Cohort #4 — Application Window Open Starts in 4 days

The Art of Underwriting Ground-Up Construction.

The 12-week practitioner program for serious investors ready to expand into ground-up construction. You underwrite a real deal, learn the county/city, contractor, HUD, draw, design, and senior-debt pieces, and leave with one ground-up experience you can speak to with confidence.

Weekly Deal Review · One Real Deal Underwritten · Back-Office Support
Dozens
Operators Trained
87%
Completion Rate
$10M+
Closed & Sold
3
Cohorts Delivered
Serious investors learn the pieces that make ground-up real

If you're still here, you're still trying.

You know ground-up can expand your investing capabilities. But the first project exposes every gap: land, numbers, contractor vetting, approvals, HUDs, draws, and the structure lenders expect you to understand.

01

Lenders don't take you seriously.

They can tell when you do not have ground-up experience yet. If you do not have a track record, your numbers, team, contractor plan, and approval path have to prove that you understand what you are asking them to fund.

02

You can't price the dirt.

You do not understand the numbers deeply enough yet to know if the land is good. You need to price the dirt, test the ARV, comp the area, understand the build cost, and know whether the deal actually works before you move.

03

Capital partners won't return calls.

They want to know you can work with the right contractors and vet them before money is at risk. If you cannot evaluate bids, scope, references, timelines, and draw expectations, the deal looks fragile before it starts.

A good deal is not guessed.
It is underwritten, vetted, approved, and built.

Show me how it's done

You leave with one real ground-up deal underwritten, not a certificate.

We help with the underwriting. By the end of the program, you have one deal done and under your belt, plus the opportunity to be considered for a second ground-up partnership experience after the course.

01

A deal you can put your name on.

You underwrite one ground-up opportunity from land and ARV through budget, HUD, draws, approvals, contractor plan, and exit.

02

Land, comps, and ARV discipline.

Learn how to decide if the dirt is good, comp the area, confirm ARV, and protect your assumptions before you commit.

03

A contractor vetting process.

Scopes, bids, references, draw expectations, timelines, and accountability systems so the work can actually get done.

04

A county, city, and approvals map.

Title companies, appraisers, county/city offices, permits, inspections, and approvals organized into a buildable sequence.

05

HUD, draw, and senior-debt fluency.

Understand your HUD, how senior debt works, what draw schedules require, and how money actually moves through a build.

06

A second-deal pathway.

Graduates who execute at the standard can be considered for a second ground-up partnership opportunity with us after the program.

From deal idea to build-ready underwriting.

Phase One
Structure
Phase Two
Numbers & HUD
Phase Three
Contractors & Approvals
Phase Four
Deal Review

Twelve weeks. Built like a deal.

The program covers the real pieces of ground-up construction: business structure, title companies, appraisers, county/city approvals, numbers, HUDs, contractors, software, interior design, legal, accounting, goal setting, draws, comping, senior debt, and approvals.

Structure

Business Structure & Legal Setup

Set up the entity, operating expectations, legal structure, accounting rhythm, and goals before a project starts creating risk.

Transaction

Title, Appraisers & HUDs

Understand who touches the file, what each party needs, and how to read the HUD before the numbers surprise you.

Market

Comping, ARV & Dirt Pricing

Pull comps, test ARV, read the land, and decide whether the parcel gives the project enough room to work.

Underwriting

Building the Ground-Up Numbers

Land, hard costs, soft costs, carry, contingency, sale price, timelines, and exit math built around a real deal that gets reviewed.

Debt

Senior Debt

How senior debt is sized, what the lender reviews, what gets conditioned, and how draws affect the build.

Contractors

Contractor Vetting & Scopes

How to find the right contractors, compare bids, check references, define scope, and protect the project before work starts.

Tools

Software, Assignments & Practice

Use the program tools, recordings, assignments, and practice problems to build fluency instead of memorizing vocabulary.

Approvals

County, City & Approvals

Work through the county/city path, approval sequence, permit expectations, and appraiser considerations before they delay the project.

Execution

Draws & Build Controls

Understand draw requests, inspections, reserves, contractor payment expectations, and the controls that keep a build moving.

Finish

Interior Design, Accounting & Goals

Connect finish selections, budget discipline, bookkeeping, and investor goals so the project is not just modeled but manageable.

