The library
Underwriting, written down.
How the team behind Nivora reads documents, normalizes numbers, and stresses deals — the same discipline the engine encodes, in plain English. New guides land here as we write them.
Multifamily underwriting · 12-minute read
How to underwrite a multifamily deal
The complete pass, in the order the model actually runs: documents in, revenue and expenses normalized, NOI, debt, the hold, the waterfall, and the returns — with a 120-unit example carried through every step.
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Operating statements · 8-minute read
How to read a T-12 like an underwriter
The lines that drive value, the five places a trailing-twelve misleads — seller taxes, buried capex, related-party fees — and the T-3 run-rate check.
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Rent roll · 8-minute read
How to read a rent roll
The unit-by-unit ground truth: what each column means, the loss-to-lease gap that is your whole thesis, economic vs physical occupancy, and five red flags.
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Fundamentals · 7-minute read
How to calculate NOI
The formula, line by line — plus the items people get backwards: capex below the line, the management fee always in, and the seller-tax trap that quietly overstates value.
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Return metrics · 7-minute read
Cap rate vs IRR vs equity multiple
Cap rate prices the asset, IRR prices the time, the multiple prices the whole ride. What each measures, where each lies, and why serious underwriting quotes all three.
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Debt · 7-minute read
What DSCR do lenders actually want?
The 1.20–1.25× convention, the NOI-vs-NCF haircut, the interest-only flattery, and debt yield — how coverage actually sizes your loan.
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Distributions · 8-minute read
The equity waterfall, explained
Who gets paid, in what order, and how the split shifts as returns climb: return of capital, the preferred return, and the promote tiers — with a worked LP/GP distribution.
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Prefer numbers to prose?
Everything these guides explain, the engine computes — and it's running on a fictional 104-unit deal in your browser right now.
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