana producers. Class C growers have an easier time accessing real estate space from landlords but they too end up paying for expensive modifications that are required to make the spaces suitable for storage and processing of marijuana.
Security Obstacles
Marijuana growers and distributors face unique security challenges due to the nature of the product that they are selling. This is because the black market for marijuana remains vibrant and given the erratic nature of the supply of cannabis on the streets, street dealers are often tempted to raid cannabis shops and storage facilities for additional supplies. What this means is that even after overcoming the problem of getting suitable real estate for their marijuana business operations, traders face the additional costs of setting up expensive security systems for their premises. These include perimeter fencing, motion sensors, and alarms. Typically, they are also forced to go for standalone facilities which are easier to secure, although this often means that they have to build the facilities from scratch.
Bank Documentation
Landlords often require tenants to show details such as business bank accounts and so on. Unfortunately, because of the mismatch between state laws and federal laws, marijuana businesses might face difficult in opening bank accounts or accessing business credit cards. This makes it very difficult to persuade landlords to lease space to them. The lack of leasing space, in turn, makes it difficult for green business owners to obtain licenses from authorities as the process usually requires the business to show that it has signed a lease on a suitable piece of property.
Overcoming These Obstacles
The legalization of marijuana has seen the growth of satellite businesses that are working with green entrepreneurs to overcome some of these challenges. For example, the rise of green lenders such as Lender420 allows green entrepreneurs to access credit readily, including cannabis real estate loans. This means that green entrepreneurs can identify, lease and modify storage facilities to make them suitable for making cannabis products. Entrepreneurs can also get access to other kinds of loans such as marijuana equipment loans which are specially tailored for the unique needs of this sector. It is hoped that as the sector grows, green entrepreneurs will be able to take advantage of a growing number of niche-specific resources to grow their businesses.
Contact us at info@lender420.com or via our office line at 424-320-3800 to speak to one of our experts about what program is best for you and your business.