Real Estate Underwriter - Financial Modeling

Who We Are

Roots is a wealth-building platform built on a simple belief: everyone deserves a real path to financial growth, and that path should feel achievable.

We create simple, accessible ways for people to participate in ownership and invest in real assets, making wealth-building more engaging and within reach. Today, Roots is a growing ecosystem that combines an investment platform, financial tools, and education to support long-term financial progress.

We’re already helping a rapidly growing community take meaningful steps toward building wealth, and we’ve seen that when the experience feels intuitive and rewarding, people actually stick with it. That’s what we’re continuing to build.

Why We Need You

Roots is growing, and our real estate portfolio is a major part of how we create long-term value for our investors and our community.

We’re looking for a sharp, detail-oriented Real Estate Underwriter to support our real estate team with financial modeling, deal analysis, and investment decision-making. You’ll help us evaluate new opportunities, understand deal economics, stress-test assumptions, and clearly communicate what the numbers mean.

This is a great role for someone who loves real estate finance, knows their way around a model, and wants to be close to the deals.

Role Responsibilities

• Build and maintain pro forma models for potential acquisitions across multiple asset types and deal structures.
• Analyze deal economics, including cash-on-cash returns, IRR, equity multiples, NAV impact, yield on cost, debt service coverage, and sensitivity to key assumptions.
• Stress-test assumptions around rent growth, operating expenses, cap rates, exit timing, leverage, interest rates, hold periods, and capital needs.
• Partner with acquisitions, asset management, finance, and leadership to translate deal terms, business plans, and market assumptions into clear model inputs.
• Evaluate potential acquisitions across asset types such as multifamily, build-to-rent, mixed-use, value-add, and other residential-focused real estate opportunities.
• Support capital structuring analysis, including debt assumptions, equity requirements, refinancing scenarios, and investor return profiles.
• Maintain and update models as deals move through the pipeline, from initial screening through investment committee review and closing.
• Review operating statements, rent rolls, market comps, loan terms, third-party reports, and other diligence materials to support underwriting assumptions.
• Identify key risks, sensitivities, and value drivers in each deal and clearly communicate them to the team.
• Summarize model outputs into clear investment memos, decision-support materials, and committee-ready presentations.
• Support ongoing portfolio performance analysis, including actual-to-budget reviews, valuation updates, NAV-related analysis, and scenario planning.
• Help improve our underwriting process, model templates, internal reporting, and investment committee materials as the team continues to grow.

Qualifications

• 2–5 years of experience in real estate finance, acquisitions, investment banking, private equity, asset management, or a similar analytical role.
• Strong real estate financial modeling experience, including acquisition models, operating projections, debt schedules, return calculations, and sensitivity analysis.
• Advanced Excel skills and comfort building, auditing, and improving complex models.
• Strong understanding of commercial real estate fundamentals, including valuation methods, cap rates, NOI, debt structures, refinancing assumptions, waterfall mechanics, and investor return metrics.
• Experience analyzing multifamily, build-to-rent, mixed-use, value-add, or residential real estate investments is strongly preferred.
• Comfort working with deal materials such as rent rolls, operating statements, market comps, loan terms, appraisals, inspections, and due diligence reports.
• Strong attention to detail and the ability to work efficiently under deal-cycle timelines.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to explain model outputs and investment considerations in plain English.
• Curiosity, sound judgment, and the ability to ask good questions when assumptions, inputs, or deal terms are unclear.
• Bachelor’s degree in Finance, Real Estate, Accounting, Economics, Business, or a related field preferred.

How We Work

Our values show up in how we work: we take ownership, stay curious, communicate clearly, use resources wisely, treat people fairly, and aren’t afraid to challenge how things have always been done.

Our office is located in Atlanta, Georgia, but this is a remote role.

At Roots, we're committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all individuals, regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, or Veteran status. We firmly believe that diversity fuels creativity and innovation, enhancing the quality of our work and the strength of our team. Join us and be part of an inclusive environment where every perspective is valued.