Ready to build something worth underwriting?

Apply Now
Real Deal
Program Deal
One ground-up deal
underwritten with you —
step by step.

Real deals. Weekly review. Real support.

We run a weekly deal review call where we actually underwrite the deal. You bring the assumptions, we pressure-test the numbers, and the work gets cleaner every week.

A

You underwrite one real ground-up deal.

By the end, you have one deal done and under your belt with the numbers, structure, and build logic documented.

B

Every week has deal review.

We review assumptions, comps, land basis, HUDs, contractors, draws, approvals, and senior debt in context.

C

The back office stays available.

Terminology, recordings, assignments, practice problems, blogs, videos, and underwriting tools are organized for support.

D

A second ground-up experience is possible.

Students who meet the standard can be considered for an opportunity to partner with us on a second ground-up experience.

Included Support System

The 30-Day Pathway
plus the back office.

The 30-Day Pathway gives you a clean runway into the work. It reinforces the language, the numbers, the assignments, and the habits you need before the deal review reps get deep.

You also get access to the full back office. Terminology, lesson recordings, assignments, practice problems, educational blogs, videos, and underwriting tools are there so you can keep working between live sessions.

Terminology, lesson recordings, and assignments
Practice problems, blogs, videos, and underwriting tools
A 30-day pathway that keeps the work moving
→ The Art of Underwriting Daily PATHWAY / 30
01
Terminology bank
02
HUD and draw practice
03
Contractor vetting checklist
04
Comping and ARV drills
05
County and city approval map

Choose your format.

Same curriculum. Same weekly deal review. Same back-office support. Join weekly evening workshops and, when offered, Saturday/weekend in-person sessions.

Most Flexible
R

Live Online

12 weeks · weekly evening workshops

Weekly evening workshops. All sessions recorded. Weekly deal review. Submit assignments, practice problems, and deal materials through the program support system.

  • Weekly evening workshops
  • Weekly deal review calls
  • All recordings + materials archived
  • Deal review via Zoom
  • Same back-office support

Built around the work
you actually have to do.

No fake syndication jargon. No technical theater. These are the pieces you need to accurately build ground ups.

01

12-Week Live Curriculum

Weekly evening workshops covering the ground-up process from structure through execution.

Included
02

Weekly Deal Review Call

We actually underwrite the deal with you and review the assumptions as the work develops.

Reviewed
03

One Ground-Up Deal Done

You finish with one real ground-up deal underwritten and documented.

Core
04

Full Back Office Support

Terminology, recordings, assignments, practice problems, blogs, videos, and underwriting tools.

Support
05

30-Day Pathway

A structured ramp into the terminology, assignments, and practice reps.

Pathway
06

Contractor, County & HUD Training

How to work with contractors, title, appraisers, county/city offices, HUDs, draws, and approvals.

Practical
07

Second Ground-Up Opportunity

Qualified graduates can be considered for a chance to partner on a second ground-up experience with us.

Application-based
08

Saturday / Weekend Sessions

In-person reps when offered for students who want more hands-on work.

Optional
Program is built for serious investors
12 weeks
Cohort #4 — application required
Acceptance is based on fit, experience, and willingness to do the work.

Four clear commitments.

This is a high-expectation course. We are clear about what we provide, what you are expected to do, and what is earned through performance.

1
Guarantee 01

The Real-Deal Underwriting Commitment

If you do the work, we work through one real ground-up deal with you so you leave with actual underwriting under your belt.

2
Guarantee 02

The Weekly Review Commitment

You are not left alone with a spreadsheet. We review the deal weekly and help you tighten the numbers, assumptions, contractors, and approval path.

3
Guarantee 03

The Second-Deal Opportunity

Students who meet the standard may be considered for an opportunity to partner with us on a second ground-up experience after the program.

4
Guarantee 04

The Back-Office Access Pledge

You keep access to the terminology, recordings, assignments, practice problems, blogs, videos, and tools that support the work.

High expectation. Real reps. Real support.
That is the standard.

Apply Now

Built for serious investors who want the next capability.

Our graduates are serious investors, real estate operators, or people already working in the real estate trades who want to expand into ground-up construction.

Comps and ARV. Graduates are expected to know how to pull comps, test ARV, and decide if the land gives the deal enough room to work.

