SmartHelping / Real Estate Underwriting / Excel
Apartment & Self-Storage Underwriting
Underwrite apartment buildings, multifamily properties and self-storage investments from the rent roll through financing, refinance and exit. Model acquisitions, renovations or new construction, then review value-add metrics and project, LP and GP returns.
Immediate download after purchase. By purchasing, you agree to the Terms of Service.
See the model in action
Follow the property plan through cash flow and investor returns.
Watch the walkthrough to review the rent roll, development and acquisition assumptions, financing and reporting. Open the screenshots below for a closer look at the workbook.
Rent roll and operating assumptions
Build the forecast around the units and their path to stabilization.
The Rent Roll Matrix tracks unit types monthly, including staggered openings and changes in occupancy. Use it to evaluate both existing operations and the proposed value-add plan.
Up to 25 unit types
Set the maximum unit count and rent assumptions for each of up to 25 unit types in the rent roll.
Staggered start months
Choose when each unit type opens. Capture the timing of phased development, renovations or newly constructed units.
Occupancy through stabilization
Define starting occupancy, the monthly occupancy improvement percentage and the long-term stabilized occupancy rate for each unit type.
Current, market and pro forma rents
Compare pro forma rent per unit with current rent and market rent. Review percentage variances by unit type and in aggregate.
Value-add improvement metrics
Review stabilized annual rental revenue improvement, occupancy improvement and improvement in weighted average monthly rent per unit.
Ancillary income schedule
Add income streams using the stream type, average utilization percentage and average monthly price.
Acquisition, development and renovation
Match the funding schedule to the property plan.
Use the model for acquisitions, new construction, acquisition plus renovation, or acquisition plus construction of additional units.
Monthly cost timing
Enter acquisition, development and construction costs by month. The model begins in the first fiscal month of the launch year, while spending can start in any month of that year.
Financing by cost row
Define the financed percentage of each construction or development cost row. The remaining cost is covered by equity investment or available cash flow from operations and other activities.
Optional construction loan
Include a construction loan with interest either accrued or paid, based on the financing structure being modeled.
Refinance, exit and sensitivity
Evaluate the capital events over a holding period of up to 15 years.
Choose the stop month and use the refinance and exit selectors to configure the investment timeline.
Up to two refinance events
Switch each REFI event on or off with a yes/no selector. Set a cap rate for valuation and a loan-to-value (LTV) percentage to determine the modeled cash-out and distribution.
Optional cap-rate exit
Switch the exit on or off and choose the exit month. Exit value uses the defined cap rate against trailing 12-month NOI at that month.
Leverage and exit-cap sensitivity
Review the included IRR sensitivity for leverage usage and exit cap rate to compare changes in the financing and sale assumptions.
Depreciation and exit recapture
The workbook includes depreciation and modeled depreciation recapture logic upon exit.
Joint venture distributions
Choose an IRR hurdle or preferred-return waterfall.
Use the model for a single operator or a syndication with general partner (GP) and limited partner (LP) economics. Joint venture analysis includes two waterfall options.
IRR hurdle waterfall
Model distributions using the IRR hurdle approach and review the monthly and annual waterfall summaries.
Preferred-return waterfall
Use the preferred-return approach and review the corresponding cash flow allocations, waterfall summaries and discounted cash flow analysis.
For a GP catch-up provision, use the model’s cash flows with the separate joint venture distribution template with GP catch-up.
Configurable general partner fee schedule
Account for GP fees across the investment lifecycle.
Configure acquisition, ongoing management, refinance, exit and development-related fees to reflect the joint venture structure.
| Fee or cost category | Input method | Calculation basis |
|---|---|---|
| Acquisition fee | Percentage | Purchase price. |
| Other fees upon purchase | Entered amount | A specified amount in the defined month. |
| Ongoing asset management fee | Percentage | Gross rental income. |
| Disposition fee — first REFI | Percentage | Property value at the first refinance, using its defined cap rate. |
| Disposition fee — second REFI | Percentage | Property value at the second refinance, using its defined cap rate. |
| Disposition fee — exit | Percentage | Property value at exit, using the defined exit cap rate. |
| Development | Percentage | Costs in the Development section of the Development & Acquisition tab. |
| Other Costs 1 | Percentage | Costs in the Other Costs 1 section of the Development & Acquisition tab. |
| Other Costs 2 | Percentage | Costs in the Other Costs 2 section of the Development & Acquisition tab. |
| Other Costs 3 | Percentage | Costs in the Other Costs 3 section of the Development & Acquisition tab. |
| Land-only | Percentage | Costs in the Land-only section of the Development & Acquisition tab. The model treats this category as non-depreciable. |
Financial reports and investment metrics
Review the results for the property and each investment party.
