Due diligence should identify the facts that could change the decision, price or contract terms before exchange.
A tight deadline can compress the same five checks: the building inspection, strata review, contract review, planning check and independent comparable sales. The cost and delay are visible before purchase. The defect or liability a check may reveal is not.
You can see the invoice for the inspection. You cannot see the repair cost the inspector may stop you from inheriting. You feel the cost of slowing down. You do not feel the price of a mistake you did not make.
This is Ben's North Shore assessment framework. The advisers and reports required depend on the property, title and contract.
Due diligence is not certainty. It is a structured way to reduce the number of material risks you discover after you own them.
The five-check checklist
Before exchange, consider these five areas with the appropriate advisers.
1. Building and pest inspection
Understand who commissioned any available report, its scope, date and limitations. Decide with advice whether an independent inspection or further specialist work is required.
Look for structural movement, water damage, roofing issues, evidence of past pest activity, and indoor air quality concerns.
2. Strata records (apartments and townhouses)
Review minutes, financial statements, the capital works plan, insurance, defects, disputes and special levies with the appropriate adviser. Ask whether planned work is funded and whether recurring issues point to a building-wide problem.
3. Contract review by a property lawyer
Obtain advice from a solicitor or licensed conveyancer before exchange. Ask them to explain title, easements, special conditions, settlement, cooling-off arrangements and any proposed amendments.
4. Zoning and council plans
Review the planning certificate, applicable controls, environmental mapping and nearby development applications. A current outlook or sense of privacy may change, so inspect sites with development potential and read the underlying documents where the issue matters.
5. Independent comparable sales
Not only the selling agent's selection. Use recent sales from the same genuine buyer market, then adjust for timing, land, orientation, condition and street position. The right number and age of comparables depend on how frequently similar property trades.
Turn findings into a decision
Independent evidence of an issue may change the price, contract terms or willingness to proceed.
When a building inspection identifies waterproofing work, obtain a scope and cost rather than negotiating from a vague defect. When strata minutes record a proposed special levy, establish the likely amount and timing. When comparable sales sit below the asking price, adjust them property by property before setting a ceiling.
The finding does not determine the response on its own. The buyer still needs to understand the likely cost, uncertainty, effect on daily use and relevance to the next buyer.
Start before the deadline
The time and cost of due diligence vary by property, title and the reports already available. Set the work in motion early enough that the campaign deadline does not decide which checks you skip.
If a deadline prevents the material risks from being examined, the limit is the evidence, not your willingness to buy. Ask for time, change the conditions, price the unresolved risk properly or walk away.
Sources and limits
- NSW Government: contracts and deposits, accessed 3 August 2026. Contract review, exchange and cooling-off context.
- NSW Government: strata information, accessed 3 August 2026. Official starting point for NSW strata records and responsibilities.
- NSW Planning Portal Spatial Viewer, accessed 3 August 2026. Address-level planning layers and instruments.
This checklist is general information. It does not replace legal, building, engineering, strata, planning, financial or tax advice for the property.