Three buildings I'd walk away from tomorrow. Three I'd buy this afternoon. After 35 years in building management, the signals that separate good buildings from bad ones are surprisingly consistent — and they have almost nothing to do with location, finishes, or headline yields.
Three I'd Never Buy
1. The building with the "in progress" fire risk assessment
"In progress" means nobody has prioritised it. A building where the most fundamental safety document is perpetually incomplete is a building where compliance is an afterthought. If they can't finish a fire risk assessment, what else is sliding?
2. The building where maintenance records start 18 months ago
A building should have 5+ years of continuous maintenance records. When the records start recently, either the previous management was negligent (and you're inheriting their problems) or the current owner is hiding the history. Neither scenario ends well for the buyer.
3. The building with three property managers in two years
High turnover in building management signals that something is fundamentally wrong — usually an owner who won't spend money on necessary works. The managers leave because they can't do their job properly. The problems they flagged don't go away with their departure.
Three I Would Buy
1. The building with a dedicated, long-serving building manager
A building manager who's been there 5+ years knows every system, every quirk, and every risk. They've built relationships with contractors, tenants, and regulators. That institutional knowledge is worth more than any amount of refurbishment.
2. The building with a digital compliance system
When I can log into a portal and see every inspection date, every certificate expiry, and every maintenance record with timestamps, I know this building is managed by someone who takes compliance seriously. Digital systems don't lie and they don't forget.
3. The building that just completed a major compliance programme
A building that's just finished fire door replacement, EPC upgrades, or cladding remediation is a building where the hard work and the hard spending are done. You're buying at the point of maximum compliance and minimum forward liability.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the most important document to review before buying a building?
The fire risk assessment. It tells you the building's most critical safety risks, the remediation status, and whether management takes compliance seriously. A current, detailed FRA with completed actions is the single best indicator of a well-managed building.
How do I assess building management quality during due diligence?
Three questions: "Can I see the last 3 years of maintenance records?" "When was the last fire risk assessment and what's the remediation status?" "Who is the named responsible person for building safety?" The speed and completeness of the answers tells you everything.
Until next time — keep the evidence closer than the deadline.
Walk into your next senior management meeting with the answers
The free Director's Risk Check for UK portfolios takes five minutes. No sign-up to see your score.
- Your control score across compliance, evidence, oversight, cost and renewals
- The breach exposure in your portfolio, with the official source for each penalty
- A board-ready briefing with your three priorities and a 30/60/90-day plan
About HermanWa
HermanWa is a building compliance and operations platform for property and facilities teams in the United Kingdom and Singapore, with portfolios across the Gulf. It keeps one auditable file per building — statutory deadlines, inspection evidence, contractor work, energy and carbon — and its AI assistant, Herman, answers questions about your buildings in plain English. HermanWa tracks obligations including fire risk assessments and fire door checks, Building Safety Act duties, Legionella (ACOP L8), EICR, gas safety and EPC in the UK, and SCDF fire certificates, Periodic Facade and Structural Inspections, lift permits and Green Mark in Singapore. Directors can check their exposure with the free Director's Risk Check.