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Real estate acquisition glossary
Plain-English definitions of the terms acquisition teams use every day, across property types and countries, with the local equivalents you will meet in different markets and a note on where each one shows up in DealQube.
These definitions are general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Practice varies by country, property type and deal.
Marketing and offer terms
- Offering memorandumOM; information memorandum (IM) in the UK, Australia and many other markets
The marketing package a broker or agent prepares for a property that is for sale. It typically includes an executive summary, property details, a tenancy or unit schedule, income and operating history, a market section, photos and the terms of the sale process.
In DealQube: forwarded or uploaded memorandums are read automatically to create the deal. AI deal intake
- Off-market deal
A property sold without a public marketing campaign, often directly between owner and buyer or through a single introducing broker. Off-market deals usually arrive with operating reports instead of a memorandum.
In DealQube: deals can be created from rent rolls, operating statements and management reports.
- Bid deadlineCall for offers (US); closing date for offers (UK); tender close
The date and time a broker sets for interested buyers to submit offers on a marketed property. Missing it can mean missing the deal.
In DealQube: extracted from the broker email or memorandum and tracked as a critical date in each user's time zone.
- Expressions of interestEOI campaign; common in Australia, New Zealand and Asia
A sale process in which buyers submit non-binding indications of interest and price by a closing date, after which the vendor shortlists bidders for further negotiation.
- Best and finalSecond round
A final round of offers requested from a shortlist of bidders after the first round, asking each to submit its highest and best terms.
In DealQube: a standard critical date, often shown on deals in Underwriting or Offer Rec.
- Buy boxInvestment criteria
An investor's acquisition criteria: target markets, property types, deal size, age, occupancy and return thresholds. Teams use the buy box to decide quickly which incoming deals deserve a closer look.
- Letter of intentLOI (US); heads of terms (UK); heads of agreement (Australia); term sheet or MOU elsewhere
A short document setting out the main terms a buyer proposes: price, deposit, due diligence period, timetable and key conditions. It is usually non-binding apart from points such as confidentiality and exclusivity. Many firms require internal approval before one is sent.
In DealQube: the Offer Rec, Offer Out and Under Offer stages, with approval dates tracked on the deal.
- Purchase and sale agreementPSA (US); contract for sale (UK); contract of sale (Australia); sale and purchase agreement (SPA)
The binding contract between buyer and seller that follows agreed terms. Its effective date starts the clock on deposits and the due diligence period.
In DealQube: the contract date is a critical date, and the deal moves to Under Contract.
- Exchange of contractsUK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand
The moment signed contracts are swapped and the sale becomes legally binding, usually with the deposit paid and the completion or settlement date fixed. In the US the equivalent point is the PSA becoming effective.
- DepositEarnest money (US)
Cash a buyer pays when the contract becomes binding to show commitment. Some deals have an initial deposit and an additional deposit later. Deposits often become non-refundable once the due diligence period ends.
In DealQube: deposit due dates can sync to Outlook.
Due diligence and closing terms
- Due diligenceDD
The buyer's investigation of a property after terms are agreed: physical and environmental surveys, title and legal review, leases and operating records, and confirmation of the figures used in underwriting. Documents are commonly exchanged through a data room.
- Due diligence deadlineDisapproval date; feasibility deadline
The last day of the due diligence period on which the buyer can withdraw, often with its deposit returned. After this date the deal typically "goes hard" and the deposit is at risk.
In DealQube: a standard critical date that can sync to Outlook.
- ClosingCompletion (UK, Ireland); settlement (Australia, New Zealand)
The day ownership transfers, the purchase price is paid and the deal is complete.
In DealQube: the Closed stage and a critical date on every deal.
- Post-closing adjustmentsProrations; true-up; completion accounts
A reconciliation after closing of items split between buyer and seller as of the closing date, such as property taxes, rents received in advance and service charges, once actual figures are known.
In DealQube: a post-closing critical date that keeps the deal on the calendar after it closes.
