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A properly developed due diligence
program can yield significant cost savings to buyers in terms of
liabilities avoided and adjustments to a particular transaction if
information from the due diligence investigation is used properly
and in the early stage of the transactional process.
Whether you're buying your first building or own or
manage hundreds of units all over the country, we are the only
source you need for all the due diligence services you need
everywhere in the USA.
DUE DILIGENCE FOR APARTMENT AND CONDOMINIUM PROPERTY
- Any size building
- Fast, expert service
- Lowest possible cost
- We serve your city or town
 |
Inspection Today ---
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
report on your desk next week |
We work with owners, buyers, sellers, lenders and attorneys to
design and conduct a cost-effective due diligence strategy to
achieve your two main goals:
- Minimize legal, financial and business risk
- Maximize investor value
This page contains information on due
diligence apartment building and property inspection
and environmental assessment
INFORMATION
AND ADVICE FROM FREDDIE MAC AND FANNIE MAE
At
a recent industry event in Scottsdale,
Arizona, a representative from Freddie Mac spoke about efforts to
fund multi-family property deals in the face of extremely tight
credit conditions. Although Freddie Mac is issuing loans only
under tightened standards, it and Fannie Mae are the most active
lenders closing multifamily loans right now. The Freddie Mac
representative referred to the "Dark Age of Lending" in
2006 and early 2007, when “most any deal would work." Since
then, lenders have significantly tightened their underwriting
across the board to thoroughly understand environmental risk
before extending credit. In terms of the forecast, Freddie Mac
funded 1,820 loans last year at a volume of $24.3 billion, and is
expected to fund another 1,500 worth $18 to $20 billion this year.
Asked to provide some suggestions for due diligence
reports, the Freddie Mac
representative advises that you should select a professional who will provide true "consulting"
including giving recommendations to clients, lenders and attorneys
along with advice for
how to manage any environmental risks. At Due Diligence
Inspection & Assessment Services we make the effort to know
the ultimate user of the due diligence report and
understand their needs and requirements.
Due Diligence Inspection
& Assessment Services understands that the needs of borrowers,
brokers, lenders and attorneys may vary and we incorporate the
needs of all parties into a single comprehensive report, and
whenever necessary we go
beyond that to provide additional specific recommendations and
advice separately to borrowers, brokers and attorneys. We'll
do whatever it takes to expedite loan approval and completion of
the purchase and sale transaction.
APARTMENT BUILDING & PROPERTY
INSPECTION
Due Diligence Apartment Building & Property
Inspection is a comprehensive investigation of the building
structure and operating systems and the site. We
inspect service areas, common areas and representative apartments
and the entire property to its limits. Included in our
inspection protocol are:
- Structure – concrete, steel and wood
components
- Building envelope – roof and sidewalls
including windows and doors
- Interior finishes – floors, walls and
ceilings
- Heating, ventilation and air conditioning
- Electrical system and components
- Plumbing system and fixtures
- Fire suppression and life safety systems
- Accessibility
issues
- Landscaping including walks, drives, parking
areas and planted areas
- Storm water drainage
SCOPE OF WORK
The
initial concern to be addressed by Due Diligence Commercial
Building & Property Inspection is current condition.
The inspector is called upon to investigate, assess and
report on the condition of all structural components and all
operating systems as well as fire suppression and life-safety
systems and equipment. Drives,
roadways, parking and landscaping are also inspected and the
inspector walks the parcel looking for signs of hazards or
hazardous conditions on the subject property and on adjacent
properties.
For each item that is inspected it is the inspector’s intention
to do the following:
-
Establish suitability for use
-
Report on the need for repair or replacement
-
Recommend upgrades and improvements including energy use issues
-
Establish remaining serviceable life expectancy
-
Establish inspection and maintenance routines for your use during
ownership/occupancy of the building.
Our
Due Diligence Commercial Building Inspection Protocol
is designed to provide you with the information needed by you,
your broker and your real estate attorney prior to finalizing your
purchase contract or lease agreement
and also to assist you in planning for operating costs by
forecasting required structural and equipment maintenance routines
and schedules. The
inspector will estimate remaining useful life of major components
and discuss the two replacement strategies which are to replace
items when they cease to be functional or to schedule replacement
in advance. The latter
is helpful when failure of a building component would cease or
slow down operations, damage equipment or inventory or make the
building or a portion of the building uncomfortable or unfit for
occupancy.
CUSTOMIZED REPORT
We'll customize your Apartment Building & Property
Inspection Report to fulfill your needs and meet your expectations
on time and on budget.
YOUR
DUE DILIGENCE BUDGET
We
will work with you to design your due diligence apartment building
inspection and environmental assessment to meet your needs and
budget. While too little information will not suit your
purposes we work hard to not over-design your inspection and
assessment to keep assessment costs in line. You can be
assured that every assessment we do will include some information
that you weren't expecting because we approach each assignment
with a 110% attitude - we are committed to providing superior
value. Building inspection and environmental assessment
services are available individually or together and we are able to
offer outstanding discounts on combined services.
