Real Estate Acquisition Associate

REAL ESTATE ACQUISITION ASSOCIATE The Gaudet Office | Real Estate Investments POSITION PURPOSE The Real Estate Acquisition Associate is responsible for converting properties identified by the Site Scoping Team into fully researched, pre-qualified acquisition opportunities. The Associate will receive a property address and immediately begin the research, ownership identification, preliminary underwriting, due diligence, investment-box analysis, and owner outreach preparation process. The objective is simple: By the time a property reaches leadership, we should know who owns it, what they paid for it, what is on it, what can potentially be done with it, whether it fits our investment criteria, what risks exist, and exactly how we intend to approach the owner. This is not simply a research position. The Associate is expected to develop an investor’s mindset and understand The Gaudet Office’s acquisition criteria well enough to recommend whether an opportunity should Advance, Hold, or Reject. ⸻ 1. PROPERTY INTAKE The Site Scoping Team provides: * Property address * Initial reason the property was identified * Photos/site observations when available * Potential investment strategy when known The Associate creates the property record and begins diligence. Every property must be tracked from: SCOPED → RESEARCHING → DILIGENCE → QUALIFIED → OUTREACH → OWNER CONTACTED → NEGOTIATION → LOI/OFFER → CLOSED / DEAD ⸻ 2. OWNERSHIP INTELLIGENCE The Associate must determine the true ownership and control of the property. Research should include: * Legal owner * Ownership entity * Individual vs. LLC/corporation/trust * Registered agent * Principal/member/manager information when publicly available * Owner mailing address * Business address * Publicly available phone numbers * Publicly available email addresses * Related companies/entities * Date acquired * Purchase price * Deed information * Ownership history * Length of ownership * Related properties owned by the same entity/principal * Portfolio ownership when identifiable If an LLC owns the property, research does not stop at the LLC name. The Associate should use lawful public records and legitimate commercial databases to identify the decision-maker behind the ownership structure where possible. ⸻ 3. PROPERTY DUE DILIGENCE For every property, investigate available information regarding: Property * Parcel/APN * Lot size * Building square footage * Year built * Property type * Current use * Assessed value * Taxable value * Property taxes * Tax status/delinquency * Recorded sales history * Existing improvements * Current occupancy when identifiable Land Use & Development * Current zoning * Future land use * Permitted uses * Density * Height limitations * FAR where applicable * Setbacks * Parking requirements * Overlay districts * Historic restrictions * Flood zone * Opportunity Zone status * Development incentives when applicable * Potential entitlement issues The Associate is expected to identify information requiring confirmation by attorneys, engineers, architects, surveyors, municipalities, title professionals, or other specialists rather than representing preliminary research as professional certification. ⸻ 4. TITLE / ENCUMBRANCE SCREEN Conduct a preliminary public-record review for readily identifiable: * Mortgages * Liens * Judgments * Code enforcement issues * Tax liens * Notices * Foreclosure activity * Easements * Recorded restrictions * Other obvious encumbrances This is a preliminary acquisition screen and does not replace a professional title commitment or legal review. Any issue that could interfere with acquisition or development must be flagged. ⸻ 5. MARKET & FINANCIAL SCREEN The Associate conducts enough preliminary analysis to determine whether additional resources should be spent pursuing the opportunity. Depending upon the asset, this may include: * Recent comparable sales * Price per square foot * Price per acre * Market rents * Existing NOI when available * Estimated cap rate * Development potential * Redevelopment potential * Replacement/value-add opportunity * Nearby development activity * Major public/private investment nearby * Government anchors * Employment anchors * Infrastructure investment * Neighborhood trajectory The goal is not to create final underwriting. The goal is to answer: “Does this property deserve our time and capital?” ⸻ 6. INVESTMENT BOX ANALYSIS The Associate will be trained on The Gaudet Office’s acquisition criteria. Every property must be evaluated against the applicable investment strategy. The Associate must explicitly identify: FITS THE BOX Why the property fits. DOES NOT FIT What criteria it fails. EXCEPTION OPPORTUNITY Why the property deserves consideration despite falling outside normal criteria. Properties should receive an internal recommendation: GREEN — ADVANCE Strong alignment with investment criteria. YELLOW — HOLD / INVESTIGATE Potential opportunity, but additional information or resolution is required. RED — REJECT Does not meet investment criteria or presents unacceptable risk. The Associate must explain the reasoning behind the recommendation. ⸻ 7. OWNER MOTIVATION / SITUATION ANALYSIS Where lawful and supported by legitimate public or commercial information, identify potential indicators relevant to acquisition strategy, including: * Long-term ownership * Absentee ownership * Vacant property * Underutilized property * Tax delinquency * Code violations * Estate/probate ownership * Corporate dissolution * Foreclosure indicators * Significant deferred maintenance * Recent listing history * Failed development plans * Portfolio disposition * Ownership changes These are signals for further investigation, not assumptions about an owner’s willingness or financial condition. ⸻ 8. OUTREACH PREPARATION Once a property passes the initial investment screen, the Associate prepares the appropriate owner-contact package. Depending upon the opportunity, this may include: * Property-specific acquisition letter * Letter of Interest * Expression of Interest * Request for Meeting * Broker outreach * Owner email * Call script * Follow-up email * Follow-up letter * Draft LOI * Preliminary offer package Communication should be tailored to the ownership situation rather than using the same generic letter for every property. No binding offer or representation may be issued without authorized leadership approval. ⸻ 9. PROPERTY INTELLIGENCE REPORT Every qualified property must result in a standardized Property Intelligence Report. PAGE 1 — EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Property: Owner: Location: Property Type: Parcel Size: Current Use: Acquisition Strategy: Estimated Value/Price Range: Investment Box: GREEN / YELLOW / RED Recommendation: ADVANCE / HOLD / REJECT Why We Are Looking At It 2–4 sentences. Investment Thesis 2–4 sentences explaining why the property could create value. Major Concern The single largest identified risk. ⸻ PAGE 2 — OWNERSHIP Owner/entity information Decision-maker information Publicly available contact information Acquisition history Related entities/properties ⸻ PAGE 3 — PROPERTY + ZONING Parcel information Physical characteristics Zoning Future land use Development rights Known restrictions Flood/environmental considerations ⸻ PAGE 4 — FINANCIAL / MARKET Purchase history Assessed value Estimated market value Comparable transactions Relevant rents/NOI Development/redevelopment considerations ⸻ PAGE 5 — RISK & OPPORTUNITY Opportunities Key reasons to pursue. Risks Issues requiring resolution. Unknowns Information that still needs to be obtained. Required Professional Due Diligence Legal, title, environmental, engineering, architectural, financial or other third-party work required if the acquisition advances. ⸻ PAGE 6 — ACQUISITION STRATEGY Recommended approach to ownership Potential positioning Recommended opening communication Negotiation considerations Proposed next action ⸻ 10. REQUIRED DELIVERABLES For every address assigned, the Associate delivers: * Property Intelligence Report * Ownership profile * Decision-maker/contact research * Public-record property information * Zoning/land-use summary * Preliminary title/encumbrance screen * Market/comparable analysis * Investment-box score * Risk assessment * Owner situation/motivation indicators * Recommended acquisition strategy * Draft owner outreach * Supporting source documents/links * Clear list of outstanding diligence items Research must identify its sources and distinguish between verified facts, preliminary findings, estimates, and assumptions. ⸻ 11. TURNAROUND STANDARD Initial Screen — 24 Hours Confirm: * Ownership * Basic property information * Zoning * Obvious investment-box conflicts * Major red flags If the property clearly fails the investment box, issue a short rejection memo rather than spending unnecessary time completing full diligence. Qualified Property — 3 Business Days Complete Property Intelligence Report and preliminary acquisition recommendation. Priority Acquisition — 24–48 Hours Accelerated report when directed by leadership. ⸻ 12. ASSOCIATE AUTHORITY The Associate CAN: * Conduct research * Contact government offices for public information * Contact brokers for market/property information * Prepare correspondence * Prepare preliminary underwriting * Recommend acquisition strategies * Maintain the acquisition pipeline * Request internal clarification The Associate CANNOT without approval: * Make binding offers * Execute LOIs * Represent that financing is committed * Commit The Gaudet Office to a transaction * Make legal representations * Negotiate final economics * Release confidential investment criteria ⸻ 13. WEEKLY PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS The Associate will report: Addresses Received Initial Screens Completed Properties Rejected Properties Advanced Owners Identified Decision-Makers Identified Outreach Packages Prepared Owners Contacted Responses Received Opportunities in Negotiation LOIs/Offers Prepared Properties Under Contract Leadership should be able to see exactly how raw addresses are converting into actionable acquisition opportunities. ⸻ 14. CORE PERFORMANCE METRICS The Associate will ultimately be evaluated on: Research Accuracy — Is the information reliable? Speed — How quickly can an address become actionable? Qualification Quality — Are weak properties being eliminated early? Owner Identification Rate — Can the actual decision-maker be identified? Investment Judgment — Does the Associate understand our investment box? Pipeline Conversion — Are qualified properties progressing toward owner conversations? Report Quality — Can leadership make a decision without repeating the Associate’s research? ⸻ THE STANDARD The Associate should operate under one rule: Never hand leadership an address. Hand leadership an opportunity. When an address enters the acquisition pipeline, the Associate owns the intelligence process until leadership can make a clear decision to pursue it, hold it, or kill it.