Underwrite a ground-up development. Hard costs, soft costs, financing, lease-up, and reversion modeled in one Space.

# Real Estate Development Pro Forma

A development pro forma is the single most important document on any ground-up project. It tells you whether the deal works, where it breaks, and what assumptions you have to defend. River turns the pro forma from a fragile, copy-pasted spreadsheet into a living workspace where the model, the assumptions, the source materials, and the investor-facing artifacts all stay in sync.

## What's in this Space

- **Inputs folder** for the parcel description, market comps, cost basis, and program assumptions.
- **Model folder** with a working pro forma, sensitivity analysis, and scenario tabs.
- **Outputs folder** with investor and lender materials drafted from the model.
- **Operating Manual** that teaches River AI how you underwrite — return targets, exit assumptions, sensitivity ranges, and the way you defend land basis.

## What you'll do here

1. **Drop in the deal.** Paste the parcel write-up, market comps, and your hard/soft cost benchmarks into the Inputs folder. Upload the broker's OM and any survey or zoning materials.
2. **Build the model.** Open the Pro Forma Workbook. River reads the inputs and walks you through hard costs, soft costs, financing, lease-up or sales, and exit. You stay in control of every line.
3. **Stress the deal.** The Sensitivity Analysis sheet tests the two variables that move the deal most — typically rent or sale price and exit cap or hard cost.
4. **Generate investor and lender materials.** Ask River to draft a one-page investment summary or a lender package from the model. The narrative pulls live from the workbook so the numbers can never drift.

## What it's good for

- Underwriting a new acquisition before you commit equity or earnest money.
- Building defensible IC and lender packages that match the working model exactly.
- Stress-testing the deal across rent, cost, exit, and timing so you know where it breaks.
- Rolling the model forward as actuals come in without rebuilding it from scratch.

## How it works

Every section of the workbook is a structured Sheet that River AI can read. When you ask "What does the deal look like at a 5.5% exit cap?" or "Update the IC summary with the new construction estimate," River edits the right tab, recomputes the dependent outputs, and updates the narrative. The Operating Manual keeps the AI honest about your firm's underwriting standards.

## How to get started

1. Click **Use Template** to create your Space.
2. Open the **Setup Guide** in the Config folder and follow Steps 1–4.
3. Edit the **Operating Manual** to reflect your firm's underwriting standards.
4. Drop your first deal into the Inputs folder and ask River to build the pro forma.


Real Estate Development Pro Forma

Underwrite raw land. Yield, residual value, entitlement risk, and price defense — together.

# Land Acquisition Pro Forma Package

Land deals fail in places that are not on the broker's brochure: hidden entitlement risk, soft yield, bad horizontal cost assumptions, or a residual price defended only by the seller's expectations. This Space gives you a clean, defensible underwriting workbook for raw land — and the artifacts you'll actually take to your IC, your equity partners, and the seller.

## What's in this Space

- **Parcel Brief** — the deal sheet your team can skim in 60 seconds.
- **Yield + Residual Workbook** — net usable acres, net lots, vertical revenue, residual land value.
- **Entitlement Risk Memo** — what could go wrong with the entitlement, and how it changes the price you can pay.
- **Acquisition Memo** — IC-ready memo with price defense.
- **Operating Manual** that codifies how your firm underwrites land — yield, hard cost benchmarks, and your minimum margin.

## What you'll do here

1. **Drop the parcel write-up** into Inputs/Parcel.
2. **Open the Yield + Residual Workbook** and let River walk you from gross acres → net usable acres → net lots → residual land value.
3. **Stress entitlement risk** in the Entitlement Risk Memo. River drafts the risks and you push back on what's actually material.
4. **Generate the Acquisition Memo** when you're ready to commit equity.

## What it's good for

- Land developers underwriting raw or partially-entitled land.
- Homebuilders evaluating a land position before tying up earnest money.
- Land brokers building a buyer-facing pro forma to defend an asking price.
- Family office capital evaluating a sponsor's land deal.

## How to get started

1. Click **Use Template**.
2. Open the **Setup Guide** in Config and follow Step 1.
3. Edit the **Operating Manual** with your yield bands and target margins.
4. Drop the parcel materials into Inputs/Parcel.


Land Acquisition Pro Forma Package

Land development plus vertical construction in one model. Lots, hard costs, draws, sales pacing, and returns.

# Subdivision Development Pro Forma

A working pro forma for residential subdivisions: land development plus vertical construction modeled together, with sales pacing and loan draws woven through. The way most homebuilder models break is that land dev and vertical are separate sheets that fall out of sync. This Space keeps them inside one model.

## What's in this Space

- **Project Brief** — the deal at a glance.
- **Land Development Workbook** — horizontal cost, infrastructure, lot delivery schedule.
- **Vertical Construction Workbook** — model home + standing inventory + spec build cadence.
- **Sales Pacing & Returns** — absorption curve, revenue, loan draws, peak equity, IRR, equity multiple.
- **Investor Summary** — one-pager that reads off the model.
- **Operating Manual** with your firm's underwriting bands.

## What it's good for

- Underwriting a new subdivision before tying up land.
- Comparing two land deals on apples-to-apples returns.
- Presenting to equity partners or a community bank construction lender.
- Rolling forward with actuals as lots deliver.

