Second opinion for questions about real estate?

What is the starting point?

Investments in real estate projects often have major financial implications, and the possibility of influencing costs and risks is greatest at the beginning of a project. The early phase is therefore also the appropriate moment for a critical reflection of the planned project through an independent external assessment.

What are the challenges?

Real estate projects are based on decisions that have a very long-term impact. During the decision-making process often numerous uncertainties arise. The open questions can be manifold and require broad-based experience for their assessment. The following are some examples from our practice:

When determining the optimal utilization of a property, the significance of existing easements or public law restrictions on ownership is underestimated. For example, an existing easement can have serious effects on the permitted development of a property.
The future maintenance and repair costs are not sufficiently taken into account in the planning phase, because the future operation is often not sufficiently in the focus of the design team. For example, an unsuitable choice of facade material results in high maintenance costs during the operation of the building.
When checking and optimizing floor plan typologies, the available wall space might prove to be too small, which severely limits the usability of the rooms (furniture).
In planning processes, public relations work is often underestimated or addressed too late. It has been shown time and again that the early involvement of all relevant stakeholders is crucial to success, for example to prevent delays caused by objections from neighbors.

Which factors influence the success?

The following success factors are important in providing a second opinion:

An independent position of the consultant, free of self-interest, is a basic requirement.
The timing of the second opinion is of central importance. Ideally, it should be obtained at an early stage of the project.
Real estate projects are often associated with emotions and feelings - an objective and differentiated view with the necessary distance is therefore essential.
A holistic view that takes all relevant risks into account is a significant factor in assessing a problem.

How do we proceed?

When assessing your options, it is important that we understand your requirements and goals so that we can take a differentiated perspective. Our specialist knowledge and our many years of real estate and construction experience enable us to look at your problem holistically.

Especially in property development, it is apparent that an assessment of the construction and the cost is not sufficient, as the future rentability and potential interest among investors must also be evaluated at an early stage. We are familiar with the requirements of investors and can therefore competently assess the market potential of your project.

What are your advantages?

You benefit from the following advantages:

At a low cost, you receive an independent second opinion and the certainty of the best possible solution.
Our external perspective enables you to critically reflect on your planned project and identifies previously unrecognized risks.
Our assessment points out opportunities and alternative courses of action.

Our reference projects

In recent years, AREA has provided second opinions on numerous different problems as an independent consultancy. We would be happy to give you the relevant references upon request.

How can we support you with your project?