If I am buying real property for my business, do I need to get an environmental site assessment?
Some lenders may require an environmental site assessment, and there are certain situations where it only makes sense to get one (such as when you're buying a service station or a manufacturing business). Otherwise, though, the chance of there being any problem may seem remote and it may be tempting to pass on doing an expensive assessment. But you're probably doing yourself a disservice if you don't get one, as any problem that arises could result in catastrophic liability exposure for you even if you didn't cause the problem.
There are also different types of environmental site assessments. A "Phase I," for example, generally involves an inspection of the property and review of various records, but it doesn't actually involve any boring or drilling, or the testing of soil or water samples. These activities are usually done during the course of a Phase II assessment, which can be quite expensive. It's usually an option for a buyer to do a Phase I assessment and consider the results and recommendations of that process before deciding on whether to proceed further.