Are due diligence timelines just insane lately?

Question

Does anyone else think due diligence timelines are getting way too tight lately?

Hot take - It sounds like every multifamily deal is coming with a short site walk-through timeframe? Or is this just talk?

To be fair seems like it's always been moving fast with inspections, docs, and walkthroughs when you get the go-ahead for a project walk. But even with all the tech in place, a killer team booked, digital checklists, and property inspection software, it still ends up feeling rushed.

Seeing a lot of teams struggling to keep unit walks, photos, and notes organized when the pressure’s on. Some workflows that worked just a year ago are starting now, like dinosaur operations. Is this just the new normal for MF acquisitions now?

Curious what people are doing to stay on top of things when there’s barely any breathing room. This is what I hear in the industry, at least. So if you have a cheat sheet you are willing to share or open up for discussion, let's have it!

Any go-to tools, quick habits, or low-tech hacks that actually help when time’s short?

Keen to hear your real-world stuff that works.

Frank Pyle · Answer

Yeah, I’m seeing this too. Even when the DD window isn’t “short” on paper, access and scheduling makes it feel tight.vI just had a weird one on a 6-unit where the seller wouldn’t allow a walkthrough until we had a purchase agreement in place. My buyer was out of state, so we went under contract just to get access, but we wrote the PA with plenty of outs so we could still do real due diligence.

What’s helped us is just having the team basically on standby and keeping the process simple—one place for photos/notes, quick daily check-ins, and focusing on the big-ticket risks first.

Chris Seveney · Answer

I have seen the opposite, I just had one under agreement since August we're supposed to close in October and after several extensions were refused any further. Buyer lost a significant deposit because they just continued to delay delay delay