I’ve been working on a simple underwriting tool for small investors who don’t want to spend an hour in Excel every time they look at a property.Here’s how it works:Drop in the basics (price, rent, expenses, loan terms)In 30 seconds, it spits out NOI, Cap Rate, DSCR, Cash-on-Cash, and a simple traffic-light recommendation (Green / Yellow / Red)You get a clean one-page summary you can actually use to make a quick “go/no-go” callI’m testing it out with real investors now.

I would not waive inspections and escalation clauses are great, don't put a cap (because if it goes too high then you just walk away) and leave the appraisal contingency. 

And the other guy measured it and added in more waste, starter, and cap.

For 2024, the allowable increase was capped at 10%.

I’d recommend looking for someone who actually works with investors and talks numbers like cap rate, rent comps, and value-add, not just retail features.

A 9–10% cap rate with a 1.6 DSCR is strong, especially using 1031 equity.

It’s funny — we spend so much time hunting for deals, analyzing cap rates, and negotiating offers…but the part that actually determines how much wealth we keep often gets ignored.I’m talking about the business side of investing — how you manage your numbers, track your expenses, and plan for taxes before tax season hits.I’ve worked with investors who made six figures flipping or holding rentals — and still ended up frustrated because their cash flow disappeared into poor bookkeeping, messy structures, or missed deductions.The ones who grow fastest?

This is why bidding as a percentage of UPB means nothing, it is a guide like cap rates for MF properties but its just an measuring stick, end of day I look at what I am making compared to what I pay my investors. 

Your logic is solid to prefer sleep-at-night cash flow, but tighten the underwriting before you move: verify true market rent, vacancy, PM fee, insurance, utilities, and HOA reserves; HOAs can spike assessments and cap rentals, so read minutes and rules.

CoC is driven entirely by cash flow and cash invested.Appreciating markets usually have lower cash flow and lower cap rates, while cash-flow markets have the opposite.