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Structures, honestly

Leased fee, leasehold, and the number that actually matters.

When land and building are split, one property becomes two appraisals: the leased fee (the land and its rent stream) and the leasehold (everything above it). Both are only as good as the income assumptions underneath — and that is where deals go wrong.

An appraisal is an opinion. Coverage is a fact.
Leased fee
Contracted rent ÷ ground cap rate, plus a near-zero reversion
·
Leasehold
Property income minus rent, capped — and highly sensitive to the NOI story
·
In place
The income that exists today — the number we size rent against
The leased fee is the easy half: contracted rent, fixed escalations, a discount rate — bond math. The leasehold is where "as stabilized" appraisals can run far ahead of buildings that are still leasing up. We have watched stabilized appraisals carry values double what in-place income supports. Our discipline is simple: rent is sized against income that exists or is credibly reserved for — so the appraisal question never becomes a rent-coverage question.
For lenders and sponsors

Reading the two appraisals together.

A healthy structure shows a leased fee worth 20–35% of total value with rent covered 3× or better, and a leasehold whose value survives even at in-place income. Warning signs: rent above a third of NOI without reserves behind it, leasehold value that only exists in the stabilized scenario, or a ground cap rate borrowed from a different asset class. The split does not create value from nothing — it prices two different risks correctly, and correct pricing is where the capital efficiency comes from.

Questions, answered

FAQ.

What ground cap rate applies to my property?

It moves with asset class, market, coverage, and lease terms — student housing, hotels, and multifamily each price differently. The honest answer is a range until the lease terms are set, which is why we quote rent and price together.

Why did my lender's appraisal value the leasehold below my basis?

Usually because the appraiser used in-place income against a rent sized off stabilized projections. Reserves and milestone structures close exactly that gap — it is a structuring problem, not a value problem.

Does the reversion add value to the leased fee appraisal?

Formally yes; practically it is a rounding error at 99 years. Anyone paying materially for the reversion is mispricing the paper.

Get your number

Appraisal not telling the whole story?

Send both appraisals, or just the operating statements. We will show you what the income actually supports, on both sides of the split.

Email us the property