24 July 2026
1 min read
Underwriting patience — a starter checklist for early investors
Cash flow, reserves, and exit paths before the Instagram render. A practical checklist you can reuse on the next deal.
Jeffery Itepu
Founder & Instructor, REU
Early investors lose money when excitement outruns underwriting. Patience is a skill you can practice on paper first.
Numbers before narrative
Write base, cautious, and stressed cases. If the deal only works in the optimistic column, it does not work.
Reserves are part of the purchase
Maintenance, vacancies, and legal friction are not surprises — they are line items. Fund them on day one.
Know your exit
Who buys from you, and why? If you cannot answer, you are collecting hope, not an asset.
This is a placeholder essay for REU's journal launch.
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