Due Diligence - the team

You've listened to your mentor/teacher/guide. You've acted fast and tied up a skookum (that's Canadian for cool) property. Now's the time to do the due. In my November 2011 post I listed many (but not all) things to look at before buying.


You might ask, how do I, a newbie RE investor, know how/who/where to check all those things?


As with many aspects to RE investing, you don't have to do much, you just ask someone to do it for you!!!


So, here's the list and the people who should attract to help you be diligent:

• a legal name - Realtor
• a title - Realtor/Lawyer
• a history of ownership - Realtor
• a retail value - Realtor
• an assessed value - Assessment Authority
• land and/or building(s) - Surveyor, municipality, inspector
• a location - Surveyor, municipality
• a degree of repair - inspector, contractor, experienced tradespeople
• a history of repair - current owner
• a reputation - police, municipality
• neighbours - neighbours
• an owners value - current owner
• a membership in a local or larger economy - REIN, municipality, Realtor, Investors club, your RE investor friends

You might (and should) ask what if I'm not using a Realtor to buy this property? Who do I ask for those points above?  Ask a Realtor!! You do know a realtor don't you? If not, you better find one. I'll talk about that in another post. Realtors are helpful, knowledgeable, and want your business. If they are RE investors too, then you've got a powerful member on your team.

If you are buying this property through a realtor, you many not have access to the buyer. Ask for access anyway. If denied, ask the realtor for all the details on the property and it's history. They may say "I don't know". Then you ask "How can I find out?". Keep asking them and everyone else until you get answers.

Using a surveyor is optional. What you want is a recent surveyor's report. The report gives you an accurate picture of where the property lines are. Ask the current owner, realtor or whomever if there's a surveyor's report you can look at. Offer a bit of $$ if necessary. This is usually required when building on this and adjacent lots are REALLY close to the property lines or the lot is an odd shape or if fences, driveways, etc sit on the property lines.

What's a REIN? It's Real Estate Investors Network. These folks do a TON of research on economic indicators for RE investors. If you're going to do a quick flip on the property, this isn't so important. If you're doing a long term hold, it's nice to know what's happening in the area around the property that can affect it's value. 

Some of the above folks will want to be paid for their service. Until you can do what they do (ie. inspecting) it's worth the money.


Gord
http://www.victoriarei.com

Due Diligence

The teachers say "Do Your Due Diligence!" before acquiring a property (or doing any kind of investment).

What does Due Diligence mean?

A quick search finds: "Reasonable steps taken by a person in order to satisfy a legal requirement, esp. in buying or selling something."

So there's a legal component, ok, got it.

Wikipedia says "an investigation of a business or person prior to signing a contract, or an act with a certain standard of care."

There's likely a person or persons involved. Noted.

Wikipedia also mentions audits, esp. with regard to acquiring a company.

Ok, for any investment property, there definitely is:

• a legal name
• a title
• a history of ownership
• a retail value
• an assessed value
• land and/or building(s)
• a location
• a degree of repair
• a history of repair
• a reputation
• neighbours
• an owners value
• a membership in a local or larger economy

If I can do an audit on all the above, then a decision to buy becomes self-evident.

Assuming I know what I want!