Due Diligence & Existing-Condition Surveys for Developers in Montréal
Measured building data at the point where it changes decisions: acquisition, feasibility, conversion studies and design handover.
Get a Quote for Your Project
Send us the building location, approximate square footage and required deliverables. We'll review the scope and get back to you.
On development and conversion work, existing-condition uncertainty is priced into everything: the acquisition, the feasibility study, the contingency, the schedule. Reducing that uncertainty early is one of the few interventions that affects all of them at once.
A measured survey answers the questions that feasibility work usually has to assume: what the real floor-to-floor heights are, where structure actually sits, what area the building genuinely has, and whether the intended use physically fits within the existing envelope.
The same dataset then carries forward to the design team, so the money spent during diligence is not spent again at design stage.
What usually goes wrong for developers
Feasibility built on assumed geometry
Conversion studies depend on clear heights, structural spacing and envelope condition. When those are assumed from old drawings, the resulting yield and cost numbers inherit the error.
Area uncertainty at acquisition
Stated areas and measured areas do not always agree. Measured documentation puts a defensible number behind the area a transaction or a pro forma is based on.
Surprises that arrive as contingency draw
Most existing-building contingency is spent on geometry discovered late. Capturing early moves those discoveries to a stage where they can still change the plan rather than only the budget.
Handover to the design team
A survey commissioned for diligence should be usable by the architect and engineers later. Delivering in standard model and drawing formats means it is.
How a project runs
- 01Define the decision the data supports: acquisition, feasibility, or design handover.
- 02Capture at the level of detail that decision needs, which is often less than a full design-grade model.
- 03Register and quality control the data.
- 04Deliver the diligence-stage documentation.
- 05Extend the same dataset into a design base model if the project proceeds.
What you receive
- Existing-condition plans, sections and elevations
- Measured area documentation for pro forma and transaction use
- Registered point cloud that carries forward to the design team
- Optional Revit base model once the project moves into design
Services most relevant to this workflow
Guides worth reading first
Written by the DCMS team to answer the questions that usually come up before a scope is agreed.
Frequently asked questions
Can a survey be completed inside a diligence period?+
Often yes, depending on building size, access and the deliverable required. Diligence-stage scope is usually lighter than design-stage scope, which shortens the timeline.
Will the design team be able to use the same data?+
Yes. Delivering in standard point cloud and model formats means the diligence survey becomes the design base rather than a throwaway cost.
Can you verify stated building area?+
Measured documentation produces area figures derived from captured boundaries, which is a defensible basis for the areas used in a transaction or pro forma.
What if we only need part of the building measured?+
Scoping by floor, wing or element category is normal. Capturing only where decisions are pending keeps the cost proportional to the value.
Get a Quote for Your Project
Send us the building location, approximate square footage and required deliverables. We'll review the scope and get back to you. Developers