Real Estate Diligence & Inspections
A typical inspection report tells you the roof is twenty years old. A Cerro diligence walk-through tells you what it costs to turn the house into the home you're trying to buy.
We join you on-site during escrow — one or two visits, always with a design principal and a structural engineer, sometimes with an MEP engineer or a coastal counsel if the property warrants it. We walk the house the way we'd walk it on day one of a Discovery engagement, and we write it up the way we'd write a renovation feasibility memo.
The deliverable is a written scope: what you'd change, what it would cost in rough ranges, what the permit path looks like, what deferred maintenance is hidden behind what. The intent is to put numbers on the envelope before you waive contingencies, so the negotiation can happen with facts and the deal math can be done honestly.
This service exists because the standard real-estate inspection is a different document. It is not wrong — it just answers a different question.
The scope, in writing.
- 01On-site walk-through with a Cerro principal
- 02Structural engineer on-site for any foundation, hillside, or older-house concerns
- 03MEP engineer on-site where systems age is material
- 04Coastal or hillside counsel conferral when jurisdiction applies
- 05Written scope: renovation possibilities, rough cost ranges, rough timing
- 06Permit-path summary (pairs with our Land-Use Consulting offering)
- 07Go / no-go recommendation with the reasoning
2 ways to start.
Pre-purchase walk-through
Fixed-fee engagement, five-to-ten-business-day turnaround. Engagement letter before we attend the property.
Paired with Land-Use Consulting
When a property warrants both — the buildable envelope and the renovation envelope — we run both together at a combined fee.
Fixed-fee engagements between $6k and $18k depending on property size and specialist count. Credited against design fees if the property closes and we're retained.
We co-deliver this capability with a named, licensed partner. Every engagement discloses which partner is on the project and on what terms.
Begin an inquiry — we reply in five business days.
Every inquiry lands with a principal. We read it personally. If what you need isn't us, we will tell you — and we may know the right party.