Buyer's guide · 2026
How to choose an AI consultant for commercial real estate
Nine questions to put to any consultant, PSV included, with what a good answer sounds like. Then what a first engagement should deliver, the pricing models you will meet, and the red flags.
Short answer
Hire the firm that answers nine questions in writing.
A good consultant names its CRE clients and results, says where your data lives and who owns the build, shows its security documentation, and fixes the price and the deliverables before work starts. PSV's answer to each question is below.
- A named CRE client and a before-and-after number.
- Your data, in the environment you choose, and a build you own.
- A fixed price and named deliverables before kickoff.
PSV wrote this guide and sells AI consulting. The questions apply to us too, and each of our answers links to its source.
Ask every firm, ours included
Nine questions, and how PSV answers them
Send them before the first call. A firm that answers in writing has usually done the work before.
What CRE work have you done, for whom, and what changed?
A named client and a before-and-after number are worth more than a logo wall.
How PSV answers
Westlake Realty Group cut per-deal underwriting from 6-8 hours to 20 minutes. Saunders Real Estate got BOVs from 4-8 hours each to about 30 minutes.
Sources: Westlake Realty Group case study, Saunders Real Estate case study.Who on your team has worked in commercial real estate?
The person scoping your workflows should have done the work being automated.
How PSV answers
Zed Truong, co-founder and partner, previously worked in institutional real estate at PGIM Real Estate and in brokerage at Voit Real Estate. He has closed $1B+ in commercial real estate transactions and underwritten $11B+ across asset classes.
Source: Zed Truong's profile.Where will our data and the system live, and who owns what you build?
Hosting and ownership decide what happens to the work if you part ways.
How PSV answers
Your choice: PSV-managed cloud, a dedicated single-tenant environment, or your own cloud or VPC. You own what PSV builds for you; its pre-existing tooling is licensed to you.
Sources: PSV Company Brain, PSV terms.What security documentation can we read before we sign?
Your IT reviewer will ask. Get it in writing, and ask whether a certification is held or in progress.
How PSV answers
A public security page, with controls documentation and a completed SIG Lite questionnaire on request. PSV is pursuing SOC 2 Type II and does not hold it.
Source: PSV security.What exactly do we get at the end of the first engagement?
Named deliverables are the difference between a roadmap and a slide deck.
How PSV answers
Ten named deliverables, from a workflow map to a deployment recommendation, all yours to keep.
Source: PSV AI Consulting.What does it cost, and is the price fixed before we start?
A range is fine. A price that moves after kickoff is not.
How PSV answers
AI Consulting typically costs $10K to $25K, and the price is fixed before the engagement starts.
Source: PSV AI Consulting.Can we take the roadmap to our own team or another firm?
A plan that works with one vendor alone is a sales document.
How PSV answers
Yes. The roadmap is written so your own team, or another firm, could implement from it.
Source: PSV AI Consulting.Will you train our people to run and extend it?
A system nobody on staff can supervise stops being used.
How PSV answers
Yes. PSV-led training inside your firm, or self-directed through the CRE AI Institute.
Source: PSV llms.txt.What would you tell us not to build?
Good advice includes what to skip, buy or defer.
How PSV answers
The AI strategy states what the firm is deliberately not doing yet, and the architecture names what stays out of scope.
Source: PSV AI Consulting.
The first engagement
What you should have when it ends
A first engagement is paid discovery. It should end in documents you keep, written so anyone could build from them.
PSV · Stage 01 · Foundation
AI Consulting
Strategy, security, and a roadmap before anything gets built.
- We audit the business, then set the AI strategy and the security posture on top of what we find.
- We centralize what the firm knows, and work with your IT team so the rollout clears their review.
- We show you where the opportunities live, ranked by value against effort.
- You leave with a roadmap that sequences the work, written before the Brain gets built.
Typically $10K to $25K, fixed before the engagement starts. Ten named deliverables, all yours to keep.
Source: PSV AI Consulting.From any firm
The checklist
- A map of how work actually moves through the firm.
- An AI policy and security posture your IT function has reviewed.
- A map of the systems and data that hold firm context.
- Use cases ranked by value against effort.
- A sequenced roadmap, written before anything is built.
- A recommendation on where the system should run.
Cost
Four pricing models you will meet
Most firms use more than one. Ask which applies to each stage of the work.
Fixed-fee assessment
One price for a defined set of deliverables, agreed before work starts.
