TILT Model Support

Every purchase includes 1 hour of complimentary setup help with Justin to walk through your first project. Most first projects are completed inside that hour. Free ongoing technical support covers questions about the model itself ("what does cell C5 do," "how do I enable macros"). For hands-on work like project input, investor walkthroughs, customizations, or OM preparation, reach out to Justin directly to discuss.

Windows: right-click the downloaded file, select Properties, General tab, check "Unblock," then open and click "Enable Content" when prompted. Mac: open the file and click "Enable Macros" at the prompt. To allow the TILT model's macros to manage sheets, fonts, and TOC updates programmatically, also open Excel Preferences (Cmd+Comma), find Security under the Sharing and Privacy section, and check "Trust access to the VBA project object model." Steps verified current against Microsoft Learn documentation as of 2026-05.

Excel blocks downloaded files containing macros by default as a security precaution. Right-clicking the file, choosing Properties, and checking "Unblock" tells Excel the file is safe (it arrived via email rather than from the open internet). This is standard behavior for any Excel file with macros, not specific to TILT.

Yes, using any filename without special characters. Avoid asterisks (*), question marks (?), and other special characters: they break the macros TILT uses to manage sheets and TOC updates. Letters, numbers, hyphens, underscores, and spaces are safe.

Excel 365 64-bit desktop on Windows or Mac. TILT models will not run reliably in Excel Online or Excel for the web because the custom commands and macros TILT uses are limited or unavailable in the browser. 32-bit desktop Excel can also run out of memory on larger models and is not recommended. To check which version you have, go to File, Account, About Excel on Windows or Excel, About Excel on Mac.

TILT models ship as .xlsb (Excel Binary Workbook). The binary format is significantly smaller on disk and recalculates faster than .xlsx or .xlsm at the size TILT models reach, and it still supports macros. Keep the file as .xlsb. Saving As .xlsx or .xlsm will noticeably slow the model down and inflate the file size.

Yes. On the Inputs sheet, click the "Show only rows/columns with data on reports" toggle. This hides any rows or columns where there is no project data, leaving a clean report that shows only what is relevant to your deal. The toggle is reversible. This is a TILT custom command, not a standard Excel feature.

Yes. Right-click any individual cell in the row or column you want to resize, then choose the resize option from the menu. Make sure you click a single cell, not the row number or column letter header. TILT models include custom resize commands that work inside the protected sheets without requiring you to unlock anything. The protection stays intact to preserve the model's calculation logic.

Yes. Right-click any cell within the sheet you want to move and select "Move this sheet" from the menu. TILT models include a custom move command because Excel's standard drag-to-reorder does not work on the protected sheets. The Table of Contents updates automatically after a move.

Yes. Go to the Table of Contents sheet and use the show/hide toggle next to the sheet you want to hide. Hidden sheets stay hidden across save and reopen. To bring a hidden sheet back, toggle the same control. Useful for cleaning up the file before sending it to an investor or lender.

Yes. Go to the Table of Contents sheet, select the sheets you want in the packet, and choose the print packet option. Excel produces a single PDF with all selected sheets formatted and paginated for investor presentations. Use this for investment committee reviews and lender packages.

Yes. Go to the Table of Contents sheet and choose "Change workbook font." TILT pre-selected a set of fonts that work safely across the model so the workbook does not break. Pick the one you want and the change applies to every sheet at once.

Yes. Every TILT model includes 10 blank, unlocked worksheets that you can use for scratch work, deal notes, custom calculations, or any data you do not want mixed with the model's standard outputs. They survive saves and version upgrades.

Always use Paste Special, Values. From the Home ribbon, click the arrow under Paste, choose Paste Special, then select Values. A regular paste carries over the source's formulas, formatting, and external references, any of which can overwrite cells the model needs. Never use Cut (Ctrl+X) on a TILT model: cutting a cell breaks every formula that references it, including formulas you cannot see on the protected sheets. Use Copy (Ctrl+C) plus Paste Special, Values instead.

On the Inputs sheet, use the Development Phases hyperlink on the left to jump to the phasing section, then switch the phase from In Series to In Parallel. In Series chains the phase after the previous one finishes. In Parallel opens up independent Year and Month inputs, so the phase runs on its own date.

