Before the spreadsheets, know what really matters: what are you actually walking away with?

The best real estate metric? It’s not IRR. It’s not Equity Multiple. It’s not Yield on Cost.

You know what it is?

“How much are you actually going to make?”

I teach deal analysis and real estate finance to dozens of commercial investors every week. I also get called in to structure real deals with real money on the line.

So yes, I’ve broken down IRR, leveraged vs. unleveraged returns, discount rates, cap rates, waterfalls, more times than I can count.

But let me ask you:

If you walk away with $4 million in five years… does that get you where you want to be?

If you’re in a deal for 10 years and you only clear $700k… are you still excited about it?

Most people get lost in the weeds. They start chasing the sexiest number on the spreadsheet instead of the actual result.

What if you started with this question:

“What am I walking away with when this is done?”

Then, and only then, you break out the metrics to confirm what your gut already told you.

Metrics explain why. But money in your pocket is the point.

Don’t forget what game you’re playing. Let's talk.