Build a CAM data room
Index lease cost files by location and year.
Do not hide gaps inside broad folders. Mark missing, disputed, and replaced files.
Alehar updated its seller checklist in July 2026. It calls for gap tracking and clear owners.
Use that control for every CAM record. It makes buyer questions easier to trace.
Start with one test site
Map one location before building folders.
Pick a leased site with a CAM statement. Then list every source file held.
Do not upload a mixed file dump yet. First, learn how the records connect.
The test should answer:
- Which entity signed the lease?
- Which lease version controls?
- Which statement years are held?
- Which support files are held?
- Which notices were sent?
- Which credits were recorded?
- Which disputes remain open?
- Who owns each missing file?
If the first site is hard to map, stop. Fix the index before adding more sites.
Use one location year row
Create one row for each statement year.
Do not blend several years into one status. A file may exist for only one year.
Use these fields:
| Field | What to record |
|---|---|
| Location | Site name and address |
| Tenant entity | Name on the signed lease |
| Statement year | CAM period shown |
| Lease version | Signed lease and changes |
| Reconciliation | Annual CAM statement |
| Cost support | Landlord detail held |
| Payments | Related payment records |
| Notices | Delivery and dispute records |
| Credits | Recorded credit support |
| Disputes | Open issue and current owner |
| Audit window source | Lease clause and delivery proof |
| Audit window status | Counsel's status or not reviewed |
| Audit window owner | Named counsel or review owner |
| File status | Current evidence state |
| Folder path | Exact data room location |
| Question owner | Named response owner |
Deloitte lists leases, workpapers, and dispute files. It wrote that artifact for property buyers.
The file groups still help this index. This page adapts them for a tenant company sale.
Keep lease versions clear
The base lease is not enough. Signed changes may alter CAM terms.
Store these files together:
- Signed base lease
- Signed lease changes
- Signed renewals
- Signed site changes
- Signed side letters
- Current lease abstract, if held
Mark an unsigned draft as a draft. Do not file it as a signed change.
If two versions conflict, stop. Send the conflict to counsel.
Counsel decides which version controls. The broker should not make that call.
Match each CAM year
Build a small packet for each year.
The packet may include:
- Annual CAM statement
- Landlord cost support
- Payment record
- Credit record
- Delivery proof
- Audit notice
- Dispute letter
- Landlord response
Not every record will exist. The index should show that fact.
Do not label a year complete blindly. Define the needed packet before status review.
Use five file states
File status should describe known evidence.
| State | Meaning |
|---|---|
original |
Signed or issued source is held |
missing |
Needed source is not held |
superseded |
A later signed source replaced it |
disputed |
An open issue affects the record |
reviewed |
A named reviewer checked the file |
Reviewed does not mean resolved.
Disputed does not mean wrong.
One row may need several status fields. Keep file state apart from issue state.
Do not turn missing into reviewed.
Only new proof can close the gap.
Route legal records to counsel
Some data room records need legal review.
Venable includes leases and extra rent. Its 2026 checklist also covers disputes and defaults.
Route these questions to counsel:
- Which lease version controls?
- Is a notice valid?
- Is an audit window open?
- Does a dispute survive the sale?
- Must the seller disclose an issue?
- Who may sign a new notice?
The seller and counsel control what they share. CAMAudit does not control the data room.
Tie buyer questions to proof
Give every buyer question a source path.
| Question field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Question ID | |
| Location and year | |
| Buyer question | |
| Source file | |
| Folder path | |
| Draft answer owner | |
| Counsel review | |
| Approved answer | |
| Open item |
Do not answer from memory. Link the answer to a held file.
If no file supports the answer, say so. Keep the question open.
Treat earnings with proof
CAM data may feed the QoE team. It does not set EBITDA.
Baker Tilly says QOE work uses support schedules. That support must tie back to the deal file.
The seller index can show that proof state. A dispute still does not create a book credit.
The index should show each evidence state. The QoE team decides accounting treatment.
Walk one data room row
This data room example is fictional. Oak Street and every file fact are made up.
Oak Street Store has a 2025 CAM statement. The signed lease is in the room.
One signed lease change is also present. The landlord cost backup is missing.
The seller sent a dispute notice. The landlord has not answered.
The index marks the lease original.
It marks the backup missing.
It marks the issue disputed.
It does not mark the year resolved.
The seller's controller owns the backup request. Counsel owns the notice review.
The buyer question links to both files. The company books no credit.
That row tells the truth. It does not predict a result.
Send each gap to an owner
Before buyer access, confirm each item.
- Every leased site has an index row
- Every row names the tenant entity
- Every lease version has a clear status
- Every CAM year has a statement status
- Every support gap has an owner
- Every dispute has a current state
- Every credit links to book support
- Every buyer question links to a file
- Every legal question goes to counsel
- Every earnings question goes to QoE
The location year index is your working record. Keep it beside the data room.
Each open row names its next owner. Update the row when that owner adds proof.
Send book rows to the QoE guide. Set paid scope in the M&A guide.
Pick review sites with the broker queue.
Find more records in the deal guide hub.
See other offers at Practice Growth. The deal advisor page maps this set.
Where CAMAudit fits
Deal advisors can add this work. Tie it to the data room index.
The index remains the master file record. Its named owner must close each gap.
After files match, CAMAudit may read the packet. It does not fill a missing lease or statement.
Its checks may flag a billed item. The flag can cite lease and statement lines.
CAMAudit can build your branded CAM audit. Your firm reviews and signs this work. The firm then adds it to the data room.
The seller and counsel control data room use.
If a reviewed finding moves forward, CAMAudit may draft it. The output remains a dispute letter draft.
It is not legal advice. Have counsel review before sending.
Define that handoff in the service line guide.
Ready to add this work to your firm? Get started.
Sources
- Alehar seller diligence checklist
- Deloitte real estate diligence artifact
- Venable transaction diligence guide
- Baker Tilly guide, 2023-07-18, updated 2025-03-12