Immediate, short-term, and long-term costs are categories used to estimate the financial implications of addressing physical deficiencies in a property. These cost categories help stakeholders prioritize repairs and plan for future expenditures.

Immediate Costs

Immediate costs refer to the expenses required to address deficiencies that pose an imminent threat to life safety, building integrity, or proper facility operations. These include:
  • Repairs necessary to mitigate immediate safety hazards or code violations.
  • Actions required to prevent critical system failures or significant escalation in repair costs if left unaddressed.
ASTM E2018-24 expands this category to include any condition that could result in life-safety threats without arbitrary timeframes.

Short-Term Costs

Short-term costs are associated with deficiencies that, while not requiring immediate attention, should be addressed within the first one or two years. These include:
  • Repairs for deferred maintenance that could lead to code violations or significant system impairments if neglected.
  • Replacement of components that are nearing the end of their useful life but do not yet pose immediate risks.

Long-Term Costs (included only by agreement with the Client)

Long-term costs involve anticipated expenses for the replacement or major repair of building systems and components over an extended evaluation period. Key characteristics include:
  • Typically planned over a horizon defined by the user (e.g., 10 years).
  • Focused on capital replacements rather than upgrades or enhancements.
  • Based on findings from the PCA and presented in formats like tabular summaries.
  • Should be included separately from Immediate and Short-term costs
This classification system ensures a structured approach to assessing property conditions and financial planning, enabling stakeholders to address urgent needs while preparing for future investments.

About Long-term Costs

  1. Inclusion of Long-Term Costs—opinions of long-term costs may be included in the report if agreed upon by the user and consultant.
  2. Evaluation Terms and Thresholds–building systems and components should be evaluated if they are expected to reach the end of their useful life within the agreed evaluation term and exceeding a specified cost threshold. 
  3. Exclusions–excluded are routine maintenance and the repair or replacement of primary improvements that are expected to exceed the evaluation period or are the responsibility of tenants or others.
  4. Effective Age vs. Chronological Age—"effective age" means that assessments should consider the actual condition and remaining useful life of components rather than just their chronological age.