My 2-minute deal screen — the checklist before I waste a weekend
New-ish investor and I build software, so full disclosure up front: I made a screening tool. But the process is what I want to share — it's the same whether you use a tool, a spreadsheet, or a napkin.
Before I spend a weekend on any lead, I run five checks:
1. Sold comps, not Zestimate. 3-5 closed sales, same beds/baths, <0.5 mi, last 90 days. That sets the ARV — everything downstream depends on this number being real.
2. The flags. DOM, price cuts, and public records — tax delinquency, code violations, liens. These are red flags AND negotiation leverage, and they almost never show in the MLS description.
3. Every exit. Fix & Flip, BRRRR, Buy & Hold, Sell As-Is — run the same deal through each, risk-adjusted. The "obvious" play often isn't the winner once you account for rehab, holding, and DOM.
4. Real expenses. CapEx, vacancy, management, insurance — not "rent minus mortgage." This kills more buy-and-holds than anything.
5. The honest verdict. All-in over ~70-80% of ARV on a flip, or DSCR under 1.0 on a hold? Pass — no matter how much I like the house.
A screen is a hypothesis, not a decision — I still validate the ARV with an agent, the rehab with a contractor, and financing with a lender before I'd move.
How do you all run your first-pass screen — what's on your checklist?