Large Developments - Key Indicators for Success (or Failure!)

[Jim Froehlich]

Experienced developers (or underwriters) of large multi-units or commercial deals:  What do you think are the most important factors when analyzing deals that are close to execution (i.e. past entitlement phase)?  I've been vetting deals lately for private equity consideration and notice the due diligence files number between 150-250 (many legal, accounting, civil engineering).  Beyond credentials of the developer and great market research, what do experienced people think are the key variables to look at for whether a deal is likely to perform as predicted?  Most likely red flags? What have you missed in the past that came back to hurt? What things hurt your performance that were unpredictable?