Selling Commercial Property: Building Area Evidence in Alberta

1. Build the area-source register

Index every material number from surveys, condominium plans, architectural drawings, measurement reports, leases, amendments, rent rolls, permits, assessments, appraisals and prior marketing. Record premises, label, units, standard, edition, method, preparer and effective date.

Do not average conflicting figures or select the largest number. State the use and reliability boundary of each source.

• Source document
• Premises boundary
• Area and units
• Standard and edition
• Effective date
• Marketing status

2. Reconcile the legal and physical perimeter

Match titled parcels, condominium units, building footprints, floors, suites, storage, mezzanines, patios, yards and parking with current occupation. Identify shared, licensed, leased, exclusive-use and encroaching areas separately.

A tenant's physical use does not prove ownership, exclusive rights or inclusion in rentable area. Surveyors, counsel and measurement professionals control conclusions within their scopes.

3. Reconcile the income denominator

Tie each tenant's billed area to the lease, amendments, rent roll, base rent, additional rent and proportionate-share calculation. Identify estimated areas, caps, agreed figures and remeasurement provisions.

A contractually billed area can be a real financial fact without proving physical area under another standard. Present the lease fact and measurement fact separately.

4. Investigate changes and missing records

Create a chronology of additions, demising changes, expansions, contractions, mezzanines, common-area changes and tenant work. Match each material change to available plans, permits, measurement updates and lease amendments.

An older report may remain useful evidence but should not be described as current if the building or allocation changed. Missing records are unresolved facts, not permission to reuse prior marketing.

5. Choose public and diligence statements

For public marketing, use a precise area label and source with appropriate qualification. In the controlled data room, provide the full register, current source documents and known discrepancies to authorized recipients.

Avoid approximately, BOMA measured, certified, gross leasable or rentable area unless the term, source and scope are supportable. Correct material errors promptly and preserve the correction history.

6. Connect area to pricing without calling it value

Normalize comparable asking and transaction evidence to the area basis actually available, then show sensitivity where denominators differ. Keep total price, price per stated square foot, income, condition, land and lease quality visible.

A price-per-square-foot result is arithmetic, not an appraisal. A larger marketed denominator can mechanically lower that ratio without changing total price or asset utility.

7. Prepare buyer and lender verification

Provide authorized access for measurement, plans and professional questions subject to occupancy, privacy, safety and restoration controls. Identify which records recipients may rely upon and which are information only.

A buyer, lender, appraiser or tenant may require a different measurement purpose or effective date. The seller's package should support verification without promising acceptance.

8. Maintain the final disclosure record

Preserve the area register, source files, public claims, recipient log, questions, corrections and final transaction documents. Make the closing or lease handoff identify the record current at that date.

Commercially coordinates licensed commercial real estate search, marketing and transaction evidence. It does not perform a BOMA or other certified measurement, select a contractual measurement method, interpret a lease, survey boundaries, determine code capacity or provide architectural, engineering, appraisal, accounting, tax or legal advice. Commercially can create a disciplined campaign and inquiry pathway without converting owner-supplied area into a certified measurement or value opinion.