Shop around for everything.

My brother would like it to either put a house or a shop there.

Most likely the value of the property is a lot more than the value of a car.Comparison shop with title companies and offer to pay the title company related costs. 

For every lazy contractor who owns a lousy business there is a hardworking laborer who has the talent you need, but he just can't run his own shop well.

I just took the regular license with Rockwell then got into a house (I shopped a few and found one I love where I hang my license now in Everett - awesome owners, which in my opinion makes a difference).

Looking for typical construction costs for a freestanding Starbucks Coffee shop.

Look for the most energy efficient models and shop for the best prices.

My suggestion is get on loopnet...start calling brokers, tell them exactly what you are looking for in terms of price, cap rate, how you do your underwriting, then let them bring deals to you, before they go to market....That is how it really works...The deals have already been shopped before they even get on loopnet.  

@Celia P.I would shop around and talk to a few different lenders prior to going through with this.

This also means that I hold properties that are in reasonably urban areas, which meet some other criteria I use to judge whether to buy something (school district, proximity to jobs/shopping, etc).