What You Can Do With A Property Condition Assessment

When someone hires a property condition assessment consultant, they're usually focused on looking at the state of an industrial, an office, or a commercial building. Aside from the obvious need to determine what the state of a property is, you might wonder what else you can do with a property condition assessment. Here are 5 reasons why people ask for PCAs.

Buying and Selling

Much like buyers and sellers need to have inspectors check out homes, the same logic applies when buying a commercial property. Generally, the process is a bit more extensive than a home inspection, though. A property condition assessment will address potential questions about the state of the roads and parking lots at the site. Some PCAs even include assessments of the landscaping. As you might expect, the consultant will look at the condition of the walls, foundation, and roof, too.

Loans

A financial institution will want an assessment of any property that's expected to serve as collateral for a loan. They'll need a report about the property to help a loan officer determine if the real estate in question is sufficient. Likewise, they'll want to know what potential problem areas could devalue the collateral property so they can keep an eye on it as both the property and loan age.

Planning for Renovations

Even if you're not dealing with anything financial involving property, you may simply need to know what you're up against before you start remodeling work. A property condition assessment will identify trouble areas, and it can also point you toward problems that may require more intense inspections by licensed professionals. For example, a PCA might find leaks coming from the roof of the structure, and you can then have a commercial roofing contractor conduct a closer inspection.

Compliance

Although a PCA is almost never sufficient as a compliance report, it can provide a starting point for finding potential regulatory violations or issues on a property. Like with remodeling efforts, you'll have to pass any concerns on to an appropriately licensed inspector. For example, a PCA might show there are concerns about the fire stops in a building. You can then have an inspector go beyond what the PCA says and help you bring the building up to code.

Liability

In many instances, you need to know what your legal exposure is if a building has problems. The PCA will go into your lawyer's records as proof of what you knew if any lawsuits might emerge later.


Share