Reading a Deal Summary: What Accredited Investors Should Actually Check
The fields that matter — and the ones that are theater.
By Daniel Jorge Oliveira · March 4, 2026
When a deal summary crosses your desk, most of it is theater. The renderings, the stock photos, the location maps — useful for context, mostly decoration.
Here are the fields that actually matter:
1. Entry basis vs. replacement cost. If you are paying more than it would cost to build new, the deal is a bet on the exit market. Know that upfront.
2. Three-case modeling, with the Downside case spelled out explicitly. If the deal summary only shows a Base case or a single Pro-Forma, that tells you everything you need to know about the underwriting discipline.
3. Construction cost source. A deal underwritten on broker-generic construction averages is a different animal from a deal underwritten on actual GC estimates. Ask who estimated the costs and whether they are the same team that will build.
4. Sponsor economics, clearly disclosed. Fees, promotes, co-invest — all of it. A sponsor who is cagey about their own economics is telling you something.
5. Reporting cadence and content. Monthly or quarterly? What specifically is reported? What happens when variance is negative?
6. Exit assumption source. Exit cap, exit sale price, or exit rent — where does the number come from? Comps from what period? How defensible under a soft market?
The rest of the document is decoration. Read these six fields first. If any of them are weak or missing, the rest doesn’t matter.
Related reading: the River methodology · for accredited investors · case studies.