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Real Estate Deal Breaker Checklist

26 questions that separate good deals from expensive mistakes. Flag a bad property in 10 minutes — before you spend $500 on an inspection.

26 Checklist Points

4 Sections

10 min To Complete

What this checklist does

Before you run the full financial analysis, use this checklist as your first screen. It covers the four categories where bad deals hide:

💰 Financial Deal Breakers

❌Negative cash flow hiding in the numbers

❌DSCR too low for lenders

❌Buying at or above market value

❌Rehab budget underestimated

🏗️ Property Condition

❌Foundation or structural problems

❌Old roof, electrical, or plumbing

❌Flood zone or code violations

❌Declining neighborhood

📍 Market & Location

❌Bad landlord-tenant laws

❌Rents don't cover the mortgage

❌High crime or bad schools

❌Disaster-prone area

📝 Deal Structure

❌Unconfirmed financing

❌Title or HOA issues

❌No clear exit strategy

❌Insufficient reserves

How it works

The spreadsheet auto-calculates your verdict as you go. Fill in YES / NO / MAYBE for each question. When you're done, the verdict box tells you:

Score	Verdict	What to do
4+ NO answers	🚫 DEAL BREAKER	Walk away. Move to the next property.
2–3 NO answers	⚠️ CAUTION	Fix the flagged items first. Proceed only if resolved.
15+ YES answers	✅ PROCEED	Strong deal. Run full BRRRR analysis next.
Anything else	📊 INCONCLUSIVE	Fill in all answers for a verdict.

Download the Deal Breaker Checklist

Free. No email required. Works in Excel, Google Sheets, or any spreadsheet app.

⬇️ Download Free Checklist (.xlsx)

Compatible with Excel, Google Sheets, LibreOffice

After the checklist: run the full BRRRR analysis

The Deal Breaker Checklist tells you if a deal might work. The BRRRR Template tells you if it actually works — with cash flow, DSCR, cap rate, refinance math, and 10-year projections.

BRRRR Template — $19 (See all 4 templates in the Complete Toolkit — $39)