Due Diligence Studies

What we do

A due-diligence engagement typically arrives with a short fuse and a purchase contingency ticking in the background. We work to that clock. Within a few days of being engaged we visit the site, review any available drawings, walk the property with a camera and a notepad, and issue a written report that calls out what a buyer needs to know before closing.

The scope varies. For vacant infill lots, the structural side of due diligence is typically bound up with the geotechnical side — we work with the buyer's geotech to understand caisson depths, hillside setbacks, and the likely cost delta from a flat site. For existing-building purchases, the scope is a condition review: what is the structural system, where is it failing, what will the City require the buyer to do upon change of use, and roughly what will that cost.

Our reports separate what we observed from what we estimate from what we recommend. We identify the items that rise to the level of acquisition risk, and we identify the items that are ordinary deferred maintenance. Buyers and their attorneys tell us this framing is what makes our reports usable — and occasionally a basis for price renegotiation.

Typical scope

• Site visit and visual structural assessment of the existing building(s)
• Review of available permits, stamped drawings, and prior reports
• Identification of structural deficiencies and code-change triggers
• Narrative cost range for likely structural remediation
• Coordination with geotechnical and environmental consultants as needed
• Written due-diligence report suitable for underwriting review
• Follow-up calls with lender, insurer, or counsel as questions arise
• Optional: follow-on feasibility study for the proposed redevelopment

When to engage us

Before you waive contingencies. A well-timed structural review has re-priced more than one LA acquisition — and has killed a few that shouldn't have gone forward.