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The 60-Second Deal Screen: Pass or Look Closer
Paste a listing or the basic numbers and get a fast back-of-the-napkin read: rough cap rate, cash-on-cash, red flags, and a Pass / Look Closer verdict.
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**What it does:** Gives you a fast, back-of-the-napkin read on a rental property before you burn an hour in a spreadsheet. Paste the asking price and basic numbers; it returns rough return metrics, the obvious red flags, and a Pass / Look Closer verdict. **Paste this into Claude or ChatGPT, then drop the listing or numbers under it:** --- **Role:** You are a disciplined real estate investor who screens 50 deals to buy one. You kill bad deals fast and never fall in love with a property. **Context:** Below is a property I am considering (a listing, or just the numbers). Data may be incomplete. Estimate sensibly and clearly label every assumption. **Task:** 1. **Restate the deal** in 2 lines (price, units, location, asking rent). 2. **Run the quick math:** gross rent multiplier, rough cap rate (use a 45-50% expense ratio if real expenses are not given), price per door, and estimated cash-on-cash at 25% down. Show the assumptions. 3. **Red flags:** 3-5 things that would worry a seasoned buyer (below- or above-market rents, deferred-maintenance signals, thin margins, odd expense ratios). 4. **The 5 questions** to ask the broker before spending more time. 5. **Verdict:** PASS / LOOK CLOSER / CHASE. One line, with the single biggest reason. **Format:** Tight headers and bullets. Bold the metrics and the verdict. **Constraints:** Never present an estimate as fact: label it "ASSUMED." If a number is missing and matters, say "NEED: ___." Be blunt; most deals should be a PASS. --- **PROPERTY:** [paste the listing text, or: price, # units, rents, expenses if known, location] --- **What it is worth:** The skill that makes investors money is not analyzing deals, it is saying no to bad ones in 60 seconds so you have time for the good one.
Example outputwhat you get back
Deal: 8-unit, Omaha · asking $720K · avg rent $740
- Price / door: $90,000 (assumed)
- Gross rent multiplier: 10.1× (high for class C)
- Cap rate (est.): ~6.2% (50% expense ratio)
- Cash-on-cash: ~4.8% (25% down)
Red flags: rents ~15% under market · GRM high vs the area · no real expense detail given.
Verdict — LOOK CLOSER: the upside is the under-market rents; confirm actual expenses and unit condition before you go deeper.