- Watch for
- What you own at the end, and whether the plan works without the firm that wrote it.
At PSV
AI Consulting typically costs $10K to $25K, fixed before the engagement starts.
Source: PSV AI Consulting.Scoped build
Priced after discovery, to the workflows and systems in scope.
- Watch for
- Who hosts it, who owns it, and what upkeep costs after launch.
At PSV
Company Brain build pricing is not published; the consulting engagement scopes each build.
Source: PSV Company Brain.Monthly retainer
A monthly fee for standing advice or a part-time AI lead.
- Watch for
- What is delivered each month, and how much notice ends it.
At PSV
The CRE AI Institute's Advisory tier is $499/mo, with a monthly one-to-one hour with a PSV founder.
Source: PSV llms.txt.Per-seat training
A price per person, per workshop or per cohort.
- Watch for
- Whose documents you practice on, and who teaches.
At PSV
The CRE AI Institute starts at $69/mo per person, after a 7-day free trial.
Source: PSV llms.txt.
See what nine firms publish on price, each figure with its source.
Red flags
Eight reasons to keep looking
Any one of them is worth a direct question. Two or more, and the proposal can wait.
No named client, no number
A logo wall is not a result. Ask for one CRE client and what changed.
No answer on your data
They cannot say where it lives, who can read it, or which model providers process it.
The price moves after kickoff
Scope and fee should be fixed in writing before work starts.
A build before a look
A build proposal arrives before anyone has studied how your firm works.
You cannot run it without them
You do not own what is built, or it runs on their account alone.
A certification you cannot verify
Ask for the report, or the status in writing. PSV is pursuing SOC 2 Type II and does not hold it.
Source: PSV security.Nothing they would not build
Every idea is a yes. Good advice includes what to skip, buy or defer.
A ranking with no author
A list of firms that hides who wrote it. Ours is written by PSV, says so at the top, and shows its criteria and sources.
Read the ranked list
The honest alternative
When you do not need a consultant
The problem is already defined
Go straight to the build. PSV skips the consulting stage when the problem is already well defined.
See the Company Brain
One person needs the skills
A course costs less than a consultant. The CRE AI Institute starts at $69/mo, after a 7-day free trial.
Start the free trial
A finished product does the job
Buy the software. PSV compares itself with CRE AI products on its comparison hub, source by source.
See the comparisons
Frequently asked
Choosing a CRE AI consultant, answered
- How do I choose an AI consultant for commercial real estate?
- Put the same nine questions to every firm and compare the answers in writing: named CRE results, who has worked in CRE, where your data lives and who owns the build, security documents, deliverables, price, lock-in, training, and what they would not build. PSV answers all nine on this page, each with its source.Go to the nine questions
- What should a first AI consulting engagement deliver?
- A map of how work moves through the firm, an AI policy and security posture your IT team has reviewed, a systems and data map, use cases ranked by value against effort, and a sequenced roadmap. PSV's AI Consulting has ten named deliverables, all yours to keep.Source: PSV AI Consulting.
- How much does AI consulting for a CRE firm cost?
- It depends on the model: a fixed-fee assessment, a scoped build, a monthly retainer or per-seat training. PSV's AI Consulting typically costs $10K to $25K, fixed before the engagement starts. What other firms publish is on the ranked list, each figure with its source.See what each firm publishes on priceSource: PSV AI Consulting.
- What are the red flags when hiring an AI consultant?
- No named CRE client and no number, no answer on where your data goes, a price that moves after kickoff, a build proposal before anyone has studied how the firm works, a result you cannot run without them, and a certification you cannot verify.See all eight red flags
- Do we need an AI consultant at all?
- Not always. When the problem is already well defined, go straight to a build. When one person needs the skills, a course costs less: the CRE AI Institute starts at $69/mo. When a finished product does the job, buy it. A consultant earns the fee when nobody at the firm owns the question of where to start.Sources: PSV AI Consulting, PSV llms.txt.
Keep reading
Where to go next
The ranked list
AI consultants for CRE, ranked
Nine firms marked against seven criteria, with every source shown and PSV's own place disclosed.
PSV's first engagement
AI Consulting
The audit, the strategy, the security posture and the roadmap, before anything is built.
Question four, answered
Security and data
Where the work runs, what PSV operates and what stays yours, and the controls behind it.
Next step
Start with the questions, answered for your firm.
Ten minutes. An honest read on where you stand, the highest-value opportunities, and which engagement fits, if any.