Define the decision
Confirm the property or project, client, intended users, reliance, program or lender requirements, schedule, and the question the work must answer.
Construction & real estate due diligenceNational Reach. Local Insight.
Request a proposal In the field. In the documents. On the record.How KOW works
A report is only as useful as the work behind it.
KOW begins with the decision, builds the right evidence plan, connects documents with field conditions, and reports material findings without hiding the limits of the assignment.
The operating principle
Start with the responsibility—not the template.
A construction lender deciding whether to fund a draw, a purchaser evaluating an existing property, and an owner planning a retrofit may all look at the same building. They do not need the same report.
KOW sets the assignment around the client’s decision, governing requirements, available evidence, and property or project context. Standard practices and client formats remain important; the work becomes useful when those requirements are applied to the facts in front of the team.
Assignment lifecycle
From proposal request to final issue.
Build the evidence plan
Translate the assignment into document requests, site access, interviews, analysis, specialist coordination, deliverables, assumptions, and stated exclusions.
Connect record and field
Read the available documents, observe the property or work, test the relevant relationships, and keep material gaps visible while the assignment is active.
Issue and stand behind the report
Complete the applicable technical and quality review, deliver the report, and address supported client questions or new information through final issue.
The questions behind the scope
What KOW establishes before writing the answer.
- 01
What decision will rely on this report—and who is responsible for making it?
- 02
Which scope, standard, program, lender instructions, and reliance terms apply?
- 03
What evidence is available, what remains outstanding, and what cannot be verified?
- 04
Which observations or variances are material to cost, time, condition, environmental risk, performance, or compliance?
- 05
What follow-up belongs in the current assignment, and what requires a separate specialist or next phase?
Anatomy of the report
Evidence, conclusion, and limitation belong together.
The exact format changes by service and client. A defensible report should make these elements easy to locate and understand:
Assignment, client, property or project, intended use, and reliance context
Agreed scope, information reviewed, fieldwork completed, assumptions, and limitations
Current condition or status stated in terms the intended reader can use
Supporting photographs, tables, cost or schedule context, and source references where applicable
Material findings, exceptions, open items, and unresolved information separated from routine background
Recommendations or next steps bounded by the evidence and the consultant’s scope
Quality review
Four checks before the work is complete.
Scope check
The proposed work is compared with the client request, reliance needs, property, program, lender requirements, and schedule before fieldwork begins.
Evidence check
Material conclusions are traced to documents, observations, calculations, interviews, photographs, or clearly identified assumptions.
Consistency check
Narrative, tables, exhibits, costs, dates, classifications, and conclusions are reviewed for internal alignment.
Decision check
The final report keeps material issues visible, states limitations honestly, and distinguishes KOW’s technical work from the client’s decision.
One accountable firm
Regional field judgment. Shared reporting discipline.
Core consulting and field services are performed by KOW professionals. Practice leadership, technical reviewers, operations staff, and regional teams coordinate around the same assignment record so responsibility does not disappear between site visit and final report.
Working together
Questions about scope, review, and delivery.
Can KOW follow a lender or agency reporting format?
Yes. The applicable instructions, forms, definitions, reliance requirements, review process, and current program expectations should be shared and confirmed during proposal and kickoff.
What helps KOW deliver on the requested schedule?
A clear scope, complete property and transaction information, current documents, an available site contact, timely access, and one point of contact for questions reduce avoidable delay. The proposal confirms the schedule KOW can support.
How are comments and new information handled?
Supported comments or material new records are reviewed against the report as a whole. Revisions should remain consistent across the narrative, tables, forms, exhibits, and conclusions rather than appearing as disconnected responses.
Where does KOW’s responsibility stop?
The executed engagement defines KOW’s scope, reliance, limitations, and deliverables. A third-party consultant provides technical observations and opinions within that scope; the lender, owner, agency, or other client retains its own legal, credit, investment, and project decisions.
Continue from here
Start a conversation
Bring KOW into the assignment early.
Tell us what you’re working on. Our team will help define the right scope and get a proposal moving.
Request a proposal