Investor Buy Box Builder

Turn your goals, capital and risk tolerance into a written buy box: markets, property criteria, price range, financing, return minimums and deal-breakers.

New Added Oct 18, 2026

Investing & Underwriting
Investors
Agents & brokerages
Fair-housing guardrails

Use it when

Clarify exactly what you buy so you can say no faster, share criteria with agents and wholesalers, and score deals consistently.

Not for

Choosing neighborhoods based on who lives there. Criteria should be about the property, the numbers and the market, never demographics.

The prompt

Fill in the variables (optional)

Type below and the prompt updates. Anything you leave blank stays as a {{variable}} for you to fill in later. Nothing you type leaves your browser.

What you want

Cash for deals

Loan types

Background

Where

Low / medium / high

Help me build a written real estate investment buy box.

Goals: {{goals}}
Capital available: {{capital}}
Financing: {{financing}}
Experience and time: {{experience}}
Markets I'm considering: {{markets}}
Risk tolerance: {{risk}}

Output a buy box with:
1. STRATEGY (one line)
2. MARKETS & SUBMARKETS: criteria based on economics (job growth, rent-to-price ratio, landlord-tenant laws, insurance and tax costs, days on market), not demographics
3. PROPERTY CRITERIA: type, units, beds/baths, year built, condition, lot, must-haves
4. PRICE & RENOVATION RANGE
5. FINANCIAL MINIMUMS: cash-on-cash, DSCR, cap rate, max all-in cost as % of ARV if applicable
6. DEAL-BREAKERS (e.g., foundation issues over $X, flood zone without quote, HOA rental restrictions)
7. A 3-sentence "what I buy" pitch I can send to agents and wholesalers
Then ask me 3 questions that would sharpen the buy box.
Do not reference the race, religion, national origin, familial status, disability, sex or other protected characteristics of residents or neighborhoods.

Variables

Variable	What to enter	Example
`{{goals}}`	What you want	$2,000/mo net cash flow within 5 years; long-term appreciation
`{{capital}}`	Cash for deals	$120,000
`{{financing}}`	Loan types	DSCR loans, 20–25% down
`{{experience}}`	Background	own 2 rentals; full-time job; light rehab only
`{{markets}}`	Where	two metros within 2 hours of home
`{{risk}}`	Low / medium / high	medium

Example output

Illustrative output using the example values. Your results will vary by AI tool and inputs. All names and details are fictional.

1. STRATEGY: Buy-and-hold single-family and small multifamily (2–4 units) with light rehab, financed with DSCR loans.
...
5. FINANCIAL MINIMUMS: DSCR ≥ 1.25 at purchase; cash-on-cash ≥ 7%; total rehab ≤ $25,000...
7. PITCH: "I buy 3+ bedroom single-family homes and 2–4 unit properties from $150k–$275k needing up to $25k in work. I close in 30 days with DSCR financing..."

Tips

Save your buy box and feed it to the Deal vs. Buy Box Scorer.

Fair housing note: this prompt tells the AI to describe the property and the process, not the people, and to treat every applicant or client the same way. AI can still make mistakes. Review the output for anything about protected characteristics (race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, disability, and any state or local protected classes) before you use it.