What did you actually spend on due diligence?
August 20, 2025
by a searcher from Johns Hopkins University in Shanghai, China
I’m budgeting for my first deal and trying to get a realistic sense of how much cash I should set aside for diligence.
From what I’ve gathered, a lean process might run ~$20–30k, while a more comprehensive one could be $40–60k+, not counting SBA fees that get financed.
Would anyone here be willing to share what you actually spent (out of pocket) on:
Quality of Earnings / CPA review
Legal (APA, leases, contracts, etc.)
Environmental (if RE included)
Industry consultants / ops experts
Misc. fees (bank packaging, insurance, background checks)
Also curious if there were any surprise expenses you didn’t see coming, or areas where you wish you had budgeted more.
from McGill University in San Diego, CA, USA
from University of California, Santa Barbara in Seattle, WA, USA