How Do Commercial Real Estate Investors Capture Accurate Site Data?

How Do Commercial Real Estate Investors Capture Accurate Site Data?

In recent years, the commercial real estate industry has experienced significant transformations driven by advancements in technology. These changes have revolutionized the way investors approach commercial real estate deals, ushering in a new era of opportunities. To keep up with the evolving landscape, CRE professionals now recognize the value of leveraging expertise and collaboration to access innovations that were previously challenging to obtain internally. One such innovation is the availability of accurate as-built drawings through collaboration with experts. By embracing a technology-driven approach, CRE investors and their representatives can enhance project efficiency and effectiveness. Incorporating cutting-edge 3D laser scanning technology allows owners and their representatives to optimize cost management, asset maintenance, and security measures while reducing expenses associated with change orders and rework.

“In an industry with a ton of opportunities and risks baked into every deal, reducing risk through a cost-effective 3D laser scanning service like Existing Conditions is an easy decision to make. For a nominal amount of money, CRE teams can start from an accurate, mutual point of departure,” said Jared Curtis, President of Existing Conditions.

“Whether you’re working with hundreds of apartments, or hundreds of thousands of leasable square feet, having accurate measurements matters – a lot. Existing Conditions help professionals in CRE operate with confidence. Existing Conditions help CRE professionals make smart decisions based on accurate data.”

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Commercial Real Estate Due Diligence

When it comes to purchasing commercial real estate properties, due diligence is a period of time when investors readily need accurate information at their fingertips. One wrong move can cost time and money. That’s why it’s important to have laser-accurate measurements of your building available as the basis for smart decisions. When a professional obtains measurements using a 3D laser scanner, they have access to detailed information. Data points can be captured at a rate of millions per second using state-of-the-art 3D laser scanners. Laser scanning is not subject to human error and provides more accurate measurements (down to millimeters) than tape measures or hand-held devices. In addition to being quick, safe, and non-intrusive, laser scanning minimizes or eliminates the need for client inconvenience.

Three-dimensional representations of existing space within the scanner's line of sight can be created by stitching together the data and a building owner can add more elements to the model and deliverables later, without ever having to return to the site. And that’s good news for the commercial real estate industry.

“The commercial real estate industry benefits so much from an accurate set of building documentation and BIM. By sending Existing Conditions out to the field, CRE professionals can devote their time to what they do best. They don’t need to worry that their leasing square footages or marketing materials are inaccurate or subpar. They can have complete situational awareness of an asset without having to spend days traveling and out on site,” stated Existing Conditions President Jared Curtis.

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Utilizing Building Information Modeling (BIM) to Stay Accurate

BIM stands for Building Information Modeling, but it's much more than that. There are many industries and businesses that use BIM software, as well as government agencies. BIM is used to plan, design, construct, operate, and maintain not only buildings, but also water, refuse, electricity, gas, communication utilities, roads, railways, bridges, ports, and tunnels.

In the commercial real estate sector, BIM use helps architects, engineers, builders, and owners to manage building data throughout the entire lifecycle of the building. This information can provide accurate spatial relationships, square footage, manufacturer details, as well as geographic information about a building. In addition, users have access to multiple layers of data by embedding a point cloud in the model.

Essentially, BIM involves creating and maintaining digital representations of physical and functional characteristics of spaces through the use of various tools and technology. A building information model (BIM) is a computer file containing information about an as-built asset that can be extracted, exchanged, or networked to enhance decision-making.

The process for scanning and modeling remains consistent regardless of the project size, making it accessible to all CRE professionals. The beauty of this approach is that CRE experts don't necessarily need to become experts in BIM themselves to reap its benefits. Instead, they can collaborate with BIM specialists who possess the necessary expertise to create accurate models. This collaboration allows CRE professionals to leverage BIM as a powerful risk mitigation tool, enhancing their decision-making process and optimizing project outcomes.

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Mitigating Risk With Accurate As-Built Data

A recent report from CoConstruct states that the amount of change orders in the building construction sector are decreasing drastically and that’s mainly due to advanced technology-driven construction and building management. When industry professionals speak of change orders what they are referring to is an order that changes the contractor's scope of work. Change orders occur for various reasons and one major reason is data inaccuracy.

Most people are aware of the direct and indirect costs of building construction and renovation. However, consequential costs are often missed. There are also cases of people miscalculating their direct costs, leading to change orders. There might be a project cost increase due to a simple miscalculation, so having proper measurements in hand is extremely important. 3D laser scanning and BIM modeling offer you a digital twin to your building, which provides stakeholders with accurate information at the time of the scan.

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Partner With the Industry Leader in 3D Laser Scanning

For professionals, 3D laser scanning can mitigate many risks throughout the project lifecycle. The foundation of every project is accurate existing conditions. Building a foundation with high quality standards gives our clients a competitive advantage. It helps improve stakeholder relationships, keeps project teams aligned through real-time mutual information access, it saves money by reducing costly change orders, it reduces trips to the jobsite reducing safety risk, and helps reduce project delays and interruptions.

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At Existing Conditions, we view our work with you as a collaboration. We do not have customers–we have clients. That means we do not look for one-time transactions. Instead, we look to grow a long-standing relationship with each individual client, ensuring that your success is our success. We are here to help in any way we can throughout the course of the project, and the next one. Our goal is to become your go-to source for creating accurate existing conditions documentation.

“Since we started Existing Conditions, we've gotten busier and busier each and every year. It makes for an exciting work environment. We get to capture high-profile projects, work with the best architects, real estate developers, and owners in the country. I wouldn’t trade it for the world,” said Kurt Yeghian, Existing Conditions founder and CEO.

Our 3D Laser Scanning and Drone Survey Services include:

• As-Built Building Documentation
• 2D CAD Drawings
• 3D Building Information Models
• 3D Laser Scanning
• Drone Surveys
• And more
  
  

Existing Conditions 3D Laser Scanning Services

With 27 years of experience, Existing Conditions is renowned for accurate as-built drawings, existing condition surveys, 3D laser scanning, and drone imaging, supporting some of the most iconic projects in the United States. Now, as part of GPRS, the nation’s leader in Intelligently Visualizing the Built World®, we can deliver additional services faster and with greater support. Wherever your project is located, trust the combined expertise of GPRS and Existing Conditions to deliver the data you need—quickly and reliably.