When a developer sends you a proforma, they are handing you a financial story about a project that does not yet exist. Every line item, every assumption, every projected rent and exit price is a judgment call. For passive investors evaluating ground-up multifamily deals, understanding how to read that story is one of the most valuable skills you can develop. Most proformas look the same on the surface: a spreadsheet with rows of numbers and a returns summary at the top. The r