Due diligence on a property acquisition involves pulling together a lot of information from a lot of sources. This guide walks through a complete due diligence workflow using Mapview — covering every major information category from initial planning check to final report, with the specific Mapview tools relevant to each step.
This guide is written for property professionals: buyers’ advocates, commercial property advisors, development managers, and valuers. The workflow applies to both residential and commercial acquisitions, with notes on where the two diverge.
Step 1: Planning Controls
What you’re looking for: Zoning, overlays, and the planning framework that will govern what can be done with the property.
In Mapview, open the Planning tab on any property. Check:
- Zone — what is the current zone, and what does it permit by right versus by permit? Use the Zone Provisions quick access to read the Section 1/2/3 use table without leaving Mapview.
- Overlays — are any overlays present? Heritage, flood, bushfire, environmental, design, neighbourhood character, and development contribution overlays each have different implications. Read the overlay schedule for each one.
- Particular provisions — some properties are subject to particular provisions in the planning scheme (clause 52 car parking, clause 53 uses, etc.) — these are listed in the property panel where applicable.
Key risk flags:
- Heritage Overlay — significantly constrains works and demolition; may affect feasibility
- Significant Landscape Overlay or Environmental Significance Overlay — can restrict vegetation removal and earthworks
- Development Contributions Overlay — may impose substantial levies on development
- Flood Overlay — affects building form, floor levels, and insurance
Step 2: Planning Permit History
What you’re looking for: What has been applied for and decided on this site? Are there any approvals that represent existing entitlements? Any refusals that signal council attitude?
Open the Planning Permits tab. Review:
- All applications lodged in the past 10 years
- Decision outcomes — approvals, refusals, conditions, appeals
- Any current applications — an active application with a notice period means the vendor may not have a clean permit position
- VCAT/tribunal appeal outcomes — particularly relevant for sites with a history of contested applications
For commercial property: Check whether the current use has a valid planning permit, and whether that permit runs with the land or is personal to the operator.
Step 3: Title and Ownership
What you’re looking for: Who owns the property, and are there any encumbrances, easements, or covenants that affect use or development?
Run a Title Search from the Titles & Documents tab:
- Confirm the registered proprietor matches the vendor
- Check for caveats — a caveat signals an unresolved interest that could affect settlement
- Check for mortgages — relevant for understanding the vendor’s position
- Easements — review the plan of subdivision and any registered easement instruments; easements for drainage, services, or right of way can significantly constrain development
- Restrictive covenants — older properties, particularly in established suburbs, may carry covenants restricting use, building materials, or subdivision
Download the plan of subdivision and any registered easement or covenant instruments.
Step 4: Site History and Environmental
What you’re looking for: Has the site been used for purposes that could have caused contamination? Has it been filled? Are there structures or features that may not appear in current records?
Use the Historical Aerial Imagery timeline to review the site’s appearance over time:
- When was it subdivided from a larger lot?
- Has there been filling activity — gradual raising of the land profile?
- Were there structures or uses (fuel station, dry cleaner, industrial building) that have since been demolished?
- For waterfront or low-lying sites: has the flood extent changed over time?
Cross-reference with the EPA Contamination Site overlay in the map layer panel. If the site or an adjacent site is listed, retrieve the publicly available environmental audit summary from the EPA portal link in Mapview.
For commercial acquisitions: A Phase 1 ESA (environmental site assessment) will almost always be required by the lender. Historical aerial imagery and contamination overlay data from Mapview forms part of the desktop review that precedes the Phase 1.
Step 5: Infrastructure and Services
What you’re looking for: What infrastructure is present or planned? What services are connected, and what are the costs of connection or augmentation?
In the property panel, check:
- Services proximity — distance to water, sewer, power, gas, and telecommunications infrastructure
- Infrastructure contribution plans — does the council have an DCPO/ICP that will impose levies on development of this site?
- Planned infrastructure — are there road, rail, or utilities works planned in the vicinity that could affect the site?
For development sites, contact the relevant water/sewer authority directly with the title details to obtain a formal infrastructure availability statement. Mapview’s services data is a desktop guide; always confirm with the authority for any acquisition decision.
Step 6: Market Context
What you’re looking for: How does this property’s pricing compare to recent transactions? What is the current and likely future demand for this use?
Use the Comparable Sales tool under the Premium data layer:
- Select the subject property and set search parameters (radius, date range, size range, zoning)
- Review the comparable transactions — note any outliers and understand why they transacted above or below the general range
- Review the Rental Yield estimate for the property and comparable properties in the precinct
For development sites, review the Planning Permits in the surrounding area for recently approved and under-construction competing developments. Supply pipeline analysis is critical for residential feasibility.
Bringing It Together
A full due diligence package from Mapview typically includes:
- Planning Certificate Export (PDF) — zone, overlays, permit summary
- Title search and registered documents — proprietor, encumbrances, easements, covenants
- Historical aerial imagery — downloaded screenshots at key dates
- Planning permit history — exported CSV or in-report summary
- Comparable sales summary — from the Premium layer
This package supports the desktop phase of due diligence. For any significant acquisition, you’ll supplement it with formal searches (conveyancer title search, council property information statement), specialist reports (environmental, heritage, structural), and legal advice.
If you want to see how Mapview fits into your specific acquisition workflow, contact our team. We work with many professional teams to configure Mapview to match their process.
Explore Mapview features or compare plans to get started.