Start with what is producing income today
Before relying on a future story, look at the current income, occupancy, leases or revenue context, operating expenses, and condition. This helps you understand what is already present in the property and what may still require execution.
Future rent, renovations, repositioning, lease-up, or a change in operations may still be important. Keep those items visible as assumptions rather than blending them into the current operating case.
Put purchase price and total capital needs together
The headline price may not capture all of the cash required to move forward. Add likely repairs, reserves, tenant work, closing needs, payoffs, or other capital requirements to the same first screen.
This does not require a perfect budget. It does require an honest view of the items that could change the cash contribution or financing conversation.
Test a base view and a more cautious view
A single set of assumptions can hide how sensitive an opportunity is. Test a modest change to income, rate, or another key input so you can see whether one assumption is carrying most of the outcome.
The purpose is not to make a property fail a test. It is to identify which fact you would want to verify before you invest more time or capital.
Decide what earns your next hour
A first screen can help you decide whether the next step is deeper diligence, a financing conversation, a review of the capital plan, or a pause. That is a useful outcome even when it does not produce a simple yes or no.
Use the Investor Deal Screen to organize the relationships between price, income, debt, and equity in one browser-local educational view.