In honor of Valentine’s Day, I thought I’d write about some of the aspects of the facility assessment field that I love…

I love that every building is different and we get to learn something new at nearly every property we visit.

I love working with less experienced, bright eyed and bushy tailed staff that ask questions and don’t pretend to know everything.

I love spontaneously encountering an unusual building deficiency that I’ve already seen at a previous property and then can just copy and paste from a previous report.

I love the unfolding process of arriving at the site knowing virtually nothing about the building systems and then leaving the site a few hours later and knowing virtually everything about how the building works. 

I love magnificently profitable portfolios with their huge economies of scale in which the client is amazed at our velocity and many field staff members get to make a lot of money in a short amount of time.

I love creatively finding more efficient ways to complete the site visit and report preparation process.

I love conducting a rush site visit in another state and completing the report by the time my flight arrives back home.

I love working with friends who are professionals that keep their promises, turn in reports before deadline and don’t complain.

I love returning home to my remarkable and loving wife, son and dogs after a trip.

I love beautifully written reports succinctly discussing comprehensive systems and complex deficiencies.

I love doing a stellar job for appreciative clients. 

I love simplicity and effectiveness of global copy and replace commands.

I love that my wife humors me and doesn’t burst out laughing when I discuss my fascination with roofing or some other technical system that bores her to tears.

I love that I’m able to efficiently receive and send emails while traveling.

I love small town building departments where one helpful local can tell you everything you need to know about building, fire and zoning issues for your property.

I love sailing through airport security in less than five minutes.

I love sleeping in my own comfortable bed after having been away on a business trip.

I love depositing checks from our clients into our business checking account.

I love that PCAs deal in grey areas, not black and whites, and that they are as much an art as a science. 

Sometimes it is easy to get worked up about the unrealistic deadlines, low-balling competitors or outlandish client requests, but today I have nothing but love for the facility assessment.

According to ASTM E2018-08 “Standard Guide for Property Condition Assessments: Baseline Property Condition Assessment Process”, the objective of the PCA is to observe and report on the physical condition of the subject property.  This sounds simple enough, but we’ve all learned that there are numerous factors that influence both the observing and the reporting at any given property.  What is the client’s interest in the property and reason for hiring the consultant to perform a PCA?  Is the property in pre-foreclosure, being acquired, or refinanced?  While the observation methodology at any given property may be generally similar (although generally more detailed in an acquisition), each of these scenarios will greatly influence the reporting and recommendations for a property. 

One of the standard descriptions of purpose that can be found in a typical consulting company’s Property Condition Report (PCR) reads something like this:  “The purpose of the assessment was to observe the general physical condition and maintenance status of a property and to suggest repair or maintenance items for the property to continue in its current operation compared to properties of similar age and condition.”  That last part is obviously very important.  Our job in a standard PCA is not to compare a 40-year old building to the building next to it that was built last year and create a laundry list of renovations/upgrades for our client.  Rather, our job is to compare that 40-year old building to similar buildings built around the same time in the same region and recommend repairs as needed.  That’s why experience is even more valuable than professional licenses in this industry.  This is also the value of mentoring new field staff and sharing our experiences.  We have to know what the similar properties are like in order to compare our subject property with them.  It is a common pitfall of those consultants first learning this field to fail to make that distinction and to recommend inappropriate renovations or upgrades.

Over the past year or two, we have seen an increasing amount of properties that have fallen into disrepair and are in the process of foreclosure.  Vacancies are up, maintenance budgets are down, and the result is poorly maintained facilities that have increased the typical time and effort required to prepare a PCR.  We have seen apartment complexes that haven’t had the budget to repair the piping leaks and all they can do is close down more and more of their units and hope the mold growth doesn’t get too bad.  The challenge is to sift through the data and make sure the important issues such as the roof leaks, settlement issues or trip hazards are highlighted and not to get lost in the details of the rest of the maintenance deficiencies.  To observe and report still sounds easy, but has become more challenging these days.