August 1997, Vol 22, No 2

Abstract: This paper reports the findings of a 1996 survey of investors and lenders and their reaction to alternative sources of contamination in real estate. A hierarchy has been constructed from the survey results of those contaminants that investors and lenders are willing to ignore or discount in making investments and loans and others which are genuinely feared. Although lenders have been surveyed on this issue in the past, this is the first survey to specifically examine the equity investor and to compare their attitudes and perceptions with professionals in the real estate lending community.