The Appraize Blog
Expert insights on real estate deal analysis, exit strategies, and creative finance.
DealCheck Alternatives: How to Compare Real Estate Deal Analysis Software
DealCheck, PropLab, ChatARV, and Appraize are built for different jobs. Here is what each is designed for, the questions that separate a useful deal analyzer from a calculator, and how to match a tool to your strategy.
All 8 Real Estate Exit Strategies Explained
Modeling only one or two exits per deal can leave the best one unseen. Here is what all 8 strategies look like, when each one wins, and how to know which fits before you make an offer.
Creative Finance Real Estate: Analyze All 4 Structures
Creative finance deals are won or lost on the numbers. Here is how to analyze all four structures — and where the analysis tends to go wrong.
BRRRR Method Calculator: Run the Numbers Before You Buy
The difference between a BRRRR deal that builds wealth and one that traps your capital comes down to running the numbers correctly before you make an offer. Here is the complete breakdown.
Subject-To Real Estate: How to Analyze a Sub-2 Deal
Subject-to is a legitimate acquisition strategy with a specific set of deal criteria that make it work — and a specific set of numbers you need to run before you ever make an offer.
What is MAO in Real Estate? Maximum Allowable Offer Formula
MAO — Maximum Allowable Offer — is the most important number in real estate investing. It is a precise, math-based ceiling on what you can pay for a property and still hit your target return. Here is exactly how to calculate it.
Wholesale Real Estate Calculator: Find Your Assignment Fee
Wholesaling is the fastest way to generate cash in real estate — but only if you run the numbers correctly before you make an offer. Here is the complete wholesale calculator breakdown.
Fix and Flip Calculator: The Numbers That Matter
Fix and flip investing looks simple on TV. The math is not. Here is every number you need to analyze before you buy a property to flip — and exactly how to calculate your profit before you make an offer.
Seller Finance Real Estate: How to Structure the Deal
Seller financing lets you acquire properties without bank qualifying, often at below-market rates. Here is exactly how to structure the terms and run the numbers on any seller finance deal.
Cap Rate vs Cash on Cash Return: Which Matters More?
Cap rate and cash-on-cash return are two widely cited metrics in rental real estate — and two that are easy to misunderstand. Here is what each one actually measures and which one you should be using to evaluate deals.
Novation Agreement Real Estate: How to Profit From It
Novation is a creative finance strategy that is easy to misunderstand. It lets you earn a wholesale-sized fee on retail-priced properties — without taking title. Here is exactly how it works and how to analyze the numbers.
Lease Option Real Estate: How to Structure and Analyze the Deal
A lease option lets you control a property today and profit from it tomorrow — without buying it outright. Here is exactly how to structure the terms and run the numbers on any lease option deal.
How to Find Distressed Properties: 8 Sources Active Investors Use
Finding distressed properties before they hit the MLS is the difference between buying at wholesale prices and paying retail. Here are 8 sources for building a consistent deal pipeline.
Real Estate Deal Analysis: How to Underwrite Any Property in 60 Seconds
A single deal analysis can take hours by hand — or worse, it gets skipped in favor of gut feel. Here is the complete framework for underwriting any real estate deal accurately and quickly.
Hard Money Loans for Real Estate Investors: What You Need to Know
Hard money loans are a common way to fund fix and flip and BRRRR deals. Here is exactly how they work, what they cost, and how to use them without killing your profit margin.
Real Estate Investor CRM: Why Spreadsheets Are Killing Your Pipeline
Many real estate investors manage their leads and deals in spreadsheets. Here is why that is costing them deals — and what a purpose-built investor CRM does differently.
Subject-To vs Seller Financing: Which Fits Your Deal?
Both let you buy without a new bank loan — but they work in opposite situations. Here is how subject-to and seller financing differ, and how to tell which structure a deal actually supports.
How to Calculate ARV (After Repair Value), Step by Step
ARV is the number every other number in your deal depends on. Here is a step-by-step method for calculating after repair value from comparable sales — with a worked example.
How to Estimate Repair Costs: Building a Rehab Budget
A repair estimate that holds up is the difference between profit and a blown deal. Here is a line-item method for building a rehab budget — with a full worked example.
Lease Option vs Subject-To: Which Structure Fits Your Seller?
Both let you control a property without a new bank loan — but one moves title and one doesn't, and that single difference decides which sellers each one works on.
Creative Finance Glossary: 40 Terms Real Estate Investors Actually Use
The working vocabulary of creative real estate finance — subject-to, novation, wraps, option premiums, seasoning, and the rest — defined in plain language.
Wholesale vs Novation: Assignment Fees, Legality, and Which One Pays More
Both let you profit from a contract without ever owning the property — but they work differently, they're regulated differently, and on the same house they rarely pay the same.
Subject-To Due Diligence: 9 Things to Verify Before You Take Title
A subject-to deal transfers the house but leaves the seller's loan in place — which means everything you failed to verify becomes yours the moment the deed records.
When the Seller Won't Budge on Price: How to Structure Around a Number
Deals often die over price when price was never the real obstacle. If you can't move the number, move the terms — and the terms are where the return actually lives.
What Makes a Deal Analyzer Accurate (and How to Test One)
Every deal analysis tool returns a number. Very few tell you how much to trust it — so here's what actually drives accuracy, and how to test any tool before you underwrite with it.
How to Choose a Market to Invest In From Out of State
Out-of-state deals often fail at market selection, not at the property. Here's how to evaluate a market you don't live in — and what the popular metrics miss.
How to Read a Comp Set Like an Appraiser
Three good comps beat twelve loose ones. Here's how appraisers actually choose comparable sales, what they adjust for, and how to tell when a comp set is lying to you.