D
Market Discipline
Comping · ARV · Dirt

Contractors and scopes. Graduates are expected to know how to vet contractors, compare bids, check references, and manage draw expectations.

R
Execution Discipline
Contractors · Scopes · Draws

Approvals and controls. Graduates are expected to understand HUDs, title, appraisers, county/city approvals, senior debt, and accounting goals.

J
Project Discipline
HUD · Approvals · Senior Debt

Operators. Not influencers.

Juan and Lamin teach from the operator side of the table. The point is not theory or course hype. The point is helping serious investors understand how ground-up construction actually gets underwritten and built.

Co-Director · Lead Instructor
J

Juan Dominguez

Co-Director · Lead Instructor

Developer for 5+ years. House flipper for 8+ years — multiple homes sold at multiple six figures. As a general contractor, Juan focuses exclusively on investor properties and projects — not commercial — which means he builds with operators, not for institutional clients. The man who actually swings hammers on the deals he teaches you to underwrite.

  • 5+ years as a real-estate developer
  • 8+ years house flipping; multiple homes sold at multiple six figures each
  • General contractor — investor projects only, never commercial
  • Specializes in working directly with active investors
Co-Director · Lead Instructor
L

Lamin Ngobeh

Co-Director · Lead Instructor

Real estate investor for 10+ years across wholesaling, investor lending, house flipping, and ground-up construction. Serial entrepreneur. Brings every angle of the business — sourcing, capital stack, structuring, exit — into the curriculum because he's done all of it.

  • 10+ years as a real estate investor
  • Multi-discipline: wholesaling · investor lending · house flipping · ground-up construction
  • Serial entrepreneur across multiple verticals
  • Closes deals every week — teaches the financing weeks because he lives them

We underwrite the deal with you.

The weekly review call is where the program becomes practical. We look at your numbers, your comps, your HUD, your contractor plan, your draw assumptions, your approvals, and the next decision the deal needs.

B

Full Back Office Support

Resources · Tools · Recordings · Assignments

Terminology, lesson recordings, assignments, practice problems, educational blogs, videos, and underwriting tools are organized so you are not guessing between sessions.

UW

Deal Review

Weekly Call · Real Numbers

Hard questions, hard answers.

If yours isn't here, email support@theartofunderwriting.com. We answer everything within 24 hours, personally.

What if I've never done a deal? Is this for me? +

This is a high-expectation course. The best fit is someone who is already a serious investor, has real estate investing experience, or works in the real estate trades and is ready to expand into ground-up construction. There is a light application process so we can confirm fit.

How much time per week does this actually take? +

Plan for weekly evening workshops, a weekly deal review rhythm, and focused work between sessions. The exact workload depends on your deal, but this is not a passive course. The work is the point.

Is this remote, in-person, or both? +

The core program runs through weekly evening workshops and deal review. When in-person sessions are offered, they are Saturday/weekend sessions for deeper hands-on work.

What's covered in the 30-Day Pathway and back office? +

The 30-Day Pathway gives structure to your early reps. The back office includes terminology, lesson recordings, assignments, practice problems, blogs, videos, and underwriting tools.

Do I actually finish with a ground-up deal? +

Yes. We help you underwrite one real ground-up deal by the end of the program. Students who meet the standard may also be considered for a chance to partner with us on a second ground-up experience.

What if I get to the end and I still don't feel ready? +

You keep working the reps. The course is built around review, assignments, support tools, and back-office resources so you can keep tightening the deal instead of walking away with vague notes.

Can my company pay for this? +

Routinely. We provide W-9, an itemized invoice, and a CPE-style program description that reads cleanly as professional development. Real-estate firms, family offices, and single-asset GP shops have all written this off as continuing education.

When does Cohort #4 start, and how do I apply? +

Click "Apply Now," fill out the short application, and one of us reviews it personally within 48 hours. We accept a limited number of students and look for fit, seriousness, and relevant investing or real estate trade experience.

Cohort #4 — Starts in 4 Days

Stop renting
someone else's
game plan.

24 seats. 12 weeks. One ground-up deal underwritten. Weekly deal review, back-office support, and the chance to earn a second ground-up experience.

04
Days
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Hours
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Minutes
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Apply Now Application required · Weekly deal review · Second ground-up opportunity
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