Realmo CRE Guide

Why CRE prices off income instead of comps, and the four sources returns actually come from.

Eight stages, one worked retail example, and exactly where deposits get lost.

A second pass through the same ground — seven stages, and a negative-leverage worked example.

The order of operations, step by step, from buy box to takeover.

Eight to fifteen professionals on one deal, and which of them actually owes you a duty.

Five cash buckets, and why the real number runs bigger than the down payment.

When the buyer is also the tenant, and how that changes the financing entirely.

Why the same building can grade Class A on one block and Class B two miles over.

One label, different loans, different appraisals, and a different exit.

Recovery, expansion, hypersupply, recession — and why new supply always arrives late.

Same building, two ownership paths — and what each one actually costs in hours.

Seven recurring risk categories, each measurable before you close.

Sourcing deals before they're deals — from assessor records to a signed LOI.

Converting broker shorthand — NNN, load factor, TI — into the number you'll actually pay.

The five core property types, plus the specialty categories built on top of them.

Underwriting, financing, and owning office assets.

Clear height, loading, and power over finish quality.

Tenant credit, trade area, and CAM reimbursement.

Five units and up — underwritten as a business, not a house.

Month-to-month income and a business built on rate management.

Rooms reprice nightly — underwriting has to move just as fast.

Retention driven by build-out and referral patterns, not flexible space.

Value from delivered power, not usable square footage.

Warehouse and office in one unit, and how to lease it.

No rent roll — returns depend on the exit you can name in advance.

Buildings designed around one use, and what happens after it ends.

Older buildings, better locations — value from drive time.

Same retail label, opposite failure modes.

The building works as a refrigeration machine, not just a shell.

Several assets sharing one roof, one parcel, one capital stack.

Matching capital, hours, and edge to the property type that actually rewards them.

Line-by-line underwriting: rebuild income, expenses, debt, and exit for each property type.

How IRR, cash-on-cash, and equity multiple each describe a different part of the return.

The three ratios that decide loan size: coverage, leverage, and yield on the loan amount.

The arithmetic, plus the input definitions that change the answer more than the math.

Why there is no universal number, and what a cap rate is actually pricing.

Cap rate ignores debt; ROI depends on it. When each one answers the question.

What compression measures, what causes it, and why it flatters a hold period.

The spread between entry and exit assumptions, and what it says about the model.

From gross potential rent to NOI, with each deduction in order.

What counts as an operating expense, and the four items that never do.

NOI stops at operations; cash flow survives debt service, capex, and reserves.

Annual pre-tax cash flow over cash invested, and what the ratio hides.

Cash-on-cash reads one year; IRR reads timing across the whole hold.

Building the cash flow series, then solving for the rate that zeroes it out.

Leverage lifts IRR and raises the variance. What the gap between the two reveals.

Total dollars back per dollar in — and why it says nothing about time.

NOI over annual debt service, the inputs lenders adjust, and a worked example.

NOI over loan amount: the one ratio that ignores rate and amortization.

How LTV is set, why appraised value governs it, and where LTC differs.

Price over gross rent: fast screening, and the expenses it quietly ignores.

When price per square foot compares properties, and when it misleads.

The occupancy level where income covers operating expenses and debt service.

OpEx as a share of income, benchmarks by asset type, and what skews them.

Potential income minus vacancy, credit loss, and concessions equals what you actually collect.

How to set vacancy and credit loss assumptions that survive due diligence.

Where pro forma numbers get inflated, and how to test them against actuals.

Reading trailing twelve-month statements for one-time items and timing distortions.

What a rent roll reveals about credit, rollover, and in-place versus market rent.

Projecting cash flows and discounting them, and the assumptions that drive the result.

How the sale assumption at the end of the hold sets most of the value.

How hold period interacts with debt maturity, capex timing, and the exit.

Stress-testing rent, cap rate, and rate assumptions to find the break points.

Why office, industrial, retail, and multifamily price at different spreads.

What a metro's growth, liquidity, and supply pipeline do to cap rates.

The three risk profiles, and what each one expects in return and in work.

What stabilized means, who defines it, and why lenders care about the date.

The three approaches appraisers use, and which one governs for income property.

Direct capitalization and DCF: turning income into value.

Adjusting closed sales into a value conclusion, and where adjustments go wrong.

Scope, timeline, cost, and what the appraiser will ask you for.

Replacement cost less depreciation, plus land — and when it is the only approach.

What AVMs measure, where their inputs fail, and how to use them anyway.

Screening, adjusting, and defending comparable sales and lease comps.

Different inputs, different scope, different assumptions — reconciling two numbers.

The four tests appraisers apply to decide a site's most profitable legal use.

Assessment methods lag the market; what that gap means for taxes and appeals.

How occupancy moves NOI, lease-up cost, and the cap rate a buyer will pay.

Pricing the gap between contract rent and market rent, and who keeps the upside.

What a BOV covers, who writes it, and how it differs from an appraisal.

The link between rates, debt cost, and cap rates — and the lag between them.

Structures, clauses, and economics of commercial leases in one reference.

Tenant pays taxes, insurance, and maintenance on top of base rent — with limits.

Which terms move, in what order, and what landlords trade for rent.

Gross, net, and modified gross: who pays what, and how rent quotes compare.

Landlord covers operating costs; base-year stops shift increases back to tenants.

The negotiated middle ground, and the expense splits that vary deal to deal.

Double net leaves roof and structure with the landlord; triple net does not.

Absolute NNN removes every landlord obligation, including structure and casualty.

Leasing the land under the building: term, reversion, and financing consequences.

Rent tied to tenant sales: breakpoints, reporting, and audit rights.

Common area charges, admin fees, caps, exclusions, and the annual reconciliation.

Who funds the build-out, how it is drawn, and how it is priced into rent.

Free rent, TI, and other concessions, and how they change effective rent.

Fixed bumps, CPI, and market resets — how rent grows over the term.

Renewal versus extension, notice windows, and how renewal rent gets set.

Lock-in periods, termination fees, and the conditions that make the right usable.

What a guarantee covers, how burn-off works, and how to limit exposure.

Consent, recapture rights, and who stays liable after a sublease.

Weighted average lease term, and why it changes what a building is worth.

When leases expire together: income risk, downtime, and re-leasing cost.

Building-block terms used across every article in this index.

Terms specific to building type, structure, and lease format.

Metric definitions used across the section, each with its formula.

Valuation and appraisal terms used across the section.

Lease terms used across the section, each with its practical meaning.