Return, not headline yield
What the deal appears to pay after debt, vacancy, operating costs, reserves, and realistic friction.
Real estate decision support
Before you sign, get a second set of eyes on the deal.
You have run the calculator. The numbers look fine. That is exactly why the next question matters: which assumption is doing the most work, and what happens if it is wrong?
The problem
Most calculators check arithmetic. They do not check confidence.
A spreadsheet will faithfully compute a beautiful return from the rent figure you typed in, the vacancy rate you guessed, and the capex line you forgot to pressure-test.
Institutional investors do not underwrite that way. No serious deal closes on one person's optimistic model. Someone whose job is doubt stress-tests the assumptions before capital moves.
The math is rarely the hard part. The hard part is knowing which input is lying to you.
What you get
A written assumption review, not a vibe check.
The engagement is built around a written memo and a walkthrough call. The point is not to tell you to love or hate the deal. The point is to make the trade-offs visible enough that your next decision is based on stress-tested assumptions instead of spreadsheet momentum.
Downside first
The version where rent, repairs, financing, timing, or exit conditions move against you.
Leverage as amplifier
How debt changes both the attractive version and the painful version of the story.
Exit thesis
How the deal ends, what has to be true for that ending to work, and what would change the conclusion.
No reason to love your deal
Your agent, lender, seller, and sponsor may all have incentives around getting to yes. A useful review needs one person in the room whose job is not enthusiasm.
No course funnel
This is not a path into a mentorship program, property list, or inventory. If there is a fit, you pay for a defined review and get a defined deliverable.
No deal theft
The review works from the economics. You may redact the exact address. Confidentiality and scope belong in the engagement letter before any paid work begins.
Who reviews it
PE real estate discipline, applied to an individual investor's decision.
I am Ashleigh Day, writer of Breaking Free and a CPA. Before leaving traditional work in 2022, I spent years inside private-equity real estate finance, where the job was not to make a deal look good. The job was to find the assumptions that could break it.
This is the same thread that runs through Breaking Free: numbers are useful when they make a real-life decision clearer. A rental property is not just an investment line. It is debt, risk, time, admin, optionality, and sleep.
FAQ
Is this an appraisal?
No. Appraisers value property. This reviews your deal assumptions, financing, downside, and exit logic.
What deals fit?
Residential rentals, small multifamily, and similar real estate decisions are the natural fit. If something is outside my lane, I will say so before scoping work.
What do you need?
Your model, listing, sponsor deck, loan terms, rent assumptions, expense assumptions, and the decision you are actually trying to make.
Is this investment advice?
No. This is analysis, education, and decision support. The decision and the deal remain yours.
Important boundary
Analysis and decision support. Not a recommendation to buy or sell.
This page describes financial analysis, education, and decision support. It is not personalized investment, legal, tax-filing, appraisal, brokerage, securities, or property-management advice, and it is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security or property. Fees, if an engagement is accepted, are fixed by scope and are not based on deal size, outcome, assets, or whether you proceed. Services are offered only where permitted by applicable licensing and practice rules. See the client services disclosure.
Start here
Send the deal you want stress-tested.
A useful first note includes the deal type, market, purchase price, timing, what you are worried about, and what numbers you already have. I will tell you whether it looks like a fit before any paid engagement.
Ask about a deal review