Frequently Asked Questions

It is perhaps the single most important question to ask your provider, as history of claims equates to a history of mistakes. PCA has not had a professional liability claim in over 18 years, and we won that claim. We venture there is not another due diligence provider with PCA’s longevity and history of complex transactions that can come anywhere close to our record.

Yes. The vast majority of due diligence providers (95% or more) are owned and managed by environmental engineers, not building professionals with an intimate understanding of architectural, engineering, construction, and asset/property management. Buildings are exceptionally complex and mistakes in underwriting are costly – often representing the difference between investment success or failure. You should never place your trust and liability exposure in the hands of a firm with a leadership team that does not have the skills to protect your interests.

Ideally, it is prudent to budget 15 business days from start to finish. PCA can typically be onsite within 2-3 business days from authorization to proceed and will provide an oral report of preliminary findings upon completion of the site visit. A complete draft report and deficiency corrective costs can typically be provided within 5-7 days of the site visit. Final reports are usually delivered within 2 business days, from receipt of final client comments.

PCA will always work to your transaction schedule, as we understand the difference between winning and losing a transaction often depends on your ability to close faster than your competition. Furthermore, PCA’s superior technical expertise and experience working under accelerated timeframes ensures that you will receive reliable information that will allow you to assess your risk exposure and move forward with confidence.

Cost depends on the type of transaction, age, size, and complexity of a project, as well as the scopes of services included in an engagement. More complex projects require greater due diligence, while less sophisticated assets may not require specialized professional expertise and associated scopes. At PCA, we always tailor our scopes of services to ensure proper matching of liability with prudent application of professional resources and scoping. As every engagement is different, it is not possible to provide standardized pricing, but you can be assured that PCA will offer lump-sum pricing offering the best expertise and value proposition available.

Prudent due diligence starts with selecting the right provider for your particular transaction. A lender-focused assessment does not require as much architectural and engineer expertise as an equity-level, pre-purchase transaction, as lenders have a borrower’s equity as a cushion to protect against underwriting mistakes. Conversely, investors have first-dollar-loss exposure if they make a mistake in underwriting. However, given the greater liability exposure in an acquisition transaction, lender-focused providers almost without exception propose the same scope they provide their lender clientele. PCA is an equity-focused provider that specializes in due diligence for acquisitions/dispositions transactions. The following table shows the typical differences between proposed scopes from PCA and a typical lender provider.

The first thing to look at is pricing, if there is a significant (20%-50% or more) disparity in pricing, you can be assured that you have not received “apples to apples” staffing and/or scopes of services.

Second, make a detailed comparison of differences in proposed scopes. Lender due diligence is a commodity product focused on providing the “baseline” ASTM scope. It does not take much professional talent/expertise to produce these reports, as every report is formula-based to keep total deficiency costs identified under the lender’s artificially low replacement reserve underwriting cost thresholds.

Pre-acquisition transactions typically require specialized scopes beyond the baseline ASTM standards (e.g., structural, cladding/curtain wall, roofing, MEP, fire/life safety, and elevator/escalator assessments), as well of review of system capacities, adequacies, and code compliance (all of which are excluded from the ASTM baseline scope) that should be performed by highly trained professionals with extensive specialized expertise and training, which comes at a much higher cost.

Third, verify the number of proposed professionals assigned to your project, and ask for résumé for all proposed team members to ensure that you are receiving similar experience and expertise to protect your liability exposure and transaction interests.

Lastly, ask each firm for their history of professional liability claims for errors and omissions lawsuits. A history of claims equates to a history of mistakes, and PCA has not had a professional liability claim in over 18 years, which we won.

No. Condition assessments are not taught at the college level and the only way to learn and become proficient at due-diligence assessments is to spend years learning under the mentorship of other skilled professionals, as property due diligence is a specialized niche within the A&E industry. At PCA, we have developed a rigorous, proprietary training program that includes a combination of online study/training and a year-long, on-site mentorship program. Approximately 85% of the architects and engineers that enter PCA’s training program do not last 90 days. And, unlike other due-diligence providers, PCA will never staff your job with someone who has not met our rigorous training and performance standards.

No. The ASTM standard was developed as a “baseline” assessment standard that was specifically targeted at finance transactions. And, while the ASTM allows for “out-of-scope” items that can be added for other transaction types, such as acquisitions, it specifically excludes important items like determination of system capacities, and adequacies, code, and regulatory compliance (federal/state/local), and identification of recalled building materials. For these reasons, you should never accept a baseline ASTM standard for an acquisition transaction, and always verify that the contract you execute includes out-of-scope items that are appropriate to the complexity and level of risk associated with your transaction.

• PCA’s senior management team members were part of a small handful of architectural and engineering professionals that pioneered the concept of specialized due diligence for real estate transactions, long before the ASTM standards were established. Later these professionals were part of the original task force teams that created ASTM standards for Property Condition Assessments and Phase I Environmental Site Assessments.
• Since that time, choosing not to focus on lower-tier debt-related transactions, PCA has set the industry standard for equity-level condition assessment services for pre-acquisition/disposition transactions throughout the U.S.
• PCA’s management team and professional staff are comprised of real estate, architectural and engineering, and construction professionals with extensive client-side experience. We understand your transaction objectives and focus our services on providing clear and actionable recommendations to help you avoid mistakes and maximize return on investment.
• PCA is a long-term-relationship-oriented firm with a solid-gold reputation for exceptional customer service, and on-time delivery of consistently high-quality reporting, regardless of property type, geographic location, and available time to complete due diligence.
• PCA is a 24-7 organization that is dedicated to always being available when you need us, as we understand that transactions don’t fall into a neat 9-5 box.
• PCA stands behind the accuracy of its reporting and the entire organization is focused on providing the information you need to make informed, actionable decisions to limit your liability and maximize your return on investment.
• PCA has not had a professional liability claim in over 18 years, which we won; this is a record no other firm with PCA’s longevity serving the due diligence marketplace can assert. Accordingly, you can select PCA with the full confidence of knowing you are working with a company that has the experience necessary to protect your interests in a transaction.