13 Oct RESA Member Spotlight: Josh Simon, Senior Account Executive, EBI Consulting

Josh Simon is Senior Account Executive at EBI Consulting, where he leads physical due diligence including both Environmental and Property Condition Assessments, Construction Consulting, MEP Surveys, Sustainability, etc. both locally, regionally, and nationally. With a diverse background in commercial real estate, he brings a unique mix of related CRE expertise and strategic insight. Since joining EBI in 2012, Josh has played a key role in driving national client success across the real estate industry.

Tell me about EBI Consulting.
EBI Consulting provides nationwide environmental and engineering consulting services, construction loan monitoring, MEP surveys, sustainability, building sciences and health and safety services (Mold and Indoor Air Quality), primarily to stakeholders and institutions in commercial real estate including developers, owners, equity groups and lenders.  We’ve been around for over 35+ years, and our goal is to help clients operate more efficiently, reduce risk, and maximize asset value across the entire real estate lifecycle.

What type of work do you do for landlords and developers?
We partner with landlords, developers and all lender types on a wide range of services, from due diligence and capital planning to sustainability consulting, indoor air quality assessments, and construction loan monitoring.  We support everything from acquisitions and ground-up development to repositioning assets and managing regulatory compliance.  We’re there to assess risk, advise on improvements, and help execute and verify those improvements.

What type of due diligence work do you do?
EBI is known for high-quality, fast-turnaround physical due diligence.  That includes property condition assessments (equity-level, ASTM standard, GSEs (HUD, Freddie/Fannie), etc.), environmental site assessments (Phase I’s, Phase 2’s and Site Investigation Remediation), mold and radon testing, and mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) surveys.

Whether it’s a hotel portfolio in the Caribbean, a redevelopment of a former gas station or a 5-story walk-up multifamily apartment building, we bring in specialized teams to assess risks and issues that could impact deal economics.

Modern city high-rise, China Ningbo CBD.

What are some of the advantages of bringing EBI in before a purchase or investment?

Bringing us in early can save thousands and sometimes millions.

In one case, we uncovered $5–10 million in deferred maintenance on a large resort hotel in the Caribbean, which gave our client leverage to negotiate a lower purchase price and to avoid future large scale capital expenditures.  The resort had numerous issues and concerns ranging from dry cleaners on-site, mold in the elevator shafts, aged mechanical systems, issues with saltwater affecting both the mechanicals and elevators, façade concerns, etc.  We were able to provide various services (including both equity-level PCA, Enviro Phase I, Mold sampling and testing, elevator surveys and MEP Survey within a three to four-week turnaround time.  We’re an independent agnostic third party—our role is to identify red flags, estimate future costs, and make sure buyers don’t overpay or inherit costly surprises.

How does EBI build value across the real estate cycle?
We touch every part of the real estate life cycle: acquisition, development, construction, asset management, operation, refinancing and disposition.  Our approach is simple: assess, advise, improve, and verify.  We evaluate the physical and environmental state of a building, advise clients on the findings, help implement improvements, and then verify the work has been done properly which drives smarter investment decisions, minimizes risk, and improves performance long-term.

What is the #1 environmental issue facing owners today?
PFAS, so-called “forever chemicals,” have become a hot-button issue.  These are synthetic compounds found in countless consumer products, and they’re now under heightened regulatory scrutiny.  They’re hard to detect, harder to clean up, and increasingly showing up in environmental assessments.  Owners need to stay ahead of potential liabilities.

Have you seen a pull back on services or anything change since the new administration took office?
No, we are seeing increased transactional velocity.  Regulatory shifts take time, and while there’s always chatter around changes to programs like Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, we haven’t seen major rollbacks.

In fact, transaction volume is up in 2025 compared to last year. FHFA increased the multifamily loan purchase cap by 4% from 2024. The markets are moving again, and we’re seeing more deals, more refinancing, and more demand for our services.

How do you approach indoor air quality for clients? What services do you offer and who do you work with? Any changes in regulations?
We have a dedicated Building Science team focused on indoor air quality (MIAQ (mold and indoor air quality).  It includes mold assessments, radon testing, asbestos surveys (ACM), lead based paint (LBP) and lead in water (LIW) testing, and general Indoor Air Quality monitoring. We do a lot of this work for hospitals and institutional clients.

One notable change: stricter radon testing standards by specific states adopting stricter standards (AARST), but not the FHFA being stricter, they have always deferred to local/state standards (whether that be AARST or only 25% by a registered radon professional).  FHFA as of April 2025 revised their radon sampling regulations for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, which has scaled back the testing requirements.  If any testing is done in a state with local/state requirements, you must follow those standards, but testing is not required for every transaction/refinance/etc. for Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae anymore.  HUD is still the same and you have to do AARST testing for every deal.

What trends are you seeing in the market?
The market is back in motion. Deal flow is up across the board, especially in refinancing and acquisitions.  Owners and lenders are re-engaging, and we’re seeing renewed focus on risk management, building performance, and sustainability.  Clients are increasingly prioritizing energy efficiency and sustainability, not just for compliance, but as a cost-saving and asset-enhancing strategy.  Capital providers such as International Pension Funds and Endowments are driving demand for both Sustainability, ESG (Environmental Social Governance) and ECM (Energy Conservation Measures).

Are you using AI? How?
Absolutely. AI is already improving how we serve our clients. We can deliver environmental, engineering, and due diligence services both faster insights, more accurate data and provide innovative solutions.

We’re using AI to increase efficiency, improve data accuracy and monitoring capabilities further enhancing our team’s depth of expertise and experience.  AI is a tool, but it is not replacing the expertise & knowledge of our staff.  In the next few years, AI will continue to transform our firm and the related industries that we serve.

What’s next for EBI?
Growth and innovation.  We’re expanding into new service lines and asset classes—especially around digital infrastructure like EV charging, solar, and telecom assets.  We’re also investing in new technologies like AI and always looking for great talent to join our team. Our footprint is national and North America, but our ambition is global.