Yes. The Development model handles for-sale (absorption schedules, deposits, sales-velocity inputs) and for-rent (unit mix, rent per unit or per SF, concessions, vacancy, operating expenses) in parallel within the same file.

Yes. Multi-Date Exit is a Development model add-on that lets each segment hit its own disposition date. For example, condo sell-down completing in year 3, apartment hold through year 7, and retail sale in year 5, all in one underwrite. Acquisition supports Multi-Date Exit as well. Fund does not.

Hard costs accept 11 input methods on both Commercial and Residential: per Unit, per Leasable (or Rentable) SqFt, per Gross SqFt, $ Total, $ Total + Inflation, Input Cost Curve, Itemized, Draw Schedule, by Unit Type, by Unit Type + Inflation, and by Development Phase. Use the Hard Costs hyperlink on the Inputs sheet to switch between them.

Yes. The Residential Revenues section accepts affordable unit options alongside market-rate, with rent assumptions set separately for each. Combined with residential property tax abatement inputs and unit-by-unit rent inflation, this lets you underwrite mixed-income deals (e.g., 80/20 or LIHTC-overlay projects) in one file. Note: You need to ask for this addon.

Yes. Standard models apply one rent-growth assumption per asset. TILT lets you set a different rent-growth curve per unit on residential, which matters when affordable and market-rate units are subject to different inflation caps, or when stabilized leases roll on different schedules.

In older TILT model versions, data tables recalculate on every input change and slow the model down. To improve speed: go to Formulas, Calculation Options, and select "Automatic Except for Data Tables"; use the Excel 365 64-bit desktop application (not Excel Online); turn off AutoSave (File, Options, Save); and make sure "Enable iterative calculation" is unchecked (File, Options, Formulas). If the model still feels slow during heavy input runs, switch Calculation Options to Manual, enter your inputs, then press F9 to recalculate when you are ready to see updated outputs. Updated TILT models do not have the data-table slowdown. Cloud Excel remains slower than desktop regardless of model version.

Strikethroughs across cells mean Excel's "Format stale values" feature is on. To turn it off: go to Formulas, Calculation Options, and uncheck "Format stale values." This is only an issue in older TILT model versions. Models built since the most recent rebuild do not show this behavior.

The most common cause is mismatched Development Phases. Check that your phase labels (soft costs, hard costs, construction loan, etc.) are named exactly the same everywhere they appear in the model. A phase spelled or labeled differently on one sheet than another breaks the lookups that pull figures between sheets, which returns #N/A. Confirm every phase name matches throughout and the errors should clear. This is the most frequent reason but not the only one: if all phases match and #N/A persists, reach out to Justin.

The most common cause is an out-of-date copy of Excel. TILT models use newer Excel 365 functions, and when the file is opened in an older version that does not recognize them, those functions return #NAME? (often shown with an _xlfn. prefix in the formula). Updating Excel to the current Microsoft 365 version usually clears it. Windows: go to File, Account, Update Options, then Update Now. Mac: if you installed Office from Microsoft, open any Office app and choose Help, Check for Updates to run Microsoft AutoUpdate; if you installed it from the Mac App Store instead, update through the App Store (App Store, Updates), where it can also update automatically. After updating, reopen the model and the errors should clear. If #NAME? persists on a current version of Excel, reach out to Justin. Steps verified current against Microsoft Support documentation as of 2026-06.

The most common cause is a special character in the new filename. Asterisks (*), question marks (?), and other special characters break the macros TILT uses to manage sheets, the Table of Contents, and the protected-sheet commands. Excel allows these characters in filenames but the macros do not handle them. The fix is to rename the file using only letters, numbers, hyphens, underscores, and spaces. If the macros still do not work after renaming, reach out to Justin.

Cloud-sync folders (OneDrive, Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud Drive, SharePoint synced libraries) re-upload the entire file on every save and can briefly lock the file while syncing. Because TILT models are large binary workbooks, this adds delay on every save and can momentarily freeze Excel. While you are actively working in the model, either move the file out of the synced folder or pause sync. Save it back to the cloud folder when you finish the session.