An accepted offer on a revenue property is the beginning of the real work. The conditional period — typically 15 to 45 days on Montreal multifamily files — is when the building either confirms the underwriting or reveals why the price was tempting. Here is the working checklist my buyer clients run.
Documents: The Paper Building
- Rent roll and every lease, including amendments and assignment history. Cross-check actual deposits against the roll.
- Two to three years of operating statements, plus the bills behind them: tax accounts, insurance policies, energy bills with the real landlord/tenant split.
- TAL history for the building — open and closed files, non-payment claims, rent-fixing decisions. A pattern of disputes is a management story you are about to inherit (what buyers inherit).
- Certificat de localisation — current, reflecting today's structures. An outdated certificate delays notaries and hides encroachments.
- Declarations of co-ownership or servitudes registered against the lot.
- Work invoices and warranties — roof, brick, heating plant, balconies. Documented work is value; claimed work is noise.
Physical: The Real Building
Beyond the standard inspection, Montreal-era stock demands specific attention:
- Envelope: brick condition (spalling, bulging — masonry is the budget-killer), parapets, lintels
- Structure: foundation cracks, signs of pyrite-era backfill in certain sectors, balcony and staircase attachment
- Systems: heating type and age (oil tanks are a financing and insurance problem), electrical (knob-and-tube and 60-amp services still exist), galvanized or lead water entries
- Environment: Phase I environmental study on any building with commercial history or in former industrial corridors; oil-tank scans
- Units: inspect every unit, not a sample. The two units the seller couldn't show are the two with the problems.
Financial: The Forward Numbers
Re-run the underwriting with diligence findings: post-sale tax assessment, insurance quotes (not the seller's legacy premium), realistic maintenance reserves, and the capex list from inspection, scheduled across five years. Then re-test the cap rate and the financing case — for CMHC files, confirm the MLI Select score assumptions survive the document review.
Legal and Title
The notary handles title, but buyers should flag early: hypothecs to be discharged, servitudes affecting use, municipal infractions on file, and any pending borough notices (vacant building registries, required works). Ask the borough directly — open permit files and infraction histories are accessible.
The Renegotiation Decision
Diligence findings sort into three buckets: items priced into the deal (cosmetic age), items that adjust price (roof at end-of-life, masonry program), and items that change the deal (structural surprises, environmental contamination, fraudulent rent roll). The first you absorb, the second you negotiate with documentation, the third you walk from — conditions exist to be used.
A disciplined diligence period costs $5,000–$15,000 in inspections and studies on a mid-size building. Against a $2M purchase, it is the cheapest insurance in the transaction. This process is integral to my multifamily acquisition practice — including coordinating the specialists and renegotiating from findings.
Jeremy Soares is an OACIQ-licensed residential and commercial real estate broker (H2731) in Montreal.