Notes from the underwriting desk.

Practical writing on CRE analysis, financing, and decision-making — from a principal who does this work daily.

Lender Underwriting

How to Outsource Commercial Real Estate Underwriting

What outsourced underwriting should cover, the three engagement models, how to pilot the first file, and the quality-control markers that separate real underwriting desks from modeling factories.

Read Article
Lender Underwriting

Outsourced CRE Underwriting: Cost vs. Hiring In-House

The real math: fully loaded underwriter payroll, the utilization problem, per-file economics, and the break-even file count where hiring starts to beat outsourcing.

Read Article
Lender Underwriting

What Should Be Included in a CRE Credit Memo?

The complete structure, section by section: executive loan summary, borrower and guarantor analysis, collateral, underwritten NOI and sizing, stress tests, risks, mitigants, and conditions.

Read Article
Lender Underwriting

How CRE Lenders Calculate Global Cash Flow

Building the global cash flow schedule from PFS, SREO, and tax returns — the adjustments that matter, global DSCR thresholds, and the red flags the analysis surfaces.

Read Article
Lender Underwriting

DSCR vs. Debt Yield vs. LTV: How Lenders Use Each

What each sizing constraint protects against, typical thresholds, and a worked example showing which constraint binds the loan amount.

Read Article
Financing

Cash-Out Refinance at Today's Rates: When It Makes Sense and When It Doesn't

Should you pull equity out of a stabilized property at today's rates? A framework using actual lender term sheets and real cash flow impact.

Read Article
Underwriting

5 Pro Forma Mistakes That Make Experienced Investors Lose Money

Five common pro forma mistakes experienced CRE investors make — aggressive rent growth, ignored reserves, seller pro formas, single-scenario analysis, and misaligned assumptions.

Read Article
Decision Support

Should You Sell a Property Mid-Construction or Finish the Project?

A framework for the mid-construction crossroads: modeling the sale at multiple price points against the cost and returns of completing the project.

Read Article
Financing

What Bridge Lenders Actually Look for in a Loan Package

What bridge lenders actually evaluate in a loan package — and how to assemble a file that gets to a term sheet.

Read Article
Keep Learning

New to CRE underwriting?

Start with our plain-English guide to cap rates, DSCR, IRR, pro formas, and valuation methods.

Read the Underwriting Guide
Get Started

One call. Straight answers. A quote on the spot.

15 minutes to discuss your deal, your file, or your portfolio. Honest assessment of fit — and if we're not the right firm, we'll tell you.

Schedule a Consultation

No commitment. No pressure. Just a straight conversation.