It is challenging to buy commercial or industrial real estate because there are often environmental concerns.

a) (4 points) Who is liable for environmental clean-up and in what order are the parties liable? Please include all potential parties including the current owner, past owners, banks, tenants and secured parties.

b) ( 4points) As a prospective real property buyer, your lender may require an environmental audit. Please describe the purpose of such an audit and describe each audit phase, listing the important aspects of each and the relative costs of them.