## How to get started

1. Click **Use Template**.
2. Open **Setup Guide** in Config.
3. Fill in **Project Brief** with your parcel and program.
4. Walk the workbooks top to bottom.


Subdivision Development Pro Forma

Layer senior debt, mezz, preferred and common equity into a defensible capital stack — with the math behind every layer.

# Capital Stack Workspace

The capital stack is where deals are actually structured. Senior debt, mezz, preferred equity, common equity — each layer has a price, a return profile, and a set of covenants. This Space gives you a clean place to size the stack, model each layer's economics, and produce the Sources & Uses page that goes to investors and lenders.

## What's in this Space

- **Capital Stack Inputs** — the term sheet for every layer.
- **Capital Stack Model** — sized stack with returns by layer.
- **Sources & Uses** — the standard one-pager investors and lenders expect.
- **Operating Manual** that codifies your firm's preferred structures and minimum returns.

## What it's good for

- Sizing senior debt against LTV / LTC / DSCR constraints.
- Layering mezz or preferred equity when the senior won't cover.
- Structuring GP/LP economics that pencil at the equity level.
- Producing investor and lender-ready Sources & Uses.

## How to get started

1. Click **Use Template**.
2. Open **Setup Guide** in Config.
3. Fill in **Capital Stack Inputs** with each layer's terms.
4. Open **Capital Stack Model** to see how it sizes.


Capital Stack Workspace

Monthly cash flow that ties land dev, vertical construction, draws, and sales — in one rolled-forward model.

# Homebuilder Construction Cash Flow

A monthly cash flow that actually rolls forward. Land development, vertical construction, loan draws, and sales pacing — together, in one model that updates as the project moves.

## What's in this Space

- **Cash Flow Inputs** — costs, draws, sales, financing.
- **Construction Cash Flow Workbook** — month-by-month sources and uses.
- **Peak Equity & Draw Curve** — the cash-out chart your equity partners want to see.
- **Operating Manual** with your firm's underwriting standards.

## What it's good for

- Homebuilders managing one or several active projects.
- Equity partners stress-testing a sponsor's pacing assumptions.
- Construction lenders wanting a clean monthly draw curve.
- Refresh as actuals come in — the model rolls forward.

## How to get started

1. Click **Use Template**.
2. Fill in **Cash Flow Inputs** with your project's costs and pacing.
3. Open **Construction Cash Flow Workbook** and let River build the monthly flow.


Homebuilder Construction Cash Flow

Build a clean GP/LP waterfall. Preferred return, hurdles, promote, and clawback — sized to the deal.

# GP/LP Waterfall Model Package

Build a defensible waterfall for a real estate sponsor. Preferred return, hurdles, promote, catch-up, and clawback — modeled cleanly and matched to LP-ready outputs.

## What's in this Space

- **Waterfall Term Sheet** — every parameter that defines the deal economics.
- **Waterfall Workbook** — distribution-by-distribution flow with promote tiers.
- **LP Return Summary** — the one-pager LPs ask for.
- **Operating Manual** with the firm's standard structures.

## What it's good for

- Sponsors structuring a new deal and pressure-testing economics.
- LPs / family offices pressure-testing a sponsor's stated returns.
- Waterfall calculations for European and American structures.

## How to get started

1. Click **Use Template**.
2. Fill in **Waterfall Term Sheet**.
3. Open **Waterfall Workbook** and let River walk through the tiers.


GP/LP Waterfall Model Package

Pressure-test a sponsor's deck and OM. Independent underwriting, downside case, and an IC-ready memo.

# Sponsor Diligence Package

Pressure-test a sponsor's deck and OM. Independent underwriting, downside case, and an IC-ready memo — built around the materials the sponsor sent you.

## What's in this Space

- **Sponsor Materials Index** — every doc the sponsor provided.
- **Independent Underwriting** — your own model, not theirs.
- **Downside Case Analysis** — the deal at -10% rent, +50 bps exit cap, etc.
- **IC Memo** — the recommendation document for your investment committee.

## What it's good for

- Family offices and HNW investors evaluating a sponsor's deal.
- Funds-of-funds running diligence on multiple sponsors.
- Co-GP partners doing real diligence before signing on.

## How to get started

1. Click **Use Template**.
2. Drop the sponsor's deck, OM, model, and any third-party reports into Sponsor Materials.
3. Open **Setup Guide** in Config.
4. Walk the diligence process.


Sponsor Diligence Package

Ground-up development pro formas, land acquisition models, and sensitivity analyses.

Development & underwriting

Capital stack models, GP/LP waterfalls, and construction loan draw schedules.

Capital & financing

Sponsor diligence packages, IC memos, and downside case analyses.

Diligence & investment

Subdivision pro formas, cash flow models, and construction draw packages.

Templates for Real Estate

Development & underwriting

Real Estate Development Pro Forma

Land Acquisition Pro Forma Package

Subdivision Development Pro Forma

Capital & financing

Real Estate Development Pro Forma

Capital Stack Workspace

Subdivision Development Pro Forma

Homebuilder Construction Cash Flow

GP/LP Waterfall Model Package

Diligence & investment

Sponsor Diligence Package

Homebuilder & residential

Subdivision Development Pro Forma

Homebuilder Construction Cash Flow

Frequently asked questions