How does inspection fit into the due diligence period?

A 30-day sequence that works

Day	Action
1	Order Phase I ESA. Request seller documents: permits, CO, roof and HVAC records, warranties, service contracts, prior reports, code or ADA complaints.
2-4	Engage condition assessment. Seller issues tenant notices. Confirm lender's third-party requirements in writing.
5-9	Site inspection performed. Verbal summary of material findings same day.
10-14	Condition report delivered. Specialty scopes added if the walk warranted them.
15-20	Phase I delivered. Contractor pricing obtained on the significant immediate repairs.
21-25	Retrade request submitted in writing with report excerpts and one number.
26-30	Resolution: credit, price reduction, seller repairs, extension or termination.

Why environmental goes first

Records research controls the Phase I schedule, not our availability. Fifteen to twenty business days is standard, and an agency file request can add a week. If a REC surfaces, Phase II adds two to four more weeks. That is the sequence that blows deadlines, so it starts on day one.

Documents are the accelerant

Every day the seller withholds permit history and service records is a day of report analysis that happens later. Put the document request in the PSA if you can, and escalate on day three if nothing has arrived. A seller who cannot produce roof invoices is telling you something about the roof.

Coordinate with the loan, do not follow it

Lender third-party requirements often arrive after credit approval, which can be week three. Ask for them at application so scope and reliance are right the first time. Reissuing a report to add a lender as an intended user costs time you will not have.

Build in an extension trigger

Negotiate one automatic extension - ten to fifteen days - tied to a Phase II recommendation or a specialty consultant referral. It costs little at signing and is nearly impossible to obtain on day 28 when you need it.

Do not spend the last week reading

Reports should land with enough runway to price the repairs. Findings without contractor numbers are hard to negotiate, and pricing takes several days because contractors have to visit the site too.