The CRE Due Diligence Document Checklist

Assembling the diligence file after a buyer asks for it costs weeks. Here is what to gather before the listing goes live, grouped the way buyers request it.

Why assemble this before going to market

The gap between an accepted offer and a closed deal is mostly document retrieval. Every week spent chasing an estoppel or an old Phase I is a week the buyer has to reconsider. Building the file before launch converts that dead time into deal momentum.

Financial

  • Trailing twelve-month operating statements, and the prior two full years
  • Current rent roll with lease start and end dates, options, and escalations
  • Aged receivables and a security deposit schedule
  • Current-year budget and capital expenditure history
  • Property tax bills and any pending assessment appeals
  • Utility bills covering a full twelve months

Leases and tenancy

  • Executed leases with all amendments, exhibits, and side letters
  • Estoppel certificates and, where there is debt, subordination agreements
  • Tenant financial statements where the lease entitles you to them
  • Correspondence on defaults, disputes, and outstanding landlord obligations

Physical and environmental

  • Phase I environmental site assessment, and Phase II if one was triggered
  • Property condition assessment and roof, HVAC, and elevator reports
  • ADA accessibility assessment
  • As-built plans and specifications
  • Service contracts, warranties, and the maintenance log

Title, survey, and legal

  • Preliminary title report with copies of every recorded exception
  • ALTA survey
  • Zoning report, certificates of occupancy, and open permits
  • Any covenants, easements, or reciprocal easement agreements
  • Pending or threatened litigation

Insurance

  • Current policies and declarations pages
  • Five-year loss run
  • Flood zone determination

Organising it so buyers can actually use it

Deliver the file in the categories above rather than as one flat folder, and stage access rather than releasing everything at once. A buyer who can find the rent roll in ten seconds is a buyer who stays engaged; a shared drive with two hundred loose PDFs invites a re-trade on the grounds that something was hard to find.