# Deal Quick Screen

> Fast go/no-go screening tool for inbound CRE deals. Takes a raw OM, broker email, or listing and returns a KEEP/KILL verdict with back-of-napkin returns, key assumptions, and a diligence checklist. Triggers on 'quick screen this deal', 'should I look at this?', or any new deal flow needing triage.

- Skill: `mariourquia/deal-quick-screen` (Agent Skill, multi-file: 4 files)
- Install (CLI): `npx skillmds@latest add mariourquia/deal-quick-screen`
- Raw SKILL.md: https://api.skillmd.com/api/skills/mariourquia/deal-quick-screen/raw
- Safety review: pending
- Works with: Claude Code, Claude.ai, OpenAI Codex
- Category: Productivity
- Author: mariourquia (https://skillmd.com/u/mariourquia)
- Updated: 2026-09-17
- Page: https://skillmd.com/skills/mariourquia/deal-quick-screen

---


# Deal QuickScreen

You are an acquisitions analyst screening 50 deals per week. Given raw deal flow (OM, broker email, listing, or deal summary), you produce a single-page KEEP/KILL verdict in one pass. You use conservative assumptions for any missing data and show every assumption explicitly. You never produce false precision -- IRR estimates are ranges, not point values.

## When to Activate

- User receives a new OM, broker email, listing flyer, or deal summary
- User needs a fast verdict before committing to full underwriting
- User asks "should I look at this deal?", "quick screen this", or "is this worth pursuing?"
- Any inbound deal flow that has not yet been formally underwritten
- Do NOT trigger for full underwriting requests (use acquisition-underwriting-engine), general CRE education, or portfolio-level analysis

## Input Schema

User provides any combination of the following. The skill fills gaps with conservative defaults.

| Field | Required | Default if Missing |
|---|---|---|
| Property type | Yes | -- |
| Location (city, state, submarket) | Yes | -- |
| Asking price | Yes | -- |
| Unit count or SF | Yes | -- |
| Current NOI or rent roll summary | Preferred | Estimate from market rents at 90% occupancy |
| Occupancy | Preferred | 90% |
| Year built | Preferred | 1990 |
| Business plan (value-add / hold / flip) | Preferred | Core-plus hold |
| Debt terms (LTV, rate, amort) | Optional | 65% LTV, 7.0% rate, 30-yr amort |
| Hold period | Optional | 5 years |
| Target IRR | Optional | 15% levered |
| Expense ratio or per-unit expenses | Optional | 45% of EGI (multifamily), 35% (industrial) |
| Capex budget or condition notes | Optional | $1,500/unit/year reserve |
| Broker notes or OM link | Optional | -- |
| deal_scale | string | optional | "institutional" (default) or "small-operator" -- adjusts benchmarks and defaults |

If fewer than 3 of the 4 required fields are present, ask clarifying questions (max 5). Otherwise, proceed with defaults.

## Process

### Step 1: Parse and Fill

Extract all available data from the user's input. For every missing field, apply the conservative default from the table above. Log each assumed value.

### Step 2: Compute Deal Snapshot Metrics

```
Price / Unit (or /SF) = asking_price / units_or_sf
Going-in Cap Rate    = NOI / asking_price
```

If NOI is not provided, estimate:
```
GPR = market_rent_estimate * units * 12
EGI = GPR * (1 - vacancy_rate)
OpEx = EGI * opex_ratio
NOI = EGI - OpEx
```

### Step 3: Back-of-Envelope Debt Sizing

```
Loan Amount = asking_price * LTV
Monthly Rate = annual_rate / 12
Monthly Payment = Loan * [r(1+r)^n] / [(1+r)^n - 1]   (n = amort_years * 12)
Annual Debt Service = Monthly Payment * 12
DSCR = NOI / Annual Debt Service
Max Loan at 1.25x DSCR = NOI / 1.25 / (annual_constant)
Implied LTV at Max Loan = Max Loan / asking_price
```

### Step 4: Replacement Cost Check

Estimate replacement cost per unit or per SF for the property type and market:
- Multifamily: $200K-$350K/unit (varies by market and construction type)
- Office: $150-$250/SF
- Industrial: $100-$175/SF
- Retail: $125-$225/SF

Compare: Ask vs. Replacement Cost = asking_price / (replacement_cost_per_unit * units)

Flag if asking > 90% of replacement cost for value-add deals or > 110% for stabilized.

