Insights
Field notes from Cody Leivas on packaging and underwriting CRE deals — for sponsors and operators who need a principal-led studio.
How to Evaluate a Commercial Real Estate Acquisition
The principal's go/no-go sequence: build a value range, find the deal-killers, decide what to pay, and prove the thesis in diligence.
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What an Investor Offering Page Should Include
The complete component set for an investor offering page — the numbers investors check first, the access gate, the docs behind it, and why the same schema makes deal #2 fast.
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How to Read a Rent Roll: WALT, Rollover, Hidden Risk
What a rent roll actually tells you — WALT, rollover, escalations, NNN vs. gross, tenant credit — and the concentration it quietly hides.
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How to Underwrite a Multifamily Acquisition
The pro's sequence for a multifamily deal: normalize the T-12, mark loss-to-lease, model the value-add, then size debt and exit.
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What a CRE Proforma Should Include
A commercial real estate proforma explained field by field — the income build, expense stack, debt sizing, and the assumptions that actually decide the deal.
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How to Build a Real Estate Data Room: The Checklist
The analyst's step-by-step procedure for building a data room for a real estate raise — five tiers, sourcing sequence, and access logic.
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NNN vs. Gross vs. Modified Gross: The Lease Decision
NNN vs gross vs modified gross — who carries operating-cost risk, and how the right structure flips on credit, term, and yield.
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When to Hire a Real Estate Analyst: The Break-Even Test
Reframing the analyst hire around break-even deal volume and utilization — not the base-salary number operators anchor on.
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BOV vs. Appraisal: Which Valuation You Need
BOV vs. appraisal in commercial real estate: the real trade-off is defensibility and audience, not price.
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How to Underwrite an Industrial Deal: The Analyst's Sequence
Square footage is nearly meaningless. The real sequence starts with functional comps, then the proforma — here is how a pro does it.
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What a Real Estate Offering Memorandum Should Include
The complete component list for a CRE offering memorandum, and the sections where diligent LPs and lenders catch a sponsor.
Read MoreHow to Underwrite a Net-Lease Acquisition
The ten-year proforma, debt sizing, and the handful of assumptions that actually move a net-lease deal — and where principal review earns its keep.
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What a Commercial Lease Abstract Should Include
The 20 fields every lease abstract needs — and why the strategic overlay is what separates a summary from something you can actually act on.
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IC Memo vs. Decision Memo vs. Lender Memo
Three memos, three audiences. What belongs in each, what to leave out, and why the same deal needs a different document for the committee, the principal, and the bank.
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Hire a CRE Analyst vs. Outsource: The Math
What the analyst function actually costs at your deal volume — fixed headcount versus per-deliverable — and how to decide which one you actually need.
Read MoreOn a live deal
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