How to play Duck Underwriter
You’re a loan officer with six deals on your desk and six minutes. Each deal sheet shows the property’s appraised value, its net operating income (NOI), the loan the borrower wants, the loan’s terms and a year of payments (the annual debt service). Work out three ratios and make the call.
- LTV (loan to value) = loan ÷ value. It has to be at or under the maximum.
- DSCR (debt service coverage) = NOI ÷ annual debt service. It has to be at or over the minimum.
- Debt yield = NOI ÷ loan. It has to be at or over the minimum.
- Approve the loan only if all three pass; otherwise decline it.
Type percentages as 68.5 or 68.5% and DSCR as 1.31. You score a point for each ratio within half a percent (0.02 for DSCR), two points for the right call, and once all six deals are done, a point for every 15 seconds left. After each deal you see the full working, including how the debt service was worked out and the largest loan the limits would allow. The clock stops while you read it.
Tips
- Round to one decimal place. No deal sits right on a limit, so that’s always precise enough to make the call.
- Check the easiest test first. If LTV fails, you know the answer is Decline; still enter the other two for the points.
- Interest-only loans have lower payments, so their DSCR looks better, but their debt yield is the same.
Questions
Are these real deals? No. Each deal is made up from a seed, with numbers in realistic ranges, and the limits are typical examples rather than any lender’s. It’s practice, not financial advice.
What’s the daily round? The same six deals for everyone that day. Your first result is saved and can be shared; play it again or play practice rounds as often as you like.
Where can I learn the reasoning? The free loans and real estate course covers NOI, cap rates, LTV, DSCR, debt yield and how loans are sized.
Is it free? Yes, with no account. Results are kept in this browser.