NovShortlist Decision Memo
When a shortlist has several projects, the decision comes from your priorities and what still needs checking — not from a "score". This tool helps you build a personal decision memo: mark what matters to you, add projects, note your arguments and open questions, and get a ready document to bring to a consultation.
The tool does not score or rank projects — the final decision stays yours. Notes are stored only in your browser.
Define the decision before comparing the projects
State in one sentence what is being chosen and for which purpose: a home, a long-term rental asset, capital preservation or a defined combination. Record the buyer, other decision participants, intended holding period, budget currency and the date by which a decision is genuinely required.
The question must permit more than one answer, including rejection of every current option. Where one participant wants income and another expects to occupy the unit later, agree a shared objective first or prepare two memos; a single criteria set cannot fairly represent incompatible decisions.
Declare elimination conditions before scoring the projects
Before assigning scores, record the conditions that keep a project out of the final comparison altogether: an ineligible ownership route, an unverified SPA counterparty, an unfundable total schedule, an opaque payee or a project status the buyer has decided not to accept. For each condition, name the evidence required and the person authorised to mark it resolved.
If the team still wants to retain a project that fails one of those conditions, the memo should show a separate exception decision: who approved it, what new evidence supports it, which risk remains and when the decision expires or is reviewed. A view or discount can then be discussed without silently cancelling the buyer’s own veto.
Give each criterion a measure and an acceptable range
Replace broad labels with testable definitions. Instead of “good location”, record an acceptable journey time to a named destination at relevant hours; instead of “affordable”, state the maximum total cash outflow and minimum liquidity left after each payment; instead of “easy to rent”, define the required net cash flow under disclosed rent, vacancy and cost assumptions.
For every criterion, retain its definition, preferred direction, minimum acceptable level and the range that actually differs across the shortlisted projects. Government Analysis Function guidance emphasises that well-defined criteria and measurement scales improve the quality of comparison.
Keep “do not buy yet” as a valid option
Add a control option to the shortlist: retain the funds, continue searching or revisit the decision after a named event. Compare it not only on missed upside, but also on preserved liquidity, avoided contractual exposure and the value of receiving better information later.
A memo is allowed to produce no winner. If every project fails a mandatory condition or the apparent choice depends on an unverified promise, the correct next action may be to close the information gap rather than reserve a unit.
Give every conclusion an evidence status
Distinguish a confirmed fact, calculation, assumption, seller statement and personal observation. For each material conclusion, retain the source, date, document or verification method, person responsible for follow-up, deadline and status: confirmed, stale, conflicting or unknown.
The 2025 AQuA Book says analysis should be repeatable, grounded in reality, documented and managed for uncertainty, and describes the use of an assumptions log. In this memo, “strong yield” without dated inputs is therefore not an argument; it remains an untested hypothesis.
Test real trade-offs instead of ranking labels
“Location matters more than price” is incomplete until the actual differences are known. Ask whether a specific extra amount is worth the measured reduction in travel time, whether less internal area is acceptable for a safer payment schedule, or whether a slower exit is acceptable for a more stable current cash flow.
Government Analysis Function guidance warns that assigning simple weights to criterion names is not a valid substitute for considering the swing between available levels. The memo can remain score-free while recording several explicit pairwise trade-offs and the buyer's answer to each.
Record the conditions that would change the decision
For the current favourite, identify the change that would move the buyer to another option or stop the transaction: a higher total budget, delayed handover, different service charge, unavailable foreign quota, lower evidenced rent, a changed SPA seller or an unacceptable refund clause.
The 2026 Green Book describes a switching value as the level at which a key assumption causes the preferred option to cease being preferred, and requires sensitivity testing. A private buyer does not need a complex model: record the critical value, the evidence supporting today's assumption and the action triggered if it is crossed.
Close the memo with a dated decision record
The final block should state the chosen action, decision date, three principal reasons, residual risks, conditions to complete before reservation and reasons the alternatives were rejected. Where the decision is deferred, name the evidence or date that will reopen it.
Preserve the earlier version instead of overwriting it without trace. The change log should identify a new price, document, unit availability, changed priority and author of the amendment. This keeps the reasoning reproducible and prevents a new promotion or verbal promise from rewriting the original decision.
Build the memo
Do not enter passport, bank or other sensitive data — this is a working note, not a secure form. "Send to Telegram" opens the chat; the memo text is copied to your clipboard first so you can paste it into the chat.
How to use it
- Priorities first, then projects. Once the selection criteria are fixed, projects compare more honestly — against the same objective, not a nice headline number.
- Keep "why" and "what to verify" separate. An argument in favour is your hypothesis; open questions are what documents confirm (price, GRR, title form, timelines) before booking.
- "Leaning" ≠ "decided". A lean is a working status at the time of the note, not a commitment. A reservation is not a required outcome of a consultation.
- Compare projects on attributes in the comparison tool, and collect questions for the meeting in the question builder.
Ready to discuss your shortlist? Send the memo to us — we'll go through each project against your priorities and honestly show the costs and what to verify in the documents.
Contact usTelegramTake the quizCommon questions
Does the tool pick the best project for me?
No. The memo does not score projects or build a ranking. It helps you structure your own priorities, arguments and open questions so you arrive at a consultation with a ready document. The final decision remains yours.
Where are my notes stored?
Locally in your browser. We do not receive this data unless you copy the memo or send it to us yourself. Do not enter passport, bank or other sensitive data.
Is this investment advice?
No. It is a working tool to organise your reasoning. Project terms — price, GRR, buy-back, title form, timelines — are checked against documents and fixed in the SPA; a guaranteed rental return is a developer obligation.
Sources
The tool is a NovAsia editorial template for organising a buyer's decision. It does not score or rank projects and is not investment, legal or tax advice. Project data (price, yield, ownership form, timelines) is checked against developer documents and fixed in the contract. Notes do not leave your browser until you send them.