A source-backed acquisition brief: template
An acquisition brief puts the facts, the thesis and the open questions on one page, with a source and date beside every fact. It keeps judgment separate from what the records say.
Reviewed
| Section | What goes in it |
|---|---|
| Property | Address, BBL, building class, units, lot and building area |
| Ownership | Owner of record, deed date, principals and how each is known |
| Debt and distress | Recorded mortgages, liens, any open foreclosure case and its stage |
| Condition | Open violations, open permits |
| Zoning | District, FAR, unused floor area |
| Value | Recent sales nearby, tax-roll value, your estimate and why |
| Thesis | Why this deal, in two sentences |
| Risks | What could go wrong, and what would show it |
| Open questions | What is still unknown, who checks it, by when |
Keep your estimates and assumptions in their own rows, labelled as yours, so a reader can tell them from the records.