Due Diligence Real Estate Firm Offers Environmental Site Assessment

A Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment (Phase 1 Environmental) is the first step in performing environmental due diligence.

Santa Clarita, CA (prHWY.com) June 20, 2012 - Pasadena, CA (May 24, 2012) - Property Condition Assessments, LLC (PCA), a due diligence real estate firm, is offering Phase 1 environmental site assessment for investors involved in commercial real estate transactions.

Due Diligence is the process of investigating a property before signing any agreement or contract. A Phase 1 Environmental Site Assessment (Phase 1 Environmental) is the first step in performing environmental due diligence.

Due diligence for real estate investors is very important, especially when it comes to environmental concerns. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has the power to compel owners of property to clean up contaminated sites, even if the current property owner did not create the problem.

In 1980 the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) was established to create a trust fund for cleaning up sites where no responsible party could be found. Commonly known as The Superfund, the funding comes from taxes imposed on the chemical and petroleum industries.

However, the EPA is going to look very hard for someone to be responsible. Under the rules of CERCLA, Strict Liability can be assigned to property owners. Strict Liability requires them to clean up hazardous substances at any property they own or operate, or had owned or operated in the past. In other words, property owners can be held liable for cleanup costs based on property ownership alone.

The way for commercial real estate investors to protect themselves is to have a Phase 1 Environmental. The EPA will not hold them liable if the property owner can show that they "did not know and had no reason to know" before they purchased the property, that it was contaminated.

By having an environmental site assessment done in accordance with the standards and specific reporting requirements under the CERCLA by experts like the PCA before the property is purchased, investors can protect themselves from major liabilities.

About Property Condition Assessments, LLC

Property Condition Assessments, LLC (PCA) is an architectural and engineering consulting and due diligence real estate firm operating out of their headquarters in Pasadena, California with regional offices in Baltimore, MD and Atlanta, GA. PCA's sole focus is providing architectural and engineering due diligence services. PCA's senior-level professionals have over 20 years of multidisciplined experience in the commercial real estate marketplace. To learn more about due diligence and PCA visit their site www.pcallc.com today.

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Tag Words: due diligence real estate

Categories: Real Estate

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