Triage distressed company CAM risk
Occupier lists lease costs as forecast cash outflows. Use the next supported landlord date for triage.
Use each case's next supported cash date. Do not apply one fixed window to every case.
Then check payment facts and lease dates. Files and legal gates set the route.
Gather seven inputs
Build one row for each leased site.
Collect these facts first:
- Next landlord cash date
- Payment status
- Site operating need
- Signed lease status
- CAM statement status
- Notice or audit date
- Counsel need
Do not guess a missing date. Mark it missing and assign an owner.
Use a routing score
This score sets work order. It does not decide payment or legal rights.
Give one point for each condition:
- Cash is due in the case review window
- Payment is late or unclear
- The client needs the site to run
- Core lease files are present
- The CAM statement is present
- A lease deadline may be near
- Counsel review is needed
Use the total only as a route aid. Read the facts behind every score.
| Route | Use it when | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| Cash first | A payment event is near | Send facts to finance |
| File first | Core proof is missing | Request named files |
| Review first | Files are ready | Start CAM review |
| Counsel first | Default or notice risk exists | Pause for counsel |
| Hold | No near cash or date risk | Keep in the queue |
The score cannot replace judgment. Two sites may tie for different reasons.
Add a legal stop
TRERC warns that default has legal effects. Its article is old and Texas focused.
Use it only as a caution. Counsel must guide each legal choice.
Stop and ask counsel when:
- Payment may be withheld
- Default may have started
- A notice may be due
- A lease right is unclear
- A landlord message may waive rights
Do not tell a client to withhold rent.
Build the triage memo
Keep the memo short and factual.
Use one block for each urgent site:
| Field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Site | |
| Next cash date | |
| Payment state | |
| Operating need | |
| Files present | |
| Possible deadline | |
| Counsel gate | |
| Route | |
| Action owner |
Attach source links or file names. Do not add a guessed recovery amount.
Walk one example
This triage example uses made-up facts. Mesa Parts is a fictional company.
Mesa Parts has twelve leased sites. Three landlord bills are due soon.
Site A has all source files. Its payment is due in five days.
Finance gets the cash facts first. The CAM file also enters review.
Site B lacks its signed lease. It enters the file-first route.
Site C has a default notice. Counsel gets that site before contact.
The queue does not promise cash. It makes the next decision easier to see.
Screen the case window
Set the window from the client's cash forecast. List each landlord cash event in that span.
Then note the source for every amount. Flag missing leases and statements.
This first pass needs no new software. It can expose the true work queue.
The triage memo names the next owner. Finance takes cash-first rows into the 13-week CAM guide.
File-ready rows enter the site cost workstream.
Counsel receives each legal-stop row. Use the dispute guide for that handoff.
Use the Practice Growth hub when another advisor leads. Return here from the turnaround advisor pillar.
The transaction advisor hub has more deal-side routes.
Where CAMAudit fits
Turnaround advisors can tie this step to the triage memo.
Your advisor owns the triage memo. Finance and counsel keep their own choices.
CAMAudit can read the supplied CAM files. It can also read the matching lease files.
The review may flag an item. Each flag can point to its source lines.
CAMAudit can build the branded CAM audit. Your firm reviews and signs the final work.
A reviewed item may need a dispute letter draft. CAMAudit may prepare that draft.
It is not legal advice. Have counsel review before sending.
Set the triage handoff in the service line guide.
Ready to add this work to your firm? Get started.
Sources
- Occupier cash flow analysis, April 3, 2026
- TRERC lease workouts, January 2011
- TMA 13-week cash flow program, March 2026