CONTACT US
You can contact our Senior Inspector with any
questions you may have.
Call Edward Devine directly at (585) 738-5080.
You can also request
a quote by e-mail and we'll respond promptly.
ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT
Phase
1 Environmental Assessment is completed according to the stringent
standards necessary for you to qualify for 42 U.S.C. § 9607(q) contiguous
owner property owner liability protection,
the bona fide prospective purchaser liability protection protection and the innocent
landowner defense under the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, as
amended, 42 U.S.C. § 9601 et.
seq. (CERCLA), should they ever be needed.
You wouldn't be surprised to hear about a property in New Jersey
contaminated by an underground plume extending from a nearby
chemical plant or a building in Texas constructed on an abandoned
oil-and-gas field or a Maryland building owner held liable for the
environmental cleanup of leaking underground storage tanks left in
the ground when a gas station vacated the property years ago.
You may be surprised to learn that each of these properties is a
residential property.
Environmental contamination doesn't affect industrial property
only. Apartments, condominiums and even single-family
neighborhoods cannot be assumed to be free of environmental
defect. Many residential properties are built on recycled land
that may have had an industrial, commercial or agricultural use in
the near or distant past and environmental issues regularly arise on
both new and existing residential properties, even if the property
has been residential for as long as anyone can remember.
In recent years many real estate investors and even banks and
other commercial lenders assumed that apartments, condominium
buildings and individual condo units as well as land for
single-family home development were either exempt from environmental
threats or at low risk for environmental liability and required only
a minimum level of due diligence. This is a risky assumption
especially considering that the properties and environmental
problems listed above are only a few examples of the level of
environmental risk and liability that have accrued to new owners of
residential properties. Some of the commercial real estate brokers
involved in the above transactions mistakenly believed that
environmental risk is proportional to the asset value of real
estate. When interviewed they said it was a common
assumption that low cost properties bear
little environmental risk and that in the event that contamination
was found cleanup costs would be low. In reality cleanup
costs often exceed the value of a property and the presence or prior presence
of a gas station, drycleaner or other common polluter nearby can spell
big trouble for property owners. The potential for financial
devastation as a result of litigation related to tenant illness is
compounded by loss of rent when tenants vacate apartments over
health concerns and it becomes difficult if not impossible to rent
or sell the property. Read
more about Phase
1 Environmental Assessment
YOUR
DUE DILIGENCE BUDGET
We
will work with you to design your due diligence apartment building
inspection and environmental assessment to meet your needs and
budget. While too little information will not suit your
purposes we work hard to not over-design your inspection and
assessment to keep assessment costs in line. You can be
assured that every assessment we do will include some information
that you weren't expecting because we approach each assignment
with a 110% attitude - we are committed to providing superior
value. Building inspection and environmental assessment
services are available individually or together and we are able to
offer outstanding discounts on combined services.
OUR
QUALIFICATIONS
Our Senior Inspector is uniquely qualified to
the task of Property Condition Assessment. With university
degrees in architecture, engineering and post-university training
in building inspection as well as 24 continuous years of
experience in all 3 disciplines you can expect a broad and
in-depth assessment and report. While architects, engineers
and building inspectors all approach a property from slightly
different perspectives, our senior inspector is uniquely qualified
to view your property from all three perspectives.
Over the past 24 years our Environmental
Professional has continued his education beyond university, served
as an environmental laboratory director and performed hundreds of
environmental assessments and is a consultant to banks and other
lenders, brokers, attorneys, real estate owners, buyers and
sellers.
INSPECTION & ASSESSMENT STANDARDS Due diligence on land for development of
multiple and single family residential building requires Phase
1 Environmental Assessment
and Vapor
Intrusion Assessment. Due Diligence for
existing apartment and condominium buildings and individual condo
units includes Phase 1 Assessment, Vapor Intrusion Assessment and
a complete Commercial
Building & Property
Inspection or Property
Condition Assessment. ASTM standards of
practice and Due Diligence Inspection & Assessment Services' dedication to a protocol designed exclusively for residential
property assure you that the standard of appropriate inquiry (due
diligence) has been met and that you qualify for the innocent
landowner defense* should it ever become necessary. Phase
1 Environmental Assessment is completed according to the stringent
standards necessary for you to qualify for 42 U.S.C. § 9607(q) contiguous
owner property owner liability protection,
the bona fide prospective purchaser liability protection protection and the innocent
landowner defense under the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, as
amended, 42 U.S.C. § 9601 et.
seq. (CERCLA), should they ever be needed. Due
Diligence Inspection and Assessment Services does not inspect
single family homes. For home inspection please
visit The
A
Tech ® A Team ® Rochester Home Inspector
Network . |
