What is a Pre-Acquisition Survey?

Making the decision to lease or invest in a building can be a big undertaking. There are a lot of factors to take into consideration when deciding if this pursuit is likely to be a sound investment.

One essential step to alleviate stress and understand your obligations is to get a pre-acquisition survey.

Purpose of a Pre- Acquisition Survey

If you’re looking to invest in or lease a property, building surveys are essential to analyse the conditions, risks and liabilities associated with the property. A pre-acquisition survey is an important part of the due diligence process, helping you to make an informed decision before purchasing or investing in a property.

It is one of the best ways for a potential buyer or investor to get critical information on the state of a building.

Benefits of Pre-Acquisition Survey

A pre-acquisition survey has the potential to pay for itself many times over. By getting this in depth survey done, a potential buyer gets critical knowledge on the condition of a building, with all present and potential problems being highlighted.

This information can be essential at the beginning to help negotiate a better purchasing deal. It can also help to put a long-term plan into place to mitigate liability at the end of a lease or if the buyer decides to sell the building at a later point in the future.

The survey can also give estimates on the life cycle costs of a building, advice on refurbishments or improvements and repair obligations.

Other Considerations

It’s also important to get a realistic view of any potential problems a buyer may face before making the actual purchase. Finding a qualified and highly professional building survey company can help a buyer be aware of statuary compliance matters. The survey can also advise on any special tests that should be carried out.

Such tests may be for asbestos, deleterious materials and any potential land contamination issues. Up to date fire code compliance, building regulation codes and zoning and planning codes are all factors to take into account as well.

Have a Plan

After you get the results of your survey, it’s important to create an action plan of your next steps. Were there areas of the survey that were of particular concern to you? Was information presented to you that may lead you to believe you will have some significant cost expenditures within the next two years?

Start writing down any and all questions straight away. This will help keep your mind clear so you can move forward in the best manner possible. Keeping the information clear and concise in your head will allow you the best chance of trying to negotiate a better deal or taking clear steps towards understanding a concern better.

Don’t try to cut corners when it comes to evaluating a property. Get as much knowledge as you can about the building you are looking to take on and ensure you have a good understanding of what the future holds for it.

In that way you can move forward with your decision and feel confident you are making a sound investment.