Due diligence: the ten findings that cost price

The legal classics

Incomplete lease files: side letters, rent reduction agreements, handover protocols. One missing annex and the whole lease is treated as uncertain. In commercial leases the written form requirement compounds it — a single defective amendment can collapse the term.

Easements and building encumbrances that were never analysed. The register extract is in the data room, but nobody assessed what the 1998 entry means for the planned densification.

• Complete lease files with all amendments and annexes
• Have the written form curing clause reviewed
• Encumbrance register including analysis, not just a copy
• Shareholder resolutions and commercial register up to date

The technical classics

Missing building files and no reliable documentation on fire safety and structural design. For 1970s and 1980s stock this is the rule, not the exception, and it costs because buyers book provisions.

Add deferred maintenance not reflected in the operating budget and energy certificates about to expire. Both are small items with outsized effect on negotiation.

What we do beforehand

A light vendor due diligence: we work through the file before the data room opens and either close the gaps or disclose them. A known defect almost never costs as much as a discovered one.