Check the numbers before you close
The seller’s rent roll and pro forma, tested against the actual leases.
- Length
- 7 business days (rush in 3, quoted)
- Price, indicative
- From $2,500 per property
A seller’s offering package shows the building on its best day: every suite full, every rent at its next step, expenses trimmed. The acquisition review reads the leases behind those pages, rebuilds income from the seller’s own books and tells you, before the contract deadline, whether to walk, renegotiate or close.
Inside your due diligence window
- Day 0
Contract and documents
The purchase contract and its deadline, plus the seller’s rent roll, leases, T-12 and pro forma.
- Days 1 to 3
Leases against rent roll
Each tenant’s rent, term, options and concessions checked against what the rent roll claims.
- Days 3 to 5
Books against projections
The trailing twelve months (T-12) rebuilt line by line and set beside the seller’s pro forma.
- Day 6
Estoppel gaps listed
What each tenant estoppel should confirm: rent, deposit, defaults, side deals and options.
- Day 7
Walk, renegotiate or close
A priced memo: value on the leases as signed, the gap to your price, and a 30-minute call.
What lands on your desk
- Who it is for
- Buyers under contract, before due diligence ends
- Format
- Remote review of the seller’s documents, site visit quoted
- A rent roll reconciliation, each tenant line checked against its lease and amendments
- A T-12 versus pro forma comparison, with every adjustment explained
- A list of estoppel items and document gaps to raise with the seller
- A value on the leases as signed, with a sensitivity table
- A walk, renegotiate or close memo, with the price gap in dollars
- A 30-minute call before your deadline
Who it suits, and who not
Right for you if
- Buyers with at least two weeks of due diligence left, or a quoted rush
- First-time buyers of a multi-tenant building
- Deals where the pro forma looks better than the T-12
- Out-of-state buyers of Wyoming or northern Colorado property
Look elsewhere if
- Roof, systems or environmental inspection (hire licensed inspectors and an environmental consultant)
- Reviewing the purchase contract or title (that is your attorney’s work)
- The appraisal your lender orders for the purchase loan
Example: a shop building with four tenants
A buyer is under contract for a 16,000 square foot, four-tenant shop and yard building on the edge of Gillette, with 21 days of due diligence left. The pro forma shows $142,000 of net operating income; the documents support $124,000. An amendment the rent roll misses cuts one rent by $800 a month, and the pro forma uses a tax bill $8,400 below the latest notice. At the 8.5% cap rate the contract price implies, that $18,000 gap is about $212,000. The memo recommends renegotiating.
Acquisition review questions, answered
When should I order an acquisition review?
As soon as the contract is signed and the seller’s documents arrive. The review takes 7 business days, so order it with at least two weeks of due diligence left. With less time, a rush in 3 business days is possible; it is quoted separately and depends on how many leases there are.
What documents do you need from the seller?
The rent roll, every lease and amendment, the trailing twelve months of income and expenses, the pro forma, the latest tax notice, service contracts and any tenant correspondence about disputes. Your purchase contract usually lists what the seller must deliver. Anything missing is listed in the memo as a gap, never guessed.
What is a tenant estoppel?
A signed statement from a tenant confirming its rent, term, deposit and any defaults or side agreements. It is a buyer’s best check on promises the rent roll does not show. We list what each tenant’s estoppel should confirm, based on the gaps between the leases and the rent roll; your attorney handles the form.
Is this a building inspection?
No. We read the leases and the numbers; we do not inspect the roof, the systems or environmental condition. Hire a licensed inspector and, where the site’s past use calls for it, an environmental consultant. If their reports arrive in time, the memo prices their repair items into the recommendation.
Will you tell me what to offer?
We tell you what the property is worth on the leases as signed and how far that sits from your contract price. The memo recommends walking, renegotiating or closing, with the reasons. The negotiation is yours to run, with your broker or attorney; we act as neither and earn nothing if the deal closes.
Read on before you call
Scope this with us
A free 30-minute call to see whether the acquisition review fits your property, your dates and your budget.