Due Diligence Cost Calculator

Due diligence costs add up. This calculator budgets.

Purchase price

Legal

Environmental

Engineering/PCA

Survey

Appraisal

Total DD cost

$75,900

DD as % of price

0.51%

Additional budget (10% contingency)

$6,900

How the math works

Sum line items. Add 10% contingency. Total DD as % of purchase price.

On $15M deal: $69k sub-total + $6.9k contingency = $76k DD (0.5% of price). Typical for mid-size commercial. Scale by project complexity (historic: +25%; industrial with environmental flags: +50%).

How to Use

Enter purchase price.
Enter legal cost.
Enter environmental Phase I cost.
Enter engineering/PCA cost.
Enter survey cost.
Enter appraisal cost.
Read total DD cost.

Frequently Asked Questions

Typical budget?

Small deal (<$2M): $12-25k DD. Mid ($5-20M): $40-100k. Large ($50M+): $150-400k. Portfolio: 20-50% discount per asset due to efficiencies. Budget roughly 0.5-1.5% of purchase price for standard DD.

Components?

Legal (25-35%). Environmental (15-25%). Engineering (15-25%). Survey (10-15%). Appraisal (10-15%). Title (5-10%). Tax/accounting (5-10%). Additional for specialized (seismic, flood, geotech) when triggered.

Can skip?

Nothing technically required, but skip at own risk. Phase I: lenders demand. Engineering: capex planning, lender demands. Survey: title requirement. Appraisal: lender demand. Speeding DD commonly regretted — most defect discoveries pay back 10x DD cost.

How often should I rerun this?

Rerun this calculator whenever inputs change materially — new rent roll data, rate moves, loan balance updates, or quarterly operating data. For active deals, monthly refresh is typical. For stabilized assets under monitoring, quarterly is fine. Treat the output as a decision tool, not a one-time answer — market conditions evolve and so should your analysis.