Blog
CRE education, product updates, and industry analysis from the Solsten team.
Stress-Testing a CRE Deal: The Sensitivity Analysis Guide for Underwriters
How to stress-test commercial real estate underwriting assumptions — exit cap rate, rent growth, expense inflation, DSCR at breakeven. Complete guide with worked examples and common mistakes.
Best Free CRE Appraisal Software in 2026: Ranked, Reviewed, Compared
Independent 2026 review of the top free commercial real estate appraisal software — Anow, Aloft, Solsten and more. Real accuracy tests, honest pros & cons.
CRE Portfolio Management Software 2026: Investment Analytics vs. Property Ops
10 CRE portfolio platforms compared: Solsten, ARGUS, MRI, AppFolio and more. Investment analytics + LP/GP waterfalls vs. property operations, side by side.
How to Build an Offering Memorandum: The Modern CRE Broker's Template Guide
A section-by-section guide to building a professional commercial real estate offering memorandum — with real OM screenshots showing what buyers expect to see on the cover, in the pricing summary, rent roll, and demographics pages.
Load-Bearing Math: Where AI Belongs in CRE — and Where It Doesn't
AI is transforming how CRE professionals research, draft, and summarize. But underwriting, debt sizing, waterfall distributions, and LP reporting need engineered software — not generated paragraphs. Here's why.
How to Calculate Operating Expenses for Commercial Real Estate
A complete guide to CRE operating expenses — categories, fixed vs. variable, below-the-line items, and how expense modeling affects your NOI, DSCR, and investment returns.
What Is Effective Gross Income (EGI) in Commercial Real Estate?
Understand Effective Gross Income (EGI) in CRE — how it's calculated, why it matters more than PGI, and how vacancy, credit loss, and other income affect your underwriting.
How to Analyze a Rent Roll: The CRE Underwriter's Complete Guide
Learn how to read and analyze a commercial real estate rent roll — what to look for, red flags to catch, key metrics to calculate, and how rent roll analysis feeds your proforma.
How to Read and Analyze a T-12 Operating Statement
Complete guide to reading a T-12 (trailing twelve months) operating statement for commercial real estate — line-by-line breakdown, red flags, normalization techniques, and how to turn a T-12 into proforma assumptions.
Real Estate Waterfall Distributions Explained: GP/LP Structures for CRE
Complete guide to real estate waterfall distribution structures — how GP/LP splits work, preferred returns, catch-up provisions, promote tiers, and how to model waterfall economics for commercial real estate deals.
Commercial Real Estate Asset Management Software: Variance Reporting That Actually Helps
A practical guide to commercial real estate asset management software, including projected vs actual analysis, lease rollover visibility, and how to isolate variance drivers by period.
Commercial Real Estate Acquisition Workflow Software: What Analysts Actually Need
A practical guide to commercial real estate acquisition workflow software, including the capabilities acquisitions analysts need for deterministic underwriting, scenario analysis, and cleaner investment committee reporting.
Commercial Real Estate Underwriting Software for Students: Beyond Static Spreadsheets
A practical guide for real estate students and faculty on learning commercial real estate underwriting through integrated models, scenario analysis, and production-style workflows instead of isolated spreadsheet exercises.
Commercial Real Estate Due Diligence Checklist: What to Verify Before Closing
Complete CRE due diligence checklist covering financial, physical, legal, environmental, and market verification — what to request, what to analyze, and what kills deals.
How to Underwrite a Value-Add Commercial Property
Step-by-step guide to underwriting value-add commercial real estate — how to model renovation costs, lease-up timelines, rent bumps, and calculate risk-adjusted returns for repositioning deals.
Commercial Real Estate Loan Types: A Complete Guide to CRE Financing
Complete guide to CRE loan types — permanent loans, bridge loans, construction financing, mezzanine debt, CMBS, SBA 504, and how to choose the right structure for your deal.
Preferred Return in Real Estate: How It Works, How It's Calculated, and Why It Matters
Deep dive into preferred return mechanics in CRE — simple vs compound accrual, catch-up provisions, lookback clauses, and worked examples showing exactly how preferred return affects investor distributions.
NNN Lease Recovery Analysis: How to Calculate Expense Pass-Throughs
Complete guide to NNN (Triple Net) lease recovery analysis — how expense pass-throughs work, Base Year Stop vs Modified Gross vs Net leases, calculation examples, and common underwriting mistakes.
ARGUS vs Solsten: A Feature-by-Feature Comparison for CRE Professionals
Detailed feature-by-feature comparison of ARGUS Enterprise and Solsten for CRE analysis. See where each platform excels, pricing differences, and which is right for your workflow.
How to Value an Income Property with Solsten's Free Tier
A practical walkthrough of NOI, cap rate, and DSCR math for income properties, worked through Solsten's free tier — the free CRE valuation platform for investors who want institutional math without ARGUS pricing.
Best Commercial Property Valuation Tools, Cap Rate Calculators & Value-Add vs. Core-Plus Strategy (2026)
A deep dive into the best commercial property valuation tools and cap rate calculators for 2026, plus how to choose between value-add and core-plus investment strategies.
DSCR Formula in Commercial Real Estate: 2026 Lender Requirements & Calculator
How to calculate DSCR for commercial real estate loans: the formula, current lender minimums (1.20×–1.40×), what happens below 1.0, and proven ways to improve coverage before closing.
How to Build a Real Estate Proforma: Step-by-Step Guide
Learn how to build a commercial real estate proforma from scratch — revenue projections, expense modeling, NOI, debt service, cash flow, and return metrics explained with examples.
What Is NOI in Commercial Real Estate? The Complete Guide
Net Operating Income (NOI) explained — formula, calculation examples, what to include and exclude, and how NOI drives cap rates, debt sizing, and property valuation.
Mastering IRR and NPV: How to Assess an Investment's True Profitability
A complete guide to IRR and NPV for real estate investors — formulas, step-by-step examples, MIRR, WACC, sensitivity analysis, and when to trust which metric.
The Best Free Commercial Property Valuation Tools (Tried & Tested for 2026)
Hands-on review of the best free commercial property valuation software for 2026 — from AI-powered valuations to institutional-grade DCF modeling platforms.
Property Manager: Tips Landlords Should Know When Hiring
A comprehensive guide to finding, evaluating, and hiring a property manager — 9 traits to look for, interview questions to ask, and red flags to watch for.
Tips On How To Succeed In Real Estate Investments
6 practical tips for real estate investors — from timing and cash flow analysis to finding mentors and using modern tools to make data-driven investment decisions.
Cap Rates, Do They Really Matter?
Cap rates are the most used metric in CRE — but relying on them alone is dangerous. Learn what cap rates miss and which metrics give you the full picture.
What Is Cash-On-Cash Return? Formula, Example, and Benchmark
Cash-on-cash return is annual pre-tax cash flow divided by total cash invested. This guide walks through the formula, a step-by-step CRE example, and what counts as a good benchmark.
What Does A Good IRR Look Like?
Learn what internal rate of return (IRR) means for commercial real estate, the difference between levered and unlevered IRR, and what ranges smart investors target.