The exit file checklist

The exit is underwritten as hard as the loan. This is the file that does that underwriting first — one afternoon of work that changes terms and, at the midpoint of your loan, gets updated rather than rebuilt.

Whichever exit you plan

• Primary exit named in one sentence — sale or refinance, with the route spelt out
• Term arithmetic mapped — completion to exit, month by month, with two months of slack shown
• Fallback exit stated with numbers — the defensive sale price, actually written down and actually supported
• Mid-term review date diarised — the halfway point, when a slipping plan is still a cheap conversation

If the exit is sale

• Sold comparables table — six to twelve months, dates, addresses — sold prices, never asking
• Agent's letter — achievable pricing and demand, on letterhead
• Marketing period reality-checked — against the valuer's own estimate when the report arrives

If the exit is refinance

• Decision in principle from the take-out lender — the single most persuasive document an exit file can hold
• Stress-test arithmetic done — rent against the term lender's stressed rate, on paper
• Criteria checked against yourself — the borrowing entity, your profile, and the ownership-period rules
• Post-works condition matched to their standards — lettable and mortgageable means finished and certificated
• Exit costs counted in the arithmetic — refinance fees, valuation and legals on the way out — small numbers that surprise at redemption