Canonical page: https://sequoia-research.com/writing/are-dst-investments-safe-guarantee-scope-checklist Author: Sequoia Research Published: 2026-10-17T11:06:41.941Z Updated: 2026-10-17T11:06:41.941Z Interactive tool: https://sequoia-research.com/writing/are-dst-investments-safe-guarantee-scope-checklist#research-tool # Are DST Investments Safe: Guarantee Scope Checklist ## What Is This Article About? This tool helps you examine what a stated guarantee covers and which facts are still missing. You record the named parties, covered duty, limits, conditions and source language, then keep financial evidence about the guarantor in a separate part of the file. The checklist highlights gaps and compares entered dates without deciding whether a promise is enforceable or collectible. This guide shows how to use those results in a careful DST review. ## Table of Contents - [What the Guarantee Scope Checklist Does](#what-the-guarantee-scope-checklist-does) - [Identify the Guarantor and the Party With Claim Rights](#identify-the-guarantor-and-the-party-with-claim-rights) - [Define the Covered Obligation and Conditions](#define-the-covered-obligation-and-conditions) - [Record Dollar Caps and Other Limits](#record-dollar-caps-and-other-limits) - [Read the Entered Date Window Carefully](#read-the-entered-date-window-carefully) - [Keep Capacity Evidence Separate From Contract Scope](#keep-capacity-evidence-separate-from-contract-scope) - [Follow the Four-Record Example](#follow-the-four-record-example) - [Use the Missing-Information Lists](#use-the-missing-information-lists) - [Save, Filter and Export Your Checklist](#save-filter-and-export-your-checklist) - [FAQ](#faq) ## What the Guarantee Scope Checklist Does A guarantee claim needs an object: who promises to do what, for whom, under which terms? A broad statement that a property has “support” does not answer those questions. This tool turns them into fields you can trace to a source. Start with the checklist title, exact issuer and interest, and review cutoff. Add one record for each promise or separately defined obligation you want to inspect. The tool holds up to twelve records. A record can be incomplete; gaps are part of the result. The output separates scope information from capacity evidence. It also shows records that use the same exact guarantor name and the position of the cutoff within any entered fixed-date window. These are organizing aids. They are not a safety score or a legal review. The SEC explains that private offerings can have limited disclosure and that offering documents generally are not reviewed by a regulator. A complete set of entered fields does not cure that limit. Obtain the underlying documents and assess their authority before relying on a summary. [SEC: Private Placements Under Regulation D](https://www.investor.gov/introduction-investing/general-resources/news-alerts/alerts-bulletins/investor-bulletins/private-placements-under-regulation-d-updated-investor-bulletin) The software does not read documents, check signatures or decide whether a condition has been met. It does not estimate a payment, review the guarantor's accounts or contact any party. Its useful output is a clear record of the promise you entered and the evidence still needed. ## Identify the Guarantor and the Party With Claim Rights Enter the guarantor's full legal name as shown in the source. Keep it separate from the sponsor's brand, the property manager and the tenant. If the exact party is unknown, leave the field blank. A familiar name should not silently fill that gap. Next identify the primary obligor. This is the party whose underlying duty is being supported in your record. For example, a teaching case might name a tenant as the rent payer and a different company as the guarantor. The beneficiary field asks which party is entitled to make the claim under the entered terms. In a loan example, that may be a lender. In a lease example, it may be the named landlord. Do not change that field to “investor” merely because an investor would benefit if the property received cash. Trace the route from the covered payment to the investment. A payment owed to the lender, a payment owed to the property owner and a distribution owed to an investor are different entries. Whether any particular investor has a direct right requires the actual documents and appropriate legal review. The tool groups identical guarantor text after trimming spaces at the edges. It preserves case, punctuation and spaces within the name. “Orchard Support LLC” and “Orchard Support, LLC” stay separate. This exact-text rule makes the grouping predictable; it does not decide whether the two labels refer to the same company. A repeated-name group shows only the IDs that use that label. It does not combine obligations, dollar caps or financial capacity. Use the group to ask whether one entity supports several promises and whether the source file addresses that shared burden. ## Define the Covered Obligation and Conditions Describe the exact duty being supported. “Rent under section 3” is more useful than “income support,” but the reader still needs the section's full scope. State whether the promise concerns a payment, defined loss, required work or another duty. Then enter the trigger and conditions. A source may tie a claim to a particular failure, notice, waiting period or other event. Record those terms without assuming they have occurred. The software does not start a legal clock when you enter a date. Keep exclusions in their own field. If the source says a promise excludes certain losses, preserve that limit beside the covered duty. If no exclusion has been found, explain that search result in the field rather than claiming that no exclusion exists anywhere. Record the notice and claim process separately. Who sends notice, who receives it, and which document describes the steps? A short claim summary can omit a condition that matters. Use a page or section reference so the next reviewer can check the text in context. The source area accepts a reference, source document date, location and wording or faithful summary. A reference may be a file name or link; the tool stores it as text and does not open it. Identify a paraphrase as a paraphrase. Keep the actual signed document, exhibits and amendments outside the tool. All four source fields are included in the missing-information check. An undated document can remain in the