Resources · Before you commit
Due diligence
Due diligence is how a promising property becomes a decision you can explain. The aim is not to remove every unknown. It is to name the ones that matter.
01 · The contract is what you are buying
Title, inclusions, easements, covenants and special conditions decide what actually transfers. A floor plan and a listing description do not.
Your solicitor or conveyancer interprets the contract. Our role is to make the property case clear enough that their advice is about the real asset, not a vague idea of it.
02 · Condition is part of the price
A price that ignores defects is not a finished price. Building and pest inspections should be scoped to the property. For a strata building, condition is shared. For commercial property, capital expenditure sits beside the lease.
If an inspection changes the numbers, the offer should be allowed to change with them.
03 · Strata records are not a formality
Minutes, levies, insurance, known defects and planned works can alter both holding costs and the next buyer's appetite. A tidy apartment with an unresolved building issue is not a simple purchase.
04 · Test the listing against evidence
Comparable sales, current rent, vacancy and likely holding costs should be set beside the asking price. A yield quoted by a selling agent is a starting point, not a conclusion.
We would rather remove a property here than defend a number that the evidence does not support.
05 · Planning and what can change nearby
Overlays, flood, bushfire, heritage and the supply that can still be built around a property affect risk and future demand. Development potential is only a benefit if it is lawful, feasible and actually wanted.
06 · Commercial leases need their own reading
Tenant, term, options, rent reviews, outgoings, incentives and make-good obligations are part of the asset. The building and the lease are purchased together.
A vacancy after expiry has to be priced. Hoping the tenant stays is not due diligence.
07 · What ready to offer means
We treat a property as ready when the material risks are known, the price is supported by evidence, and you understand what still depends on your own advisers.
Unknowns can remain. They should be written down, not smoothed over in the rush to secure something.
This is general information about how we approach the work. It is not financial, tax, credit or legal advice. Read the disclaimer, or start a conversation if you want to talk through your own position.