No Shortcuts: The Framework Behind Every SingleStep Investment

Real estate is a game of risk reduction. Every decision we make is designed to shrink it. Here is exactly how we approach a deal.

How we find deals

Most good opportunities never reach a public listing.

Our deal flow comes through direct relationships in the Cork property market - local agents, solicitors, and other operators who bring us opportunities before they are widely marketed. These introductions carry something equally valuable to the asset itself: context. The vendor's situation, the history of the property, the complications that may lie ahead.

Knowing these things early shapes every decision that follows.

The first filter

Before any detailed analysis begins, each opportunity goes through a rapid assessment. We are looking for clear disqualifying factors - not reasons to proceed, but reasons to stop.

We check six things:

• Location. Established residential areas with proven, long-term rental demand.
• Asset type. Primarily residential multi-unit properties.
• Deal size. Below institutional competition, above retail investors - the gap where we focus
• Yield potential. Net returns must meet our minimum threshold before we go further.
• Operational complexity. Significant structural or planning complications typically disqualify a deal at this stage.
• The value add opportunity available

Most opportunities stop here. Only a small number proceed.

Viewing the asset and building the model

For deals that pass the first filter, we visit the property and build a detailed financial model.

Headline yield figures rarely survive contact with reality. The model stress-tests them.

We account for:

• Operating costs, converting gross yield to net
• Vacancy assumptions and tenant turnover
• Financing costs across different interest rate scenarios
• Capital reserves for refurbishment and ongoing maintenance
• Exit value, based on realistic rather than optimistic market conditions

Once these factors are included, the initial numbers often look very different. That gap between headline and reality is precisely why the modelling exists.

Stress testing the deal

A base case is not enough.

Every deal is run through three scenarios:

• Base case. Expected conditions - occupancy, rates, exit pricing in line with current market.
• Downside. Higher interest rates, increased vacancy, a softer exit.
• Severe downside. Multiple adverse conditions at once.

Deals that only work under optimistic assumptions are rarely pursued. We want to understand how an investment holds up when things go wrong - not just when they go right.

Sale agreed and detailed due diligence

If the financial analysis holds, we move to secure the asset and undertake detailed due diligence with our team of solicitors, structural engineers, and developers.

We review:

• Legal title and ownership records
• Structural surveys and building condition
• Planning permissions and regulatory compliance
• Existing leases and tenancy arrangements
• Final scope and project costings

This stage regularly surfaces issues that alter a deal's economics. Occasionally, it stops a deal entirely. That is the process working as intended.

The final decision

When all analysis is complete, a final investment decision is made. Some deals receive a green light. Others proceed with conditions attached. Many are declined.

Walking away is often the right answer. We treat it as such.

Why the process matters

Every property we acquire goes through the same sequence: sourcing, filtering, modelling, stress testing, and diligence. No shortcuts.

The goal is not to find opportunities, it is to ensure each one holds up under rigorous scrutiny before capital is committed.

Each project also teaches us something the next one benefits from. A complication uncovered in due diligence, a vacancy assumption that proved too optimistic, an exit that took longer than modelled. These lessons are not footnotes - they are inputs. They sharpen our filters, refine our models, and improve our judgement on the deal that comes next.

In property investing, the discipline exercised before a purchase is usually what determines the outcome after it.