Create a property record that can be checked
Collect the legal description, title information, surveys or plans, ownership documents and any relevant access agreements. Label what is current, what is older and what is missing. A buyer must be able to connect the marketed premises with the legal property.
For a condominium, gather the corporation’s available records and identify shared-property responsibilities. For multiple parcels or units, make the transaction scope explicit. Resolve basic document questions before tours begin.
Verify specifications that influence fit
Measure the dimensions buyers will rely on and distinguish usable floor, office, mezzanine and site area. Confirm loading openings, clear height and service details with appropriate evidence. Where a specification is unverified, call it unverified.
A municipal record, older brochure or staff recollection can point to a question without establishing the answer. Do not silently convert parcel area into floor area or a service label into available electrical capacity. Record the source of every consequential specification.
Build a condition timeline
Gather inspections, maintenance, repairs and known issues for roof, structure, envelope, doors and building systems. Use dated photographs to support the timeline. Keep invoices and scope descriptions so a buyer can understand what work was actually completed.
Separate repaired issues from unresolved ones. A maintenance history does not guarantee future performance, but it can make an investigation more efficient. Ask qualified professionals to assess systems you cannot evaluate yourself.
Decide what to repair and what to disclose
Prioritise safety, required maintenance and work already promised under a lease or other obligation. Discuss discretionary improvements with the broker and advisers before spending. Buyers may prefer different office layouts or equipment.
Do not cover known defects for presentation. Counsel should advise on disclosure and the documents needed to describe an issue accurately. Clear estimates and a supported condition record can be more useful than cosmetic work that obscures what happened.
Organize occupancy and financial records
State whether the property is vacant, owner-occupied or tenanted and what possession can be offered. Gather signed leases, amendments, deposits, payment records and outstanding commitments where applicable. Keep private business information out of public marketing.
Separate property income and expenses from unrelated operating-business results. If a sale-leaseback is proposed, prepare a credible lease discussion alongside the sale. Record assumptions as assumptions rather than reporting a proposed rent as existing income.
Prepare the viewing route and document room
Walk the route a buyer and inspector will use. Arrange safe access to appropriate areas, a contact for technical questions and a schedule that respects occupiers. Do not improvise access to equipment or hazardous areas during a tour.
Create a secure diligence folder with an index and dated documents. Decide who can share each item and what confidentiality or reliance restrictions apply. Keep public marketing concise and factual; sensitive leases, reports and financial records can be reviewed through the transaction process.
Keep one version of the facts
Give the broker a reviewed specification and a list of known unknowns. Update the package when a new measurement, repair or report changes a material point. Keep prior versions so changes are traceable.
Before accepting an offer, compare the diligence information with the proposed promises about condition, included equipment, occupancy and possession. Preparation works when the marketed story and the closing documents describe the same property.
Take this checklist to the conversation
- Define legal property and transaction scope.
- Measure consequential specifications.
- Label dates, sources and unknown facts.
- Gather condition, repair and environmental records.
- Prioritise required work and proper disclosure.
- Prepare occupancy and property financial documents.
- Control sensitive diligence sharing.
- Keep marketing and offer commitments consistent.
Questions people ask
Should I use the old brochure’s floor area?
Treat it as a source to investigate. Check what area it measures, its date and supporting evidence. Buyers may care about usable, rentable or legal unit area, which are different concepts. Do not present an inherited number as a new measurement.
Do good photos replace an inspection?
No. Photos show a moment and a view. They cannot assess concealed defects, system performance, environmental history or every operating constraint. Use accurate photos alongside qualified inspections and a factual condition record.
What if a report is several years old?
Keep its date, scope and reliance limits visible. Discuss with qualified advisers whether changes since the report require new work. An older assessment can provide history without proving present condition.
How much information belongs in public marketing?
Enough supported detail to help a prospective buyer evaluate fit. Keep private tenant, customer, security and financial records in an appropriate controlled process. Accuracy and authority to share matter more than publishing every document.
Reviewed 2026-09-30 · General planning guidance · Sources and boundaries