C-S-M-L What the heck is this????

CSML is the magic sauce in buying anything.

You can look at CAP rates, IRR internal rate of return, ARV after repair value etc.

In the end you will be better served if you use the CSML formula.

"But Duke, what does that stand for?"  you ask.

Common Sense Math and Logic!!!!   If I relied on all of the above, I would have missed out on many opportunities.  You look at run down house in a run down neighborhood and it may not look very good and fits none of the above formulas, but when you apply CSML you notice that the property is in a transitioning area.  A new Starbucks is only 1 mile away, the city is planning on building a new facility nearby, the military is adding to personnel to the base, landlord had loaded the units with dead beats just to get a sale, price is negotiable, seller needs something, and the list goes on......

Ask questions and the answers will tell you a lot.

I had a friend in a small town in WY that bought a small 12 unit rental that was a wreck.  Some of the floors were dirt or linoleum on the dirt and some of the units rents had to be collected wekly.  The numbers just didn't work.  He only paid $16,000 for the property which covered 3 city lots in the center of town.  He collected rents for a little over a year and then the Post Office contacted him about selling.  It seems that they had acquired the rest of the block and needed his to build the new post office.  I am sure you understand that he didn't roll over easy.  The final settlement was rumored to be in excess of $160,000.  Not bad for a poor old ranch kid that used CSML rule to buy and sell.

We all have it, we just don't use it enough. 

Let me know if you have it.