# How to Analyze an STR Deal in 10 Minutes: A Step-by-Step Walkthrough

> Walk through a real Underwrite analysis on a Gatlinburg cabin — from entering the address to getting a lender-ready DSCR report. See exactly what the tool finds and how to interpret the results.

Canonical: https://www.underwriteapp.com/blog/how-to-analyze-str-deal


Most STR analysis tools show you a number and leave you to figure out what it means. Underwrite shows you the whole picture — and tells you what to pay attention to.

Here's what actually happens when you run an analysis, demonstrated on a real property: a 3-bedroom cabin in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, listed at $875,000.

## Step 1: Enter the Address

You type in the property address. That's it. No spreadsheet setup, no data sourcing, no configuration.

Underwrite takes the address and immediately begins pulling property data, identifying the submarket, and searching for comparable short-term rental listings.

**What you choose:** Your financing assumptions — purchase price, down payment percentage, loan terms, and interest rate. If you're using a DSCR loan (most active STR investors are), select that option and Underwrite formats the output accordingly.

**Time elapsed:** About 30 seconds.

## Step 2: Comparable Revenue Analysis

This is where Underwrite diverges from tools like AirDNA and Rabbu. Instead of showing you a market-wide revenue average, Underwrite identifies active comparable listings that actually match your property.

For our Gatlinburg cabin, Underwrite found **23 active 3-bedroom cabins within 5 miles**, all with hot tubs (a key amenity in the Smokies market). It pulled the last 90 days of booking and rate data from those specific properties.

**The result:**
- **Projected ADR:** $287/night
- **Projected occupancy:** 68%
- **Gross annual revenue:** $71,200

The listing agent had estimated $85,000/year. That $13,800 gap isn't a rounding error — it's the difference between a deal that works and one that doesn't.

Underwrite shows you three scenarios — conservative, base, and optimistic — so you can see the range, not just a single point estimate. The comp set is visible and filterable. You can see exactly which properties drove the projection.

**Time elapsed:** About 3 minutes.

## Step 3: Full Expense Modeling

Revenue is step one. Expenses are where most investors get the analysis wrong — usually by $8,000–$15,000 per year.

Underwrite automatically builds a complete expense model across all 11 STR-specific categories. For our Gatlinburg cabin:

| Expense Category | Monthly | Annual |
|---|---|---|
| Mortgage (P&I) | $4,895 | $58,740 |
| STR Insurance | $185 | $2,220 |
| Utilities | $300 | $3,600 |
| Property Management (25%) | $1,483 | $17,800 |
| Maintenance Reserve (6%) | $356 | $4,272 |
| Platform Fees | $50 | $600 |
| Furnishing Amortization (3yr) | $695 | $8,340 |
| **Total** | **$7,964** | **$95,572** |

Two things most investors miss on a deal like this:

**STR insurance.** Standard homeowner's insurance doesn't cover short-term rental activity. An STR-specific policy runs $150–$300/month depending on the market and property. Forget to model it and you're understating expenses by $2,000–$3,600/year.

**Startup furnishing.** A 3-bedroom cabin needs $20,000–$30,000 in furniture, decor, linens, and supplies. Underwrite amortizes this over three years rather than treating it as a one-time cost, because that's how it affects your cash flow: steadily, not all at once.

**Time elapsed:** About 5 minutes.

## Step 4: Investment Returns and DSCR

Now the picture comes together. Underwrite calculates your key investment metrics:

- **Net Operating Income (NOI):** The gap between revenue and operating expenses
- **Cap rate:** How the property's income compares to its price
- **Cash-on-cash return:** What your actual cash investment earns annually
- **Break-even occupancy:** The minimum occupancy to cover all expenses

And critically for DSCR loan users: **your debt service coverage ratio.**

For this Gatlinburg cabin, the DSCR came in at **1.07**. Most DSCR lenders require a minimum of 1.25x. At 1.07, approval is possible but requires strong reserves documentation and may come with tighter terms.

Compare that to what the listing agent's revenue estimate would have produced: a DSCR of 1.31 — a clean approval with no complications.

**The $13,800 revenue difference changed the lending picture entirely.**

This is what real underwriting does. It doesn't just tell you a number. It tells you what the number means for your next conversation with a lender.

**Time elapsed:** About 7 minutes.

## Step 5: Stress Testing

Every deal looks good at projected occupancy. The question is: what happens when it doesn't hit that number?

Underwrite automatically runs two stress scenarios:

- **Occupancy down 20%** (68% → 54%): The Gatlinburg cabin runs at approximately **-$800/month**. It cannot service its debt at reduced occupancy.
- **ADR down 15%** ($287 → $244): Cash flow turns marginally negative. The deal has no pricing cushion.

This property requires stable, near-projected occupancy to work. If you're comfortable with that concentration risk, proceed. If a 20% dip in bookings would create a cash flow crisis, walk away.

The investor who ran this analysis walked away. The stress test did exactly what it was supposed to.

**Time elapsed:** About 8 minutes.

## Step 6: Tax Optimization and PDF Export

Underwrite's final outputs round out the analysis:

**Tax angle:** Underwrite assesses whether you may qualify for Real Estate Professional Status (REPS) based on your participation profile and estimates the bonus depreciation benefit available in year one. For STR investors who materially participate, this can mean $40,000–$80,000+ in ordinary income offset through paper losses. It's the part of the analysis investors most often forward to their CPA.

**Lender-ready PDF:** One click generates a formatted PDF with the complete analysis — property details, revenue projections, expense model, DSCR, stress test results, and market context. Easy Street Capital and Griffin Funding both accept it directly. No more rebuilding a custom deck for every lender conversation.

**Total time: under 10 minutes.** From a single address to a complete investment decision with lender documentation.

## Try It on Your Next Deal

Your first full analysis is free — no credit card required.

If you have a deal you're evaluating right now, run it through Underwrite and see what the numbers actually look like. The gaps between what you assumed and what the data shows might surprise you.

**Launch week offer:** Use code **LAUNCH26** for 25% off your first 3 months on any paid plan.

[**Run your first analysis →**]

---

*Have a deal you want analyzed? Drop the market and bed count in the comments — we'll run it and share the output.*