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Affordable Residential Communities Case Study
Affordable Residential Communities (ARC) is a publicly traded REIT that owns and operates approximately 70,000 home site locations within 340 communities in 31 states. ARC is a fully integrated, self-administered, self-managed equity real estate investment trust (REIT) focused on the acquisition, renovation, repositioning and operation of primarily manufactured home communities with headquarters in Denver, Colorado.
In one acquisition project, ARC acquired 187 properties in 23 different states and contacted MKAssociates, Inc. (MKA) to obtain the surveys. Our challenge was to locate and contract the different local surveyors that would be needed to complete the surveys in a thirty day time frame, tract title for all 187 properties, coordinate the survey process, provide weekly status reports on the stage of completion for each individual survey, graphically review the surveys to make sure that they all addressed the standard ALTA/ACSM Land Survey Title requirements and the additional requirements established by the acquisition staff, manage the distribution of completed surveys to all parties involved in the sale, provide a channel for survey objections, and manage the final distribution of all of the surveys to the appropriate parties.
As is our practice, MKA's contracting department immediately set about acquiring competitive bids for each survey, using our extensive nationwide database of qualified professional land surveyors as a source. With each site, we acquired 10 to 15 bids and qualifications from local surveyors. Where possible, we also attempted to encourage local surveyors to bid on a package of sites which can frequently reduce the survey cost. In less than a week, MKA was able to provide ARC a proposal for all the surveys they were requiring, and was able to commence the project within hours of receiving the executed contract.
Our Project Management team took over the project upon completion of the contracting phase. The first order of business was to begin ensuring that all of the local surveyors had the title documents necessary to complete the survey and full instructions in what was expected of them. Surveyors were required to report once a week on their progress. MKA stayed in close touch during the week to make sure they were on schedule. Subsequently, the Project Manager provided to ARC a status report each Friday, keeping them apprised of the progress of each survey.
As surveys were completed and before they were sent to the parties involved in the transaction, the MKA production staff set about graphically reviewing each survey for errors and readability, as well as ensuring that the survey met ALTA/ACSM standards, MKA's standards and the requirements set by the client and their lenders.
Because this particular project occurred during the winter months, bad weather played a factor in many areas of the country. MKA watched the progress of each survey carefully and provided guidance when needed to try to keep all surveyors focused on the deadlines set by the closing dates. All surveys were delivered by the contracted due dates or before. This gave all parties involved in this transaction the time they needed to complete their review within the due diligence period.
As the due diligence process came to a close, MKA consolidated comments from all parties involved in the transaction and sent them on to the local surveyors to finalize the surveys. The Project Manager was then responsible to make certain that the local surveyors returned the finalized surveys quickly. Upon receipt of the final surveys, they were distributed to the appropriate party prior to closing. MKA's Project Manager attended the settlement in New York City and assisted in last minute decisions that required adjustments in legal descriptions and final touches to the surveys.
Overall, the team at MKA saved the client, ARC manpower, time and money by handling the entire survey process. We delivered the completed surveys meeting all the requirements that were requested within the required time frame and on budget.
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