Robert Schmidt, CCIM

What is a Modified Gross Lease & How Does It Work?

Understanding commercial real estate leases takes careful attention to detail. People will often categorize a lease as either a triple net lease or a full service (gross) lease. The reality is that most lease agreements fall somewhere in the middle of this spectrum where both the landlord and the tenant each pay some share of operating …

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The Cap Rate: What You Should Know

The capitalization rate, or cap rate, is one of the most important metrics in commercial real estate. It is calculated by dividing a property’s Net Operating Income (NOI) by its value. Commercial real estate professionals use cap rates primarily as a valuation shortcut. It is a way to convert income into property value and compare how the …

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How Does an Expense Stop Work?

Understanding the terms of a commercial real estate lease can quickly become a challenging task. One lease term that people often find confusing is the expense stop. In this post, we discuss what an expense stop is, how an expense stop is typically used, and then walk through an example to bring it all together. …

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What is a Mini Perm Loan?

A mini-perm loan is a crucial financial tool for developers and real estate investors, providing short-term financing for newly constructed for-lease projects. This type of loan is typically used to refinance a construction loan and allows borrowers to pay off the original interest-only loan, stabilize their operations, and then refinance with a longer-term loan or …

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How to Value Commercial Property

Valuing commercial property is an important step in every commercial real estate transaction. This post will demystify the commercial property valuation process and walk you through some common valuation techniques used in the commercial real estate industry. What is Value? Before we dive into understanding commercial property valuation, let’s take a step back and ask …

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Real Estate Math Formulas: Essential Metrics You Should Know

The Commercial real estate industry involves a lot of math and requires a solid understanding of financial metrics and formulas. These calculations help investors assess profitability, compare properties, and make informed decisions. This guide covers essential real estate investment formulas, their applications, and when to use them. Table of Contents Net Operating Income (NOI) Effective …

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Discounted Cash Flow for Real Estate: A Practical Guide

Discounted cash flow analysis for real estate is widely used, yet often misunderstood. In this post, we’re going to discuss discounted cash flow analysis for real estate and clear up some common misconceptions. As you follow along, you might also find this discounted cash flow analysis calculator helpful. Table of Contents What is Discounted Cash …

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The Real Estate Proforma: A Beginner’s Guide

The first task in any real estate investment decision is to build a proforma, which is just a word that means cash flow projection. In this guide, we will define the term proforma, look at an example of a simple real estate proforma, review a more complicated real estate proforma, and also discuss some nuances …

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Types of Commercial Real Estate

Commercial real estate can be broken down into several different categories. At a high level, when people think of different types of commercial real estate, they typically think about shopping centers, office buildings, or warehouses. But the commercial real estate industry is much more precise when it comes to defining property types. Below is a …

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Intuition Behind IRR and NPV

What’s the intuition behind Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and Net Present Value (NPV)? Discounted cash flow analysis is an essential tool in the commercial real estate practitioner’s tool belt, but unfortunately for many people, there is still a lot of mystery surrounding this concept. First, let’s get some definitions out of the way, and …

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