The 25-Point Checklist We Run Before Every Offer

Offers are emotional. Checklists aren't. That's why we run the same 25-point screen before every offer — about 10 minutes, zero mercy. It's the same checklist we give away as our lead magnet.

Walk through it in order. The sections build on each other, and the kill switches at the end override everything above them.

1. Deal Basics: Know What You're Actually Buying

Before a single number gets crunched, confirm the fundamentals: purchase price and property type, the address and submarket (neighborhood rents, vacancy trends), current occupancy and unit mix, and — the one beginners skip — why the seller is selling. Retirement, distress, and 1031 exchanges are three very different negotiations wearing the same asking price.

Then check days on market: 60+ days at full price signals soft demand or overpricing — and that's leverage for you.

Rule: if you can't describe the deal's basics in two sentences, you're not ready to underwrite it.

2. Income Verification: Trust, But Verify

The seller's income number is a marketing document until proven otherwise. Demand the trailing 12-month rent roll — actuals, not pro-forma, not "potential." Then cross-check it against bank deposits or tax returns. When the rent roll says $2,100 and the deposits say $1,850, believe the deposits.

Verify market rent yourself with three or more comparable listings — not the seller's brochure. Set vacancy at 5–10% (never 0%), using your market's actual number. And document other income — laundry, parking, fees — with the same skepticism. Fantasy ancillary income has killed more deals than bad roofs.

Rule: every income line needs a source document. "The seller said so" is not a source document.

3. Expense Reality-Check: Where Deals Go to Die

This is the section that kills the most deals, because it's where listing fantasy meets ownership reality.

Property taxes must be modeled on the reassessed value after your purchase — not the seller's decade-old bill. In many markets the reset alone adds five figures a year. Get a real insurance quote for your ownership (in hurricane markets, budget generously — this line has doubled for many owners). Budget maintenance at 5–10% of gross rent, property management at 8–12% even if you'll self-manage (your time isn't free, and any buyer or lender will underwrite it anyway). And line-item utilities, HOA, and CapEx reserves — roof, HVAC, water heaters — separately. Lumping them together is how a $9,000 roof ambushes you in year three.

Rule: if total operating expenses land under 35% of gross rent on a single-family rental, you're missing something. Go find it.

4. Financing & the DSCR Test: Can the Deal Carry Its Debt?

Model the rate, term, amortization, and down payment at today's rates — not last year's, not the rate your friend got. Then calculate DSCR: NOI ÷ annual debt service. For buy-and-hold, we want 1.25x or better. Below that, one vacancy wipes out your cushion and you're feeding the property monthly.

Check your personal cash-on-cash hurdle — know your number before you screen, not after you've fallen in love. Then stress-test +2% on rates. The deal you buy at 6.5% might need to survive at 8.5%.

Rule: a deal that only works at perfect financing isn't a deal. It's a bet on rates.

5. The Five Kill Switches: Instant Walk-Aways

If any of these is true, walk away — no matter how good the spreadsheet looks:

- K-1. The seller won't share documents. No rent roll, no T-12, no tax returns? There are hidden income problems. Move on.

- K-2. The tax reset kills it. If property taxes reset 40%+ higher at your purchase price and the deal can't absorb it, you have instant negative cash flow on day one.

- K-3. Deferred maintenance exceeds 12 months of NOI. Roof, plumbing, electrical — you're buying a job, not an asset.

- K-4. The comps don't support the price. If the asking price needs perfect execution and record rents to survive, the margin of safety is zero.

- K-5. You can't explain the risk in one sentence. If you can't tell a partner the downside in a single sentence, you don't understand the deal well enough yet.

Kill switches exist because spreadsheets don't have instincts. You do — systematize them.

How to Score It

Count your checked boxes:

- GO — 20+ boxes checked, zero kill switches tripped, DSCR ≥ 1.25.

- REVIEW — 15–19 checked, or one soft kill switch. Renegotiate price or terms.

- WALK AWAY — under 15 checked, or any kill switch tripped.

Most listings die at REVIEW or WALK AWAY, and that's the system working. The checklist's job isn't to find you deals — it's to stop bad ones from finding you.

Get the Printable Pack

This article is the thinking; the printable pack is the doing: the 25-point checklist, the 90+ item inspection red-flags guide, and the 90+ item due-diligence checklist.

Get the Rental Deal Quick-Start Pack → https://dealready.gumroad.com/l/rental-deal-quick-start-pack

Three checklists, $19 — less than the cost of the tank of gas you'd burn driving to one bad property.

Educational content, not financial advice. Verify rents, taxes, insurance, and expenses against your local market before making investment decisions.