- Post-acquisition reviewOften at 90 and 180 days
A scheduled look back at a newly acquired property's performance against its underwriting.
Income and valuation terms
- NOINet operating income
A property's income after operating expenses and before debt service, capital expenditure and income tax. NOI is the starting point for most income-based valuations.
- Cap rateCapitalization rate
A property's net operating income divided by its price. A lower cap rate means a buyer is paying more for each unit of income. Cap rates are used to compare deals and markets at a glance.
- Net initial yieldNIY; initial yield
The first-year net income divided by the purchase price. In the UK it is conventionally calculated on the price including the purchaser's costs, which makes it slightly lower than a simple cap rate on the same deal.
- Rent rollTenancy schedule
A schedule of every unit or tenancy with its size, tenant, rent, lease dates and status. It is the most detailed view of a property's current income and is used to check the figures in a memorandum.
In DealQube: rent rolls and tenancy schedules in PDF or Excel can be used to create or complete a deal.
- T12Trailing 12-month operating statement
A profit and loss statement covering the most recent 12 months of a property's income and expenses. It shows actual recent performance, as opposed to a projected budget.
- WAULTWeighted average unexpired lease term; WALT (US), WALE (Australia)
The average time remaining on a property's leases, weighted by rent or by area. A longer WAULT usually means more secure income. It is a headline metric for offices, industrial and retail.
- ComparablesComps
Similar properties used as a benchmark: rent or rate comparables (what nearby alternatives charge) and sales comparables (what similar properties recently sold for). They support the rent and value assumptions in underwriting.
In DealQube: comparables from your data providers appear on the deal's map. Market data
- OccupancyPhysical and economic
Physical occupancy is the share of space, units or rooms that is let. Economic occupancy compares the rent actually collected with the rent the property would collect if fully let at market rents. A property can be highly occupied physically while losing income to concessions.
Size and property-type metrics
- GLAGross leasable area
The total floor area available for tenants to lease, the standard size measure for retail and many industrial properties.
- NLANet lettable area; net rentable area (US)
The floor area that tenants can actually occupy and pay rent on, excluding common areas such as lobbies and plant rooms. The standard size measure for offices in many markets.
- Units, keys and beds
The count-based size measures for operational property: units for apartments, keys (rooms) for hotels, and beds for student and senior housing. They are usually more meaningful than floor area for these property types.
In DealQube: the pipeline shows each deal's own size measure.
- ADR and RevPARHotels
Average daily rate (ADR) is room revenue divided by rooms sold. Revenue per available room (RevPAR) is room revenue divided by rooms available, which equals ADR multiplied by occupancy. RevPAR is the headline performance measure for hotels.
- Clear heightEaves height (UK); industrial
The usable internal height of a warehouse from the floor to the lowest overhead obstruction. Higher clear heights allow more racking and usually command higher rents.
- NRSFNet rentable square feet; self-storage
The square footage of a self-storage facility that can actually be rented to customers, counting the units themselves and leaving out hallways, offices and common areas. Self-storage rents, prices and expenses are usually compared per NRSF.
- Street rateSelf-storage; asking rate
The advertised price a facility charges a new customer for a given unit size today. In self-storage, data providers such as StorTrack track street rates daily, and acquisition teams compare them across a trade area.
In DealQube: pulled from connected self-storage providers when a storage deal is created.
Deal and pipeline terms
- Deal pipeline
The set of acquisition opportunities a team is working, organized by stage from first screening to closing. A healthy pipeline shows how many deals are at each stage and what is due next.
In DealQube: the main pipeline view. Pipeline management
- Portfolio dealPackage; 2-pack, 3-pack
Several properties offered for sale together, sometimes across cities or countries. Portfolios are often named by their number of properties, as in a 3-pack.
In DealQube: one deal holding several properties, named in your convention. Portfolio deals
- Dead deal
A deal the team passed on or lost. Most deals an acquisitions team reviews end up dead, and the reasons are valuable the next time the same property comes to market.
In DealQube: the Dead stage keeps these deals and their notes searchable.
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