Use the financial statements, investment summaries and visualizations to assess the operating plan, capital structure and returns.
Monthly and annual financial statements
Review the income statement, balance sheet and statement of cash flows in monthly and annual views.
Pro forma and executive reporting
Review monthly and annual pro forma detail, the annual executive summary, value-add opportunity metrics and visualizations of key metrics.
Waterfall summaries and DCF
Review monthly and annual waterfall summaries, with discounted cash flow (DCF) analysis for both waterfall approaches and NPV displayed.
Project, LP and GP returns
See total investment required, total cash returned, equity multiple, IRR, ROI and cash-on-cash return for the project, LP and GP.
DSCR and RevPAR
Review debt service coverage ratio (DSCR) and average revenue per available unit or room (RevPAR) alongside the investment results.
Financial report checks
Use the built-in error checks to compare monthly and annual summaries and financial statements, including whether the reports reconcile to the same final cash flow totals.
How to use the model
Turn the property plan into an underwriting case.
Build the rent roll
Set unit counts, start months, rents, occupancy improvements and stabilized occupancy for each unit type. Add ancillary income assumptions.
Schedule the acquisition and development
Enter monthly acquisition, construction and development costs, then define the percentage financed for each cost row and the construction-loan interest treatment.
Configure capital events and JV economics
Choose the stop month, optional refinance events and exit assumptions. For a joint venture, set GP fees and select the waterfall approach.
Review the property and investor outcomes
Compare value-add metrics, cash flow, financial statements, project and GP/LP returns, DSCR and IRR sensitivity. Use the report checks to review consistency across summaries.
Who this model is for
For rental-property investors, developers and syndicators.
Single operators and developers
Evaluate an apartment, multifamily or self-storage acquisition, renovation or development using unit-based monthly rental assumptions.
GPs, LPs and syndication teams
Evaluate the property plan alongside GP fees, joint venture distributions and the investment outcomes for each party.
Also available in these bundles
Need models for more real estate opportunities?
This template is included in the Real Estate bundle. The Super Smart Bundle provides access to the complete public SmartHelping template collection.
Questions before you buy
A few useful details.
Which property types can I model?
The template is built for apartment buildings, multifamily properties and self-storage. Its rent roll uses unit counts and monthly rent assumptions.
How many unit types and years are supported?
The rent roll supports up to 25 unit types, and the model runs for up to 15 years with a configurable stop month.
Can I phase renovations or new unit openings?
Yes. Each unit type can have its own start month, starting occupancy, monthly occupancy improvement and stabilized occupancy rate.
Can I model refinance events and an exit?
Yes. The model supports up to two refinance events and an exit event, each with yes/no selectors. Refinance proceeds use cap-rate valuation and LTV assumptions; exit value uses the selected cap rate against trailing 12-month NOI.
Which joint venture waterfalls are included?
The model includes IRR hurdle and preferred-return waterfall options. For a GP catch-up provision, the separate joint venture distribution template linked above can be used with the model’s cash flows.
Does the construction loan support accrued interest?
Yes. The optional construction loan supports accrued or paid interest.
Are depreciation and recapture included?
Yes. The workbook includes depreciation and modeled depreciation recapture upon exit.
Which investor return metrics are shown?
The model reports investment required, cash returned, equity multiple, IRR, ROI and cash-on-cash return for the project, LP and GP, with DCF analysis and NPV also available.
Underwrite the property and the investment structure
Connect the rent roll to project and investor returns.
Get the Apartment, Self-Storage and Multifamily Underwriting Model for $125 and evaluate the deal in Excel.
