AEI is pleased to share the recently published User Guide for Property Condition Assessments (PCAs). The User Guide was created by a committee of industry experts from the National Engineering and Environmental Due Diligence Association (NEEDDA) and is intended to serve as a resource to the community of clients who utilize PCAs but may not have access to the ASTM standard. The Guide outlines client responsibilities, fundamental principles of the ASTM standard, limitations and out of scope ... [Continue Reading]
How Congress and Florida are Attempting to Redefine ADA Compliance and Litigation in 2018
Since July 26,1990, our country has been struggling with the goals and aspirations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Every day, architects, interior designers, engineers, and property managers are making decisions intended to improve the overall accessibility of the environment. In 2018, both Florida and Congress are taking steps to enact legislation aimed at re-setting the way that our country settles issues related to ADA non-compliance. As an architect myself, I have completed ... [Continue Reading]
Latest omnibus package more than doubles the EPA brownfield program and bumps up development investment
Recently, President Trump signed the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018, better known as the 2018 omnibus bill, into law. The policy impact of this omnibus bill will be felt for many years to come. Congress accepted the administration’s push for redeveloping brownfields, cleaning up Superfund sites and improving water infrastructure. All three focus areas are clear winners in an omnibus bill. The Brownfields Utilization, Investment, and Local Development Act of 2018, or the 2018 BUILD ... [Continue Reading]
CLIENT ALERT: California Energy Commission Mandates AB 802
Benchmarking regulations have been updated in California, affecting commercial and multifamily properties. Building Energy Use Disclosure and Public Benchmarking Program mandated under Assembly Bill 802 was enacted beginning March 1, 2018. Highlights: The following covered buildings in California will be required to disclose their building(s) Energy Star score by utilizing Energy Star Portfolio Manager (ESPM) annually: A covered building of any property type defined by ENERGY STAR ... [Continue Reading]
AEI Consultants Makes Inc. Magazine’s 5000 Fastest Growing Companies in America
AEI Consultants is Pre-Qualified to provide High Performance Building (HPB) Reports to Fannie Mae
AEI Consultants is proud to announce its pre-qualification with Fannie Mae for providing High Performance Building (HPB) reports. AEI can help lenders lock in rates with a much faster turn time. On May 22, 2017, Fannie Mae increased delegation to lenders to improve the speed and processing of Green Mortgage Loans. When using a pre-qualified vendor, like AEI Consultants, Fannie Mae lenders will review and score reports without being required to send them to Fannie Mae for additional ... [Continue Reading]
AEI Consultants Announces 25 Years In Business
AEI Consultants, founded in 1992, is pleased to be celebrating 25 years in business. Twenty-five years ago, our founder, Craig Hertz, started All Environmental, Inc. (AEI) out of his garage in Lafayette, California with his first employee, Dusty Roy, who remains on staff today. AEI’s first projects were underground storage tank (UST) removals, and they rapidly grew the firm’s services to include Phase I and Phase II Environmental Site Assessments. As the result of a major client encouraging ... [Continue Reading]
Client Alert: Environmental Site Assessment Process for Forestland or Rural Property Standard Changes
The recently released 2016 ASTM Environmental Site Assessment (ESA) Standard Update affects Forestland or Rural Property transactions through changes to the ASTM Standard Guide and Practice E2247 for Forestland or Rural Property. The property need not be contiguous and may contain isolated areas of non-forestland and non-rural property. This practice is intended to provide a more practical approach to assess rural property and forestland properties that are generally uniform in use. While ... [Continue Reading]
CLIENT ALERT: Fannie Mae Green Financing Update
AEI Consultants attended the Fannie Mae Green Financing Conference. Here are some notable highlights and revisions to that program: Delegated lenders (lenders that have submitted eight (8) Green Financing loans) will be required to review future Green Rewards Energy Reports (currently Fannie Mae reviews all of the energy reports). This new process will commence when Fannie Mae announces the new program on or about April 27, 2017. This change reduces the time required between submittal and ... [Continue Reading]
Client Alert: Updated Information for Determining Seismic Studies (PML/SEL/SUL)
What has changed? As of March 1, 2017, the USGS replaced the 2008 NHMSP PSHA Interactive Deaggregation tool for mapping seismic ground motion risk with the Unified Hazard Tool now available for use on the USGS web site. Seismic risk consultants should refer to this new tool at https://earthquake.usgs.gov/hazards/interactive for determining the peak ground acceleration (pga) of a property in performing seismic risk assessment reports for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac lenders. Users may first refer ... [Continue Reading]
