Your development project is substantially complete. Much has been accomplished and cleaned-up and you are feeling good. Construction staging areas have been removed, the general contractor and his/her small army of subs are no longer on site, and tenants are opening, residents are moving in. However, there are documents and files everywhere, both paper and electronic. Do you need all of this information? Does someone else need this information? What do you do with all of these docs?
This assignment requires you to think through what documents you should have at the end of a development project and why you (or someone in your organization) needs them. Much like the accounting aspects of a development project, final close-out and documentation is often missed in terms of importance. This assignment requires the following:
Identify what documents the developer should have at the end of a development project:
Discuss why these document are important?
Where should they be kept?
Do you need paper copies or are electronic copies sufficient?
Which department in your organization needs them and why?
A couple questions to keep in mind as you prepare this assignment?
If the partnership which owns your property were audited by the IRS, what might they ask to see?
What might your current or future permanent lender ask to see?
What might a future buyer ask for?
What might your property management company need in the future?
What might your second generation of tenants need in the future?
