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Due diligence in the virtual era

NAREIM Dialogues Fall 2021 issue

October 25, 2021


By Anh Duc Tran

NAREIM Fellow Class of 2020-21

Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, MBA


I had the invaluable opportunity to attend NAREIM’s Executive Officer Meeting as a Barclay Fellow in October 2020. 


The Covid-19 pandemic was raging on and our meeting, like many others, was held virtually. A major part of the discussion centered around coping with the disruptions brought on by the pandemic, including restrictions on travel and in-person presence. 


As ‘walking the ground’ has been a critical, tried-and-trusted part of the due diligence process, how would managers navigate the new constraints to ensure they understand the assets? Would any new practices and innovations become a permanent part of due diligence? 


I spoke with four NAREIM members from major investment firms to hear their perspectives, and a few interesting themes emerged from our conversations. In the following article they discuss:

  1.  There is no substitute for walking the ground

  2.  Increasing importance of having strong partners

  3.  Increasing focus on data management and adoption of technologies


Anh Duc Tran is a Class of 2020–2021 NAREIM Jeff Barclay Fellow. He holds an MBA degree from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.


Download your complimentary copy of the Fall Dialogues magazine here.

To download a copy of the article only, click here.

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