Section 01
Sequence matters more than length
Title, survey and permits should be settled before money is spent on specialists. A restrictive covenant, an encroachment on the Real Property Report or an unpermitted addition can change the value of the whole exercise, and each is cheap to discover.
Only once those are clear is it efficient to book an inspection, a geotechnical opinion or an engineer, because at that point you know which of them the property actually requires.
Section 02
Documentation is the difference in this segment
Distinctive properties accumulate work: additions, mechanical upgrades, envelope repairs, landscape structures. The record of that work — permits, invoices, warranties, trade names — is what allows a buyer to price risk instead of guessing at it.
Where documentation is missing, the appropriate response is not to assume the worst but to widen the professional review and to reflect the uncertainty in the conditions written into the contract.
Section 03
The setting dictates several extra groups
Slope, top-of-bank position, retaining structures and drainage apply to valley and ravine properties and to little else. Water supply, wastewater, legal access and outbuilding permissions apply to county acreages and to little else.
Condominium ownership substitutes an entirely different body of diligence — reserve fund study, bylaws, insurance and board minutes — for most of the building questions a house buyer would ask.
Section 04
Lot grading is Edmonton's recurring quiet problem
Mature areas under infill pressure are the common case: a new house built next door changes how water moves across an older lot, and the consequences appear during spring melt rather than at the inspection.
Confirming the lot grading certificate, the current grade and the direction of drainage — including from neighbouring construction — is inexpensive and frequently decisive.
Section 05
What this tool keeps
Only which boxes are ticked, and only in your own browser's local storage on this device. It is labelled that way in the interface.
No property address, no names, no notes and no contact information are requested or retained. Clearing your browser data clears the checklist, and the reset button clears it immediately.
Section 06
What it does not replace
This is an organising document. It does not replace legal advice on title and contract, a professional inspection, engineering or geotechnical opinion, surveying, tax advice, or a lawyer's review of condominium documents.
Use it to arrive at those professionals with better questions, and to keep track of which answers you already have.