After expressing my shock at the sale, I received some wisdom from our broker who was a second generation real estate guy.

WOW, I am shocked. 

Hey Zane, I could be wrong but I'd be shocked if you're able to find positive cash flow in Houston.

However, do you feel it's necessary to have a preliminary title report prior to making an offer?

If you're considering a 4-tenant retail development, I'll assume you've already performed a fair amount of the preliminary due diligence and evaluation such as:* identified actual demand for the product type in the market you are considering, along with supply in process within competition area to the proposed site.* understand current market rents for the type of tenant and construction you are considering, and at your specific location.* understand delivery timelines, TI schedules, and general construction process/permitting for you and the end users.* have identified the most likely tenants for the development in question, and understand the building criteria each have for spaces.If you haven't answered "Yes" to each of the above, I would recommend pausing until you have the above nailed down.

If I were in your shoes I would request a preliminary settlement statement showing all actual lender fees. 

It might be a good idea to tie the site up as long as you can to get some soil testing and at least some preliminary drawings done by the civil engineer to see exactly what the site work costs will be. 

You’d be shocked by how little actual screening many PMC’s do!

I tracked that one down and the lender they were impersonating I called and talked to personally they were shocked to say the least..

The basic math they used to describe "replacing" your income was a bit shocking.