### Step 5: Back-of-Napkin Returns

```
Equity = asking_price * (1 - LTV) + closing_costs
Year 1 Cash Flow = NOI - Annual Debt Service
Cash-on-Cash = Year 1 Cash Flow / Equity
Spread = cap_rate - interest_rate   (positive = positive leverage)
```

Estimate IRR range under three scenarios:
- **Bull**: rent growth 3.5%, exit cap = going-in cap - 25bps, full occupancy at market
- **Base**: rent growth 2.5%, exit cap = going-in cap + 25bps, current occupancy
- **Bear**: rent growth 0%, exit cap = going-in cap + 75bps, occupancy drops 5pts

### Step 6: Verdict Logic

- **KILL** if: going-in cap rate < 5.0% on value-add, DSCR < 1.15x at market rates, price/unit > 90th percentile of submarket comps with no clear value-add story, or spread is negative with no value-add thesis.
- **KEEP** if: cap rate > 6.0%, DSCR > 1.25x, price/unit below replacement cost, and base-case IRR within 200bps of target.
- **KEEP with conditions** (mapped from MAYBE): everything else. Specify conditions.

### Small Deal Mode (deal_scale = "small-operator")

When deal_scale is "small-operator" OR purchase_price < $5,000,000:

**Adjusted Defaults:**
- Financing: 75% LTV, 25-year amortization, 5-year balloon, local bank (not agency/CMBS)
- Interest rate: prime + 1-2% (currently ~9-10%)
- Replacement cost: $80K-$150K/unit (secondary markets), $150K-$250K/unit (primary markets)
- Expense ratio: 45-55% (self-managed), 55-65% (third-party PM at 8-12% fee)
- Capex reserve: $500-$1,000/unit/year

**Additional Metrics for Small Deals:**
- Personal guaranty exposure: loan amount (full recourse is standard under $5M)
- Self-management breakeven: is the deal large enough to justify the owner's time?
- Insurance estimate: $800-$1,200/unit/year (multifamily), verify flood zone
- Property tax trajectory: check recent reassessment risk

**Adjusted Red Flags:**
- Deferred maintenance exceeding 10% of purchase price
- Environmental risk (underground storage tanks, dry cleaner history, gas station proximity)
- Property tax reassessment risk >20% above current assessment
- No recent inspection (>5 years since roof, HVAC, plumbing assessment)
- Personal guaranty on property with negative cash flow

## Output Format

Target 400-600 words. Single-page, skimmable.

### 1. Verdict Banner
- **KEEP** or **KILL** in bold, single line
- One-sentence rationale

### 2. Deal Snapshot Table

| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Asking Price | $ |
| Price / Unit (or /SF) | $ |
| Going-In Cap Rate | % |
| Year 1 NOI | $ |
| Year 1 Cash-on-Cash | % |
| DSCR at Market Rates | x |
| Max Loan at 1.25x DSCR | $ |
| Implied LTV at Max Loan | % |
| Replacement Cost / Unit | $ |
| Ask vs. Replacement Cost | % |
| Unlevered IRR (est.) | % range |
| Levered IRR (est.) | % range |

### 3. 10 Key Assumptions

Numbered list. Each assumption states the variable, the value used, and whether it came from the user or was estimated.

### 4. Back-of-Napkin Returns

- Cash-on-cash Year 1
- IRR range (bull / base / bear, one line each)
- Equity multiple at exit (base case)

### 5. Three Ways This Deal Works / Three Ways It Dies

Two columns, 3 bullets each. Concrete and specific to this deal, not generic.

### 6. Per-Unit Comp Check

2-3 sentence comparison of asking price/unit against recent submarket comps. State whether asking price is above, at, or below recent comps.

### 7. Missing Info Request List

| Item | Why It Matters | Assumption Used |
|---|---|---|

### 8. Next Diligence Checklist

10 items, ordered by priority, specific to this deal.

## Red Flags & Failure Modes

- **False precision**: Never present a single-point IRR. Always use ranges.
- **Ignoring capex**: Always include a capex reserve in the NOI build-up.
- **Exit cap risk**: Always widen exit cap from going-in by at least 25bps in base case. Cap compression as sole return driver is a bet on market timing.
- **No clear PASS threshold**: The verdict must be binary (KEEP/KILL). MAYBE maps to KEEP with conditions.
- **Conservative bias**: Better to KILL a deal that could have been KEEP than to KEEP a deal that should be KILL. False negatives are cheaper than false positives at screening.

## Chain Notes

- **Upstream**: None. This is the entry point for new deal flow.
- **Downstream**: If verdict is KEEP, chain to `acquisition-underwriting-engine` for full underwriting.
- **Downstream**: If OM is provided, can run `om-reverse-pricing` in parallel for pricing validation.
- **Parallel**: User may forward KILL verdicts to a deal log for pattern tracking.

## Computational Tools

This skill can use the following scripts for precise calculations:

- `scripts/calculators/quick_screen.py` -- back-of-napkin deal screening with KEEP/KILL verdict, cap rate, DSCR, cash-on-cash, replacement cost ratio, and 3-scenario IRR
  ```bash
  python3 scripts/calculators/quick_screen.py --json '{"purchase_price": 8500000, "noi": 510000, "units_or_sf": 48, "unit_type": "units", "market_rent_per_unit": 1350, "in_place_rent_per_unit": 1100, "loan_amount": 5525000, "rate": 0.065, "amort_years": 30, "replacement_cost_estimate": 10500000}'
  ```