Glossary
Positive Leverage
When a property's in-place return exceeds its borrowing cost, so using debt increases the return on equity.
Positive leverage exists when an asset's unlevered return (for example, its cap rate) is higher than the interest rate on its debt — so borrowing amplifies the return on the equity invested. It's a discipline more than a guarantee: underwriting toward positively-levered, tenant-ready assets means the in-place cash flow comfortably covers debt service. This is an educational definition, not a representation about any specific investment.
Related
