Branchburg, New Jersey

908-752-3735

Oak Ridge Engineering specializes in professional engineering and inspection services for commercial real estate, investment, mortgage lending, relocation, construction, and regulatory compliance.

The Commercial Due Diligence Suite of Services

1. Property Condition Assessment (PCA)

Whether you are buying commercial property, selling commercial property, or lending for a commercial transaction, having a clear and unambiguous assessment - from an unbiased, licensed professional - of the property's physical characteristics, performance, and history is crucial in getting a fair deal.

Our team of professionals can provided the complete suite of real estate due diligence engineering services for commercial transactions:

Professional Engineering Services for Commercial Facilities

We provide:

• Rooftop support calculations
• Bar joist and roof reinforcement design
• Engineering for building envelope changes and modifications
• Site plans and drainage design
• Water treatment design
• Effluent treatment design
• Site plan and utility engineering support
• Boiler room, HVAC, and mechanical systems design

2. Phase 1 Environmental Assessment (or ESA, Environmental Site Assessment)

3. Cost Segregation Study

We conduct property condition assessments in accordance with ASTM 2018 and NABIE standards of practice. We cover:

The Phase 1 Environmental Assessment (or ESA, for Environmental Site Assessment), is another key piece of real estate due diligence. We perform our Phase 1 assessments to ASTM E1527 standards of practice (although we also perform Phase 1 Assessments for Child Care Facilites per NJDEP and DHSS standards, and the Small Business Administration (SBA) Standard Operating Procedure SOP 50-10(5) for type 7A and 504 loans). Key elements of the Phase 1 include:

A wholly underutilized and underappreciated section of the IRS tax code allows for accelerated depreciation for certain assets gained in a real estate transaction. The Cost Segregation Study (CSS) is the supporting document that your accountant will file with the IRS to realize this depreciation savings.

Example:

Documentation Review and Site Personnel Interviews
Walk-Through Survey
Preparations of Opinions of Probable Costs to Remedy Physical Deficiencies
Structural assessments
Property Condition Report

The following areas are covered:

• Site, drainage, and grading
• Foundations, footings, flatwork
• Structural and building elements
• HVAC and Mechanical Systems
• Plumbing
• Electrical service
• Exterior finishes and elements
• Interior finishes and elements
• Roofing systems
• Regulatory compliance
• Safety issues and features
• Parking and site plan elements

• Stakeholder interviews
• Site inspection
• Chain of title history (typically back to the time of the site's orignal naturally vegetated state)
• Site operating history
• Site construction and environmental permit histories
• Site hazards history
• Environmental database searches
• Site groundwater and geological conditions
• Sanborn fire map search
• Aerial photography history
• Search of historical topographic maps
• Log of emergency response incidents (fires, spills, etc)
• NJDEP and EPA incident histories
• Conclusions, including identification of areas of concern (AOC), and recommendations for further action

1. Property Condition Assessment (PCA)
2. Phase 1 Environmental Assessment (or ESA, Environmental Site Assessment)
3. Cost Segregation Study (CSS)

A recent $6 million commercial real estate purchase netted an additional first-year depreciation tax relief of $68,000.

Buildings that normally benefit from a CSS include warehouses, office buildings, apartment complexes, hotels, commercial sites (shopping malls),
restaurants, service stations, sports facilities, recreation facilities, nursing and rehabilitative care centers, manufacturing sites, factories, casinos, supermarkets, and retail properties.

If you are buying commercial real estate, it benefits you to know about cost segregation studies.