- 608-445-2370
- anne@bulldogcommercialrealestate.com
- 1609 Landmark DrCottage Grove, WI 53527
Buyer representation across Dane County — including the properties that never reach a public listing site.
Path A
A contractor tired of leasing a shop, a clinic outgrowing its suite, a manufacturer that needs dock access. You're buying a building to run a business out of. Your financing options, your diligence priorities and your timeline all look one way.
Path B
You're buying an income stream that happens to have a roof on it. The building matters less than the rent roll, the lease terms and who signed them.
Both are commercial purchases. Almost nothing else about them is the same. We represent buyers on both sides across Madison, Cottage Grove, Sun Prairie, Middleton, Verona, Fitchburg and the rest of Dane County — and the first conversation is always about which one you are.
Property Types
Office
Downtown Capitol Square, University Research Park, the Beltline corridor and suburban campuses in Middleton and Fitchburg. Owner-user office purchases have gotten more attractive as some landlords reprice; medical office trades on different fundamentals and is worth treating separately.
Industrial
The strongest demand in the county, concentrated along I-90/94 and the American Center corridor, plus the industrial parks in Cottage Grove, Sun Prairie and DeForest. Clear height, dock configuration, power service and truck court depth drive value more than square footage does.
Retail
Junction Road and West Towne, East Washington Avenue, the traditional shopping streets on Monroe, Willy and Atwood. Traffic counts, co-tenancy and parking ratio matter more than the space itself.
Land
Development sites across Dane County, including parcels in the growth corridors where zoning and annexation are still unresolved. Land is where the biggest spread between asking price and actual value sits — in both directions.
Investment
Duplexes through mid-size apartment buildings, plus ground-floor-retail mixed-use. Underwritten on the rent roll, not on comps.
Not sure yet?
Square footage, ceiling height, dock or drive-in, parking count, power service, drive time from your crew. Tell us the operating constraint and we'll tell you which product type actually fits it.
Sourcing
Public listing platforms show you what’s already been marketed to everyone else. In Dane County, a real share of commercial property changes hands before that.
Direct owner outreach in the corridors and product types you've told us you want. Need 15,000 sq ft with dock access near the interstate? We can go ask the owners of every building that fits, whether or not any of them have thought about selling.
Everything on the South Central Wisconsin MLS commercial side and the national platforms — filtered against your actual criteria rather than a saved search.
Owners who've told us they'd sell at the right number, and sellers we're already working with on the disposition side.
We can’t publish a searchable inventory the way a national platform can, and we’re not going to pretend otherwise. What we can do is go find the building.
The Process
Business goals, investment criteria, target submarket, square footage, and growth horizon. This is also where we pin down zoning: a use that's permitted by right in one Madison district is a conditional use in the next, and conditional use approval adds months.
Commercial lending runs on different rails than residential. Owner-users should look hard at SBA 504 and 7(a) — the 504 program is built for buying the building you operate from, though it requires you to occupy a majority of the space. Investors need proof of funds or a term sheet before anyone takes an offer seriously. Start this before you tour, not after.
We run listed inventory, off-market outreach and our own pipeline against your criteria. We're checking zoning, traffic counts, surrounding tenancy, corridor direction and municipal plans — not just square footage and price.
Wisconsin commercial transactions use different contract forms than residential, with contingency structures residential buyers never encounter. We'll walk you through pricing strategy, contingency periods, earnest money and what's actually negotiable in this market versus what isn't.
Building inspection, Phase I environmental site assessment, zoning verification, survey, title, and — on any tenanted property — lease abstracts, estoppel certificates and a CAM reconciliation. This is where deals get repriced or walked away from, and it's the part worth not rushing.
We coordinate lender, attorney, title company and inspectors through to closing, and we stay on it. Commercial closings have more moving parts and more ways to slip.
The five things that most often surprise first-time commercial buyers in Dane County.
Madison's districts run from CC and CC-T commercial through TE and SE employment to IL and IG industrial. Verify your intended use before you go under contract, not during diligence. "It's zoned commercial" is not an answer.
Any property with a fuel, automotive, dry cleaning or light manufacturing past needs a Phase I — and a Phase I that recommends a Phase II can stall a deal for months.
Dane County assessments can move after a sale. Underwrite the tax line on what the property will be assessed at, not what the seller has been paying.
On an NNN investment purchase you still carry structure, roof and parking lot in most lease forms. Read the actual lease, not the marketing summary.
Between appraisal, environmental and lender review, a commercial close in this market typically runs well past what a residential buyer would expect. Build it into your contingency dates.
Why Bulldog Commercial
We know the Dane County landscape — zoning, traffic patterns, development corridors and which submarkets are moving. That's how we find opportunities before they're broadly marketed.
Your goals drive the search. Budget, operational needs, growth plan and exit horizon all shape which properties we bring you and which we tell you to skip.
Commercial moves fast and gets technical. From tours through offers, diligence and closing, you'll know where things stand and get straight answers.
Commercial lenders, environmental consultants, inspectors, attorneys, architects, contractors and surveyors — the people you'll need, already vetted.
Frequently Asked Questions
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Conventional commercial lending typically requires meaningfully more down than residential. SBA programs can lower that substantially for owner-users who occupy enough of the building. Terms vary by lender, property type and your financials — we’ll connect you with commercial lenders who’ll give you real numbers early.
Yes, and it’s one of the most common purchases we handle. Buying rather than leasing gives you a fixed occupancy cost and an asset, and SBA financing exists specifically for this. The tradeoff is capital tied up and responsibility for the building.
From accepted offer to close, expect longer than a residential transaction — environmental assessment, appraisal, zoning verification and commercial underwriting all take time. Finding the right property usually takes longer than closing on it.
In most Dane County transactions the seller’s side carries the commission and it’s split with the buyer’s broker — meaning representation typically costs you nothing directly. We’ll be straight with you about the structure on any specific deal.
Timelines vary based on property type, condition, pricing and market conditions. Well-priced commercial properties in high-demand areas of Dane County may sell in 60 to 120 days, while specialized or larger assets can take longer. We build a marketing and disposition strategy around your timeline.
Madison and all of Dane County — Cottage Grove, Sun Prairie, Middleton, Verona, Fitchburg, Monona, DeForest, Waunakee, Oregon and Stoughton — plus commercial transactions in surrounding Wisconsin counties.
Tell us what you need — property type, square footage, target submarket, timeline — and we'll start working the listed market and the off-market side at the same time.
