Property condition assessments to ASTM E2018
A property condition assessment for lending, acquisition and portfolio diligence, prepared to ASTM E2018. Immediate repairs and short-term costs over the evaluation period you set, each priced at current local installed cost, each with its basis stated.
What you receive
A walkthrough survey of every building in scope, a component inventory with condition and remaining service life, and two cost tables: immediate repairs and short-term costs across the evaluation period. Each opinion of probable cost states what it rests on - a contractor quote, a published cost table, our own recorded cost, or the assessor’s estimate - because a figure with no stated basis is the first one your engineer takes apart.
- Immediate repairs, separately tabled
- Short-term costs over the evaluation period you specify
- Opinions of probable cost with the basis named on every line
- A document review and interview record, attributed
- A screening-level accessibility observation, identified as a screen
- Deviations from the guide, stated rather than omitted
Prepared to ASTM E2018
E2018 is the guide for property condition assessments in commercial real estate transactions. It sets what a walkthrough survey covers, how documents and interviews are recorded and attributed, how opinions of probable cost are framed, and that deviations from the guide are disclosed rather than left implied. We prepare to it and we say where we depart from it.
- Walkthrough survey scope per the guide
- Document review and interviews recorded with attribution
- Immediate and short-term opinions of probable cost
- Accessibility observed at screening level, never presented as a survey
- Reliance and deviations stated in the document
Built for a closing date
The assessment is produced by the same engine that runs our reserve and facility work, which is why the turnaround is measured against your date rather than a queue. Field capture is digital and the document is generated from the record, so there is no transcription step between what the assessor saw and what you read.
- Scheduled against your closing, not a backlog
- Field observations captured on site, not rewritten afterwards
- Photographs tied to the finding they evidence
Who this is for
Lenders and their counsel, acquirers running pre-close diligence, insurers underwriting a schedule of locations, and owners assembling a portfolio position. If you need a figure you can defend to a credit committee rather than a narrative, this is the deliverable.
- Commercial lenders and loan servicers
- Acquisition and portfolio diligence
- Insurance underwriting and schedule review
- Owners preparing for a refinance or sale
Questions we are asked
What is a property condition assessment?
A property condition assessment is a walkthrough survey of a commercial building that reports its physical condition, the repairs needed immediately, and the costs expected over a short-term evaluation period. It is prepared for a lender, acquirer or owner during a transaction, and ASTM E2018 is the guide that sets its scope.
What is the difference between a PCA and a facility condition assessment?
A property condition assessment is prepared for a transaction and leads with immediate and short-term repair costs over an evaluation period, following ASTM E2018. A facility condition assessment is prepared for an owner planning capital over many years and leads with a condition index and a deferred maintenance backlog. The field work and the cost data are the same; the window and the leading figure differ.
What does ASTM E2018 require?
ASTM E2018 sets the scope of a walkthrough survey, requires that document review and interviews be recorded with attribution, frames repair costs as opinions of probable cost split into immediate and short-term, expects accessibility to be observed at a screening level rather than surveyed, and requires that any deviation from the guide be stated in the report.
How long does a property condition assessment take?
Scheduling is set against the closing date rather than a queue. Field observations are captured digitally on site and the report is generated from that record, so there is no transcription step between the survey and the delivered document.
Does a property condition assessment include an ADA survey?
No. ASTM E2018 expects a screening-level accessibility observation and explicitly excludes a full accessibility survey. The report states that what was performed was a screen, so the distinction is visible to anyone relying on it.
Assessing buildings you own rather than financing
If you are a city, county, school district or facility owner planning capital across a portfolio, the owner-side deliverable leads with a condition index and a priced maintenance backlog instead. See facility condition assessments.
Request a scoped fee
Tell us the buildings, the evaluation period and your closing date, and we will come back with a scoped fee.