What data chaos looks like in real estate acquisitions

In real estate acquisitions, speed is everything. But while the industry often focuses on external pressures, the more immediate threat is internal. Data chaos (that’s scattered documents, outdated spreadsheets, siloed systems, to name a few) is quietly sabotaging deal flows from the inside out.

And the problem isn’t limited to under-resourced firms. Even the biggest investment managers are feeling the strain, as outdated acquisition processes make it harder to keep up with the demands of a faster, more complex market.

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That’s where automation and AI come in and help teams cut through the noise so they can focus on the work that actually moves deals forward.

Where deals get stuck

In a typical deal process, acquisition teams handle enormous amounts of information, be it rent rolls, lease abstracts, environmental reports, valuations and legal documents. And it’s all while coordinating across multiple departments, external consultants and counterparties. 

Documents rarely arrive in order. They often live in fragmented systems and are passed along informal channels. Important lease amendments might turn up in a text message. A key report could sit in someone’s inbox or a mislabelled subfolder.

This isn’t hypothetical either. It has become a normal process.

“Picture this,” says Jimmy King, Enterprise Sales Lead for Europe at Fifth Dimension. “The lender needs an updated rent roll by midday. Your analyst finds seven different versions across emails and folders. Meanwhile, the environmental consultant has uploaded their report somewhere other than the main deal folder, and a junior analyst is spending two hours recreating a document that already exists.”

What seems like a one-off issue is usually part of a wider pattern. These breakdowns keep happening, wearing down teams and putting deals at risk.

When time slips, so do opportunities

When deal teams don’t have access to the right data at the right time, the risk goes beyond slower transactions and has the potential to harm opportunities. 

In a high-pressure market where confidence and speed often outweigh marginal price differences, slow response times can mean losing the deal altogether. Sellers want certainty. If your team can’t move quickly and demonstrate control, they’ll look to a competitor who can.

But there’s also a hidden cost. Every moment spent chasing documents or reconciling conflicting data is time that can’t be spent sourcing and screening new opportunities. Jimmy points out that many firms only realise they missed a deal when it hits the press. “The first question is often: where did we get to on this? Did we even see it? That’s what wasted resources really means. It limits your capacity to act.”

Why acquisitions are uniquely exposed

Most acquisition teams don’t own the data they work with. They’re the first to see it and often the first to spot inconsistencies. But they’re also under immense pressure to act quickly, meaning there’s little time to validate sources or align formats. The result is a flurry of work done under imperfect conditions, pulling together market comps and running models as you chase missing files, all while trying to build a coherent view of a potential deal.

The documents themselves aren’t the only problem. The processes used to manage them are outdated. Shared drives and long email threads were designed for simpler times – they can’t scale with the volume and complexity of modern acquisitions, especially across distributed teams.

That’s often  where the real damage creeps in. What looks like a minor delay on Tuesday can cascade into missed deadlines and compromised analysis by Friday. Worse of all, it creates a lack of trust. 

It’s not just a big firm problem

It’s easy to assume this kind of chaos only affects sprawling organisations with large portfolios. But Jimmy says the reality is more nuanced. “It’s about proportionality,” he explains. “A mid-sized firm with aggressive growth goals might face even greater pressure than a global investment manager. They need to screen more deals, more quickly, with fewer people. That means every inefficiency hits harder.”

Even in larger firms, the challenge is scale. Analysts may be plentiful, but expertise isn’t evenly spread. With the deal flow crossing sectors and even regions, the ability to respond in a timely manner depends on whether teams can act like experts, wherever the opportunity lands.

The myths holding teams back

One of the biggest misconceptions about acquisitions data is that the current approach is ‘fine’. Many senior leaders assume that because deals are getting done, the system must be working.

But as Jimmy puts it, success today doesn’t mean you’re ready for tomorrow. “Sometimes it’s hard for people to separate what they know and care about from what could be better. The point isn’t to replace your gut or your network but to give them the best possible support. 

Imagine what you could do if you moved through deals 40% faster or screened five times as many. That’s not about replacing expertise as much as it is backing it up.”

What clean looks like when it comes to data

So what does a well-structured acquisition process actually look like?

Fifth Dimension has broken down the typical workflow into more than 100 distinct steps. We give teams a clearer path through the complexities, starting with screening. When every opportunity is reviewed in a consistent, structured way – and mapped against your investment thesis – it becomes easier to know which deals to pursue and which to leave.

Ellie, 5D’s the all-in-one AI colleague for real estate, supports this exact approach from the ground up. Once a deal moves forward, Ellie helps validate inputs. She also highlights inconsistencies and assists with modelling, flagging issues early. It’s particularly helpful when something seems off but there’s no clear explanation why.

Even vendor due diligence can be sharpened. By scanning available documents upfront, Ellie helps teams ask better-targeted questions from the outset. That often means faster answers, fewer surprises, and less wasted time.

Where data is heading heading, with or without the chaos

There’s no doubt automation is changing real estate. But Jimmy is clear that acquisitions won’t become seamless overnight, and that’s not necessarily the goal. “This isn’t about removing humans from the process. We want to make them more capable. The deals might still be complex, but the way we prepare for them doesn’t have to be.”

As investor demands rise and analysis becomes even more complex, the teams that pull ahead won’t just be faster to the finish line. They’ll have a clearer view of their own process and a better handle on the mess that usually slows them down.

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