An AI IC memo generator can draft an investment narrative, but a defensible CRE memo also needs an approved model, source evidence and explicit risks. Moraine supplies source-linked underwriting and diligence outputs for office, retail and industrial acquisitions. Its exports are XLSX workbooks, not finished PDF memos; the team prepares and approves the final committee narrative.
First choose which document you need
An acquisition IC memo is an internal decision document. A broker’s offering memorandum markets a property. A lender’s credit memo supports a lending decision. Software described as a memo or presentation generator may serve any of these jobs, so inspect a sample output before comparing product names.
| Job | Intended reader | Required evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Acquisition IC memo | Your investment committee | Approved investment case, return exhibits, downside and material diligence issues |
| Seller offering memorandum | Prospective buyers | Property information and appropriately supported marketing statements |
| Lender credit memo | Credit decision-makers | Loan request, repayment capacity, collateral and policy analysis |
| Financial evidence package | Analysts preparing the decision document | Reconciled model outputs, assumptions, sources and open review items |
Moraine belongs in the underwriting and diligence evidence workflow. If a finished narrative, PDF or branded PowerPoint deck is mandatory, test that requirement separately rather than assuming the financial model includes it.
What a CRE investment committee memo should contain
Start with the actual decision: the proposed price and structure, the business plan, the capital required and the conditions to proceed. Then connect the narrative to the approved exhibits.
| Memo section | Questions the reviewer should be able to answer |
|---|---|
| Recommendation | What decision is requested, at what price and subject to which conditions? |
| Property and tenancy | What is being acquired, who pays the rent, and where is rollover concentrated? |
| Business plan | Which actions and assumptions drive the result, and who is responsible? |
| Base case | Which model version, inputs and financing terms support the returns? |
| Downside | Which assumptions change, and how do the risks interact? |
| Diligence | What is established, conflicting, missing or dependent on specialist advice? |
| Approval conditions | What must be resolved before signing, funding or closing? |
Use the CRE IC memo template as a starting structure. The template is not evidence that a deal clears your firm’s approval standards.
Generate from the approved deal record
Avoid a workflow where prose, spreadsheet exhibits and the underlying source package quietly diverge. Identify the model version and scenario used for the draft. Carry the reporting date and units into the exhibits. When the investment assumptions change, regenerate or reconcile the affected narrative and tables before circulating them.
Each material factual statement should be traceable to a document or another identified source. Distinguish a lease term from the analyst’s interpretation of its financial effect. If the documents do not establish lease status, leave that question open instead of generating a confident sentence.
A worked example: from lease clause to memo sentence
The numbers below are illustrative, not a real deal. Take an office building bought at $48,000,000, with 130,000 rentable SF. Tenant A leases 40,000 SF (about 31% of rentable area) at $32.00/SF on a net basis, expiring 30 June 2029. The lease has one five-year renewal option at 95% of fair market rent, exercisable on 12 months’ notice.
| Step | What the memo needs |
|---|---|
| Source fact | Lease section 4.2: one 5-year option, 95% of FMV, 12 months’ notice. Cited to the page. |
| Model assumption (base) | Tenant renews at $32.00/SF, no downtime, TI of $10/SF, leasing commission of 4% of five-year rent. |
| Model assumption (downside) | Tenant gives no notice and leaves: 12 months of downtime, new lease at $32.00/SF, TI of $60/SF, commission of 6% of five-year rent. |
| Rent lost in downtime | 40,000 SF x $32.00 x 1 year = $1,280,000 |
| Extra TI | 40,000 SF x ($60 - $10) = $2,000,000 |
| Extra commission | Five-year rent is $6,400,000; (6% - 4%) x $6,400,000 = $128,000 |
| Total added cash cost in the downside | $1,280,000 + $2,000,000 + $128,000 = $3,408,000, or 7.1% of price |
The sentence the committee reads: “Tenant A, 31% of rentable area, has a renewal option that requires notice by 30 June 2028. If it does not renew, we estimate $3.4 million of lost rent, tenant improvements and commissions, before any change in recoveries.” The IRR effect comes from re-running the model, not from the memo, and should be shown as a separate exhibit.
The source establishes the contractual fact. The underwriter owns the renewal and market assumptions. A fluent memo cannot turn those assumptions into certainty or replace counsel’s interpretation of disputed language.
Compare memo workflows honestly
| Workflow | Useful deliverable | Test before relying on it |
|---|---|---|
| Moraine | XLSX underwriting reports and source-linked diligence findings | Can the approved financial exhibits and material findings be traced and reviewed? |
| Dedicated memo/deck generator | Draft narrative or presentation in its supported format | Does every key number match the approved model, and are sources correct? |
| General AI assistant | Draft wording from supplied, permitted context | Does it invent facts, lose caveats or mix model versions? |
| Analyst-authored memo | Your firm’s established committee format | Can another reviewer reproduce the exhibits and understand unresolved issues? |
AcquiOS describes IC preparation in PowerPoint templates, and Apers lists an IC memo workflow. Confirm each vendor’s current output and terms directly. This page is published by Moraine; it does not claim independent performance testing of those systems.
Give every material issue a disposition
Committee packages go wrong when an attractive summary hides unresolved exceptions in an appendix. Reduce each material issue to a decision record:
| Field | Question to answer |
|---|---|
| Source fact | What does the document or analysis actually state? |
| Evidence status | Is the supporting source present, current and reviewable? |
| Deal impact | Which cash flow, right, obligation, timing item or risk is affected? |
| Proposed disposition | What assumption, condition, reserve, reprice or follow-up is recommended? |
| Owner | Who must verify or approve it? |
| Deadline | When must it be resolved relative to diligence or closing? |
Keep gaps in the source packet visible: an unsigned amendment referenced by the base lease, a rent roll with no as-of date, a T-12 that does not reconcile to supporting schedules, or an outdated property condition or environmental report. Also keep specialist boundaries clear. Counsel interprets legal rights, engineers assess physical systems, environmental professionals evaluate recognized conditions, and appraisers and investment professionals own valuation judgments.
Before the memo leaves the team
Check that the purchase price, sources and uses, debt, returns and scenario labels tie to the approved exhibits. Verify a sample of source references and every material risk statement. Assign an owner to each unresolved condition. Remove confidential information that the intended audience should not receive.
Final reviewer checklist:
- The package names the source scope and as-of date.
- Missing and superseded documents remain visible.
- Every material conflict has a disposition and an owner.
- Decision-critical facts were checked against source evidence.
- Underwriting assumptions match the approved model.
- Specialist conclusions are attributed to the right reviewer.
- The recommendation states conditions and unresolved items.
- The exported version matches what the committee will review.
For a software pilot, measure analyst review time, material corrections, unsupported statements and how the draft behaves after a model change. A longer memo or faster draft is not automatically a better investment decision.
Moraine currently supports office, retail and industrial. Individual is $300/month, Team starts at $1,500/month and full diligence is separately $3,000/property. See pricing, security and OM-to-DCF workflow. Moraine does not offer finished PDF memo exports today.