The diligence memo that survives a dispute
Lesson 6 of 6 · Diligence before the wire
1 · Learn the move · Refinement loop
Months after closing, someone will ask what you knew. A resale buyer whose septic permit was refused, a partner who lost money, an heir who says something was hidden. The memo you wrote before the wire is your answer, and it survives only if every statement traces to a dated document and every open question was written down as open. A single draft never gets there, because first drafts smooth: 'minor flood area', 'planning said it's fine', 'septic should be okay'. A refinement loop does. Draft the memo from the file, critique it against a named standard, rewrite, and critique again until the critique comes back clean or three passes are used. The standard is short: every fact cited and dated, every professional answer quoted with who and when, every unknown stated, nothing softened, and no conclusion a professional did not give. The memo is a record, not a legal opinion.
Draft a diligence memo from the file below. Then critique it for: uncited facts, undated answers, softened wording, conclusions no professional gave, and unknowns left out. Rewrite and critique again. Stop when the critique is clean or after three passes. Give me the final memo and the critique log.
2 · Your turn. You write the prompt
You are wiring funds on a tract in Ostler County next week. The file holds a title commitment, a planner's email, a flood printout, your site notes and a seller disclosure. Your partner wants a memo. You want one that will still read true if the resale goes badly. Write the prompt.
Write the prompt for this scenario as given, or swap in a real one from your own work. The score works the same either way.
Remember: the AI sees only your prompt, not this page. If the situation isn't in your prompt, it doesn't exist.
Optional. These shape the output when you run your prompt below, not your score.