Financial Modeling and Scenario Thinking
Yield, cash flow, ROI, leverage, FX — and how to compare properties on the same axis
An 8% yield property and a negative-cash-flow property can be the same property.
Agents quote a single number. Developers quote a single number. Yield. ROI. Sometimes "return." The number is always positive and always headline-friendly. What it actually means is rarely interrogated, and the difference between gross yield and net cash flow on the same property can be the difference between a holding asset and a slow-bleeding liability.
This module builds the pro forma from scratch — the same one a private buyer's analyst would build before underwriting a unit. Five metrics, three scenarios (worst, base, best), explicit leverage and FX choices, and a comparison framework that lets you rank candidate properties on the same axis instead of single-metric headline numbers.
What you'll be able to do
- ·Distinguish the five financial metrics that actually matter (and why "yield" alone is misleading)
- ·Build a complete pro forma without relying on what the seller gives you
- ·Run a disciplined worst/base/best scenario with defined boundary rules
- ·Choose leverage and FX strategy explicitly — not by default
- ·Compare candidate properties on a normalized framework, not single-metric headlines
Lessons in this module
- 1.From Yield to IRR
- 2.Building a Real Pro Forma
- 3.The Cost Stack You Don't See
- 4.Worst, Base, Best — With Discipline
- 5.Leverage and FX
- 6.Comparing Properties