The objective of a Property Condition Assessment (PCA) is to assess and report on the physical condition of the Property and to provide professional recommendations regarding future issues including financial risk or liability to the client.

According to ASTM E2018, the goal of the PCA is to identify and communicate physical deficiencies to a user. The term physical deficiencies means the presence of conspicuous defects or material deferred maintenance of a subject property’s material systems, components, or equipment as observed during the inspector’s walk-through survey. This definition specifically excludes deficiencies that may be remedied with routine maintenance, miscellaneous minor repairs, normal operating maintenance, etc., and excludes de minimis conditions that generally do not present material physical deficiencies of the Property.

The building inspector will opine on the expected useful life (EUL) and remaining useful life (RUL) of each major system. The EUL is the average amount of time in years that an item, component or system is estimated to function when installed new and assuming routine maintenance is practiced.  The RUL is a subjective estimate (based upon observations, or average estimates of similar items, components, or systems, or a combination thereof) of the number of remaining years that an item, component, or system is estimated to be able to function in accordance with its intended purpose before warranting replacement.

The property condition assessment includes:

• Site and Grounds

  • Pavement, curbs, loading docks, walks, landscaping, irrigation, site drainage, exterior lighting, walls, fencing/railings, signage and exterior amenities.

• Structural Systems

  • Foundations and structural framing of walls, columns, intermediate floors and roofs.

• Building Envelope

  • Roofing systems, exterior finishes, stairs and steps, exterior doors and windows.

• Interior Building Components

  • Interior finishes of common areas and tenant areas.

• Mechanical Systems

  • Property-owned electrical, heating ventilation/ air conditioning, plumbing and conveyance systems.

• Safety and Code Compliance

  • Life safety, fire suppression systems, and general visual review of property compliance to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  GuideWire services include contacting the local building, zoning, and fire department / authorities to identify any currently outstanding building or fire code violations at the subject property.

• The PCA is a Walk-Through Survey. Users are wise to appreciate that many building deficiencies are hard to find in a walk through survey.  If the user is not comfortable with such limitations, they should ask for a more comprehensive inspection including sub-specialists such as an MEP engineer, a structural engineer, roof inspector, ADA specialist, etc.