Quality of Depreciation Reports

Not all Depreciation Reports are created equal

By Richard Shatto April 2013

At this year's 2013 Vancouver BuildEX Conference I had a chance to talk to a number of firms who were offering Depreciation Reports. After a few conversations it became clear each was attracted to the business for different reasons. Some had been in the strata business for some time, understood the nature of buildings and believed in the need for the reports. They seemed serious about offering a service that would stand the test of time. Others, unfortunately, were obviously in it because they had seen an opportunity to make some quick profits and had decided to jump on it.

Understandably, with all BC strata's required to have a depreciation report by December 2013, the clock is quickly ticking. Such deadlines are like blood in the water and inevitably sharks begin to circle. One group I spoke to, founded by a group of lawyers, had obviously seen the business opportunity. They had hired some junior engineers and had developed their "marketing machine". Their business plan was to quickly pump out as many depreciation reports as they possibly could at the lowest possible price. Clearly, though they talked quality, they were selling price.

But, like virtually all things in business and life, we tend to get what we pay for – and consulting is no exception.

There are three main variables that need to be considered when making any purchase: Price, Quality and Service and it's important to decide where you stand on the balance between the three. And, as noted above, not all consultants and consulting firms are the same, so keeping in mind the number of people depreciation reports affect and the long-term repercussions they have, you need to choose carefully for your strata's needs.

You may be in a strata that decides a report without all the bells and whistles is okay, though at a minimum, you should be looking for a study that provides quality building data and an analysis that will stand the test of time. Whatever your criteria, communicate these preferences and don’t be afraid to have a discussion on intelligent ways to get what you need.

Definitely be wary of companies promising you champagne on what is obviously a budget for beer. Price, Quality and Service are always related. If you are considering a company that has given you a low price, no matter what their qualifications, ask yourself what is being sacrificed? What factors are being limited? Is there a quantity of time? Is it type or quality of analysis? Is it inspection data? What are they limiting that could lower the quality of the service? Perhaps the building inspection be limited to a walk-about or the data analysis will be database look-up rather than a professional quantity surveyor's analysis. And, if you do go with the cheapest price you may even sacrifice both quality and service.

Point Nexus is committed to helping our clients find the right balance between Price, Quality and Service. And, to assure you of a truly professional report we don't cut costs on either the inspection process or the data analysis. It it sounds too good to be true, we encourage you to let your common sense be your guide. After all, it is your investment and your decision will affect a lot of people for a long time. 

Depreciation Report Certification

Wait, you're not engineers!?

A question we’re commonly asked about Depreciation Reports is whether they need to be completed by engineers.

The answer is no.

It is certainly true, a certified Engineer’s report will most likely be a part of your final report, but that is along with many other important certified technicians’ audits, inspections and reports. These all compile to make up a full depreciation report.

What about Liability issues?

For information that needs an official stamp and certification, we bring in the professionals. Our team uses engineers, quantity surveyors, as well as many more technical experts who provide their information. Teamwork is the key and that’s exactly the approach the BC Government which is responsible for mandating these reports, assumed would be happening.

The point of the Depreciation Reports is that owners have a clearly written document that properly and accurately communicates important information about your building. And, as building and communications experts, we do that exceptionally well. We’ll produce a factual, properly certified report that is clearly written, easy to understand and simple to navigate, as well as easily update-able in three years.

The bottom line is, you need a report that has all the certified information required to keep your building maintained and updated to protect your property investment. Please don’t hesitate to hire Point Nexus Consulting to get that. 

We understand buildings... and we'll help you understand yours. Hire us and we’ll make things perfectly clear.

Depreciation Report Obsolescence

Why many depreciation reports are immediately obsolete.

Richard Shatto April 2013

Inspection-Deficient Depreciation Reports:  Many depreciation reports are either completed now or in process. Unfortunately, many condo-owners may still be vulnerable to many unknown and possibly high-cost repairs. That's because depreciation report producers are not all recommending an actual "building inspection" to complete the reports. Instead, engineers and appraisers are doing a superficial  walk-around-the-property which is inadequate and then merely reporting on what they determine from review. To fill in gaps, they then go back to their offices and within minutes, can "look-up" and insert generic data from national building statistics databases which make "assumptions" about the building. These database insertions serve to merely "ball-park" the condition of your building.



Future Problems: Unfortunately, any specific building issues that are there and could have been found in an actual inspection will not be, but could (and probably will) eventually come home to roost and cost unsuspecting owners a bundles of money...far more than the few thousand dollar cost for a legitimate inspection.

Point Nexus does full building inspections for its depreciation reports. We can also do a building inspection as an add-on to existing depreciation reports, but that frankly is rather backwards. So, though an up-front building inspection will cost a little more, it could save tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars in the future. We believe it's definitely worth it and it's what the depreciation reports were intended to do.



Point Nexus provides a combination specialized disciplines with professional partners to first inspect your building and then produce high quality, readable reports. You can have confidence because we are:

• Experienced Professionals: Providing management for building inspections and assessments using professional vendors such as engineers, real estate appraisers, mechanical technicians and quantity surveyors, each professionally certified for quality work. 
• Construction Experts: Providing construction, remodeling and remediation services for commercial and residential strata buildings. Our staff also provides high level committee leadership for business and political associations related to the Building, Planning, Development and Remediation.
• Professional Writers: We have years of strategic business management experience authoring professional project reports, strategic plans, presentations and proposals.

A Team Approach: We assemble a team of in-house and external professionals including: structural engineering firms, a quantity surveyor (for the number crunching), a team of technical service firms for the variety of building systems. We are also able to partner with a Canadian Acceptance firm to help finance strata owners.



If you would like to reduce your risk, control your future expenses and have that important piece of mind, contact us to arrange a no-obligation discussion.