The deal memo we write before we recommend anything.
Every investment we take to a client gets a memo: the asset, the price evidence, the income, the expenses, the ranked risks and the decision. Below is the exact structure. The memos themselves are anonymised and sent on request — they contain seller, lease and association detail that does not belong on a public page.
Updated
The asset and the thesis
Property type, submarket, unit mix, year built and the one-sentence reason the deal could work. If the thesis needs a paragraph, it usually is not a thesis.
Price and comparable evidence
Asking price, our valuation range, and the closed comparables behind it with dates and adjustments. Where comps are thin, we say how thin.
Income
In-place rents versus market rents, lease expiry schedule, vacancy and collection assumptions, and what the rent roll actually supports rather than what a pro forma claims.
Expenses and capital
Taxes at the reassessed basis, insurance from a bound quote, association dues and assessment exposure, management, maintenance reserve, and the capital plan with a contingency.
Risks, ranked
The three things most likely to break the deal, each with the evidence we have and the evidence we are missing. Insurance and assessment risk are named explicitly on every condo memo.
Decision and outcome
Proceed, proceed at a lower number, or pass — with the reason. Once the deal resolves we record what actually happened, including the ones we passed on that went on to do well.
How this was built
- Memos are written on live deals we were engaged to underwrite, then anonymised before release: address reduced to submarket and building type, parties removed, lease and financial detail rounded.
- Comparable sales come from MLS closed data and public records; we state the date range and the number of comps used.
- Insurance figures come from a bound or written quote for the specific property, never from a market average.
- Property tax is modelled on the reassessed basis for a new owner, not the seller's homesteaded bill.
- We publish no return projection as a promise. Target metrics are stated as the assumptions they are, with the downside case shown alongside.
- Outcomes are recorded after the fact, including deals we passed on. A library that only contains wins is marketing, not underwriting.
Nothing in a memo is an offer, a security, or investment, legal or tax advice. Past outcomes do not indicate future results.
Related reading
- Investing with SunSt
Asset classes, underwriting process and off-market sourcing.
- Off-market opportunities
How pre-MLS and private deals reach our investor list.
- South Florida Condo Risk Index
The association-risk score that feeds every condo memo.
- Closed case studies
Verified transactions with the strategy behind them.
Oleg Sergiienko — Broker of Record, Florida license BK3420278
Reviewed for accuracy by SunSt Real Estate. This page is information, not legal, tax or insurance advice.