Sizing up a property fast is a skill you can practice. The goal is to make a clear yes or no call without getting lost in endless spreadsheets. Use a handful of simple checks, repeat them the same way every time, and move on.
Set A Time Limit Per Deal
Give yourself 30 minutes to make a preliminary decision. Sanity-check price assumptions against what similar buyers are paying – if you need quick data points, cash home buyers in North Carolina can hint at current investor pricing and speed. Close the session with a go, no, or park-for-later decision so you keep momentum.
If the deal is a maybe, write down the one fact you still need and who can provide it. Call or text that person before you open the next listing. This keeps you from revisiting the same unknowns tomorrow.
Cap Rate And NOI In Plain English
Cap rate is your fast yardstick. As Investopedia explains, you get it by dividing a property’s net operating income by its value, which gives you a quick percentage for return at today’s price. Higher cap rates usually signal more risk, lower ones can mean safer or hotter markets.
Fast Math Example
If monthly rent is $2,000 and expenses are $600, your NOI is $1,400 per month or $16,800 per year. At a $240,000 price, the cap rate is about 7 percent. Decide ahead of time what cap rate floor fits your strategy so you are not negotiating against yourself.
Run A Quick BRRRR Feasibility Check
If you like value-add deals, pressure-test the BRRRR path in minutes. A recent Business Insider piece highlighted investors who scaled quickly using a simple loop: buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat. Your fast check asks whether post-rehab value and stabilized rent support a refinance that returns most of your cash.
Start by estimating after-repair value from clean comps. Then apply a conservative loan-to-value and see how much cash a refinance could return. If you cannot get near your initial outlay with a buffer for surprises, the deal might still work – just not as a BRRRR.
Use A Two-Minute Comp Scan
You do not need a perfect appraisal to filter deals. Start with three to five sold comps inside a tight radius and similar bed-bath count. Adjust mentally for the condition and the lot quirks.
- Prefer sales within 90 days over older ones
- Discard outliers with strange features or distressed terms
- Average price per square foot, then sanity-check against your subject
- Re-run with one stricter filter – smaller radius or newer sales – to see if the value holds
If your target price only works with the rosiest comp set, that is your warning to slow down or walk.
Stress-Test Repairs And Holding Costs
Speed is not about skipping the budget. List your top five cost buckets: roof, HVAC, kitchen, baths, and flooring. Assign a round number to each based on photos and age, then add a 10 to 15 percent cushion for what you cannot see.
Do the same for holding costs: taxes, insurance, utilities, interest, and lawn or snow. Multiply by an honest timeline. A clean deal can sour if you underestimate time on market or contractor delays. Your quick math should survive a couple of bad surprises and still make sense.
Decide Your Exit In Advance
Pick your exit before you tie up the property. Flips demand stronger discounts and faster timelines. Rentals can pay with lower margins if the location is durable and the cap rate meets your floor.
Wholesaling requires a price that leaves room for the next buyer and a list of who is active right now. Write down the exit and the benchmark that must be true – resale comp, rent level, or lender term – then verify that one item first. If it fails, you just saved hours.
Create A Repeatable 30-Minute Checklist
Speed comes from routine. Build a checklist that always starts with price, rent, repairs, and timeline. Keep it on your phone, run it in the same order, and record your decision with three notes on why.
Patterns emerge. You will spot the deals that fit your lane in the first few minutes, and you will know which unknowns actually matter. That confidence lets you say yes faster and no without regret.
A quick process does not replace due diligence. It simply protects your time so you can focus on the few deals worth that deeper dive. Practice the steps above on listings you do not intend to buy, time yourself, and refine the thresholds until they match your goals.
A dad of 3 kids and a keen writer covering a range of topics such as Internet marketing, SEO and more! When not writing, he’s found behind a drum kit.