record, but its date stays unknown. Adding today's date would turn a real source gap into a false fact. ## Record Dollar Caps and Other Limits Choose the cap description that fits the entered evidence. “Unknown” leaves the issue open. “Fixed USD cap” allows an optional numeric amount. “Other limit described” points to a limit that cannot be represented by that one amount. “No dollar cap stated” reports what you found in the source; it does not mean unlimited recovery. The fixed-cap amount accepts nonnegative U.S. dollars with at most two decimal places. Enter no commas. A blank amount remains missing. An explicit zero becomes 0.00 and is treated as entered information. The tool does not decide why the amount is zero or whether that reading is legally correct. Use the limit notes to explain the amount's basis. Is it shared across claims, tied to a period, reduced by prior payments or subject to another formula? A number without that scope may overstate the support available for one claim. Consider a separate fictional example: a source states a $300,000 aggregate cap and a reviewer confirms that $80,000 of earlier payments reduce it. The arithmetic balance is $220,000. That subtraction alone does not show that a new claim qualifies, that no other claims compete for the balance or that cash is available to pay it. The checklist does not perform that claim calculation. It preserves the terms and your notes so the responsible reviewer can evaluate them. It also never adds the dollar amounts from different records. Two caps can overlap, cover different parties or apply to different events. If a promise uses a percentage, a changing balance or a non-dollar limit, choose “Other limit described” and write the formula or condition. Do not force it into a fixed-dollar field by guessing an underlying value. A missing input deserves an open question. ## Read the Entered Date Window Carefully The term choices are “Unknown,” “Fixed dates entered,” “Event-based term described” and “No fixed end stated.” Each describes the information you entered. None establishes that a guarantee is currently in force. Fixed-date mode lets you enter a start and end date. A missing endpoint produces an incomplete-window label. When both dates are present, the tool compares the review cutoff with them. The start and end dates are included in the displayed window. For example, an entered window ending October 17 includes an October 17 cutoff. At an October 18 cutoff, the tool would say “After entered date window,” provided that cutoff is not later than the current UTC date. That label does not decide whether an earlier claim survives, a release condition was satisfied or another document changes the term. Future start and end dates are allowed because a document can describe a future term. Source document dates and capacity evidence dates cannot follow the cutoff. The cutoff itself cannot follow the current UTC calendar date, which can differ from your local date near midnight. Every date must be a real calendar date from 1900 through 2200. The end cannot precede the start. If you select an event-based term, put its trigger and release details in the term notes instead of entering a fixed date that the source does not support. Term notes remain part of the scope check in every mode. A date pair alone does not explain release, survival or other conditions. Likewise, “No fixed end stated” must not be translated into “lasts forever.” Ask what events, amendments or legal rules could still affect the promise. ## Keep Capacity Evidence Separate From Contract Scope A clearly described promise and the resources to fulfill it require separate review. The capacity area has three fields: evidence reference, evidence as-of date, and notes about the evidence and your assessment. Leaving any one blank keeps the capacity evidence list open. The OCC's commercial real estate lending handbook makes a related distinction in its bank-supervision context. Its guarantee discussion considers enforceability alongside financial ability, willingness, liquidity and other obligations. It also calls for considering guarantees extended to other lenders. That guidance does not rate a DST or establish rights under a particular contract. [OCC: Commercial Real Estate Lending, page 54](https://www.occ.gov/publications-and-resources/publications/comptrollers-handbook/files/commercial-real-estate-lending/pub-ch-commercial-real-estate.pdf) Record what the evidence actually covers. A consolidated company report may differ from a report for the specific legal guarantor. A net-worth figure may include property or other assets that cannot quickly be turned into cash. A cash balance may face restrictions or competing claims. The checklist does not resolve those questions. Use the notes to describe the date, entity, limitations and work still required. “Financial package received; other guarantees not reviewed” is clearer than “strong guarantor.” The first statement shows what remains unknown. The second can hide the basis for the judgment. The tool reports the age in calendar days of each entered source document date and capacity evidence date. A blank date has no calculated age. There is no automatic freshness threshold: a ten-day-old report is not necessarily more useful than an older report with the correct entity and scope. Filling all three capacity fields means only that those fields contain information. It does not establish solvency, an acceptable risk level or probable recovery. Keep the professional's dated assessment and its conditions in the source file when one is available. ## Follow the Four-Record Example The built-in example is entirely fictional. Its review cutoff is October 17, 2026. It contains four records under three exact guarantor labels and is intended to show how the checklist behaves. G1 describes support for specified rent. It includes a $300,000 fixed cap, a window from January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2028, and all scope fields. Its capacity evidence is missing. The date label says the cutoff is within the entered window, without deciding whether a claim qualifies. G2 uses the same guarantor label for a separate lender obligation. Its limit is described in words and its term depends on events. The financial package reference and notes are present, but the capacity as-of date is missing. The software keeps that date gap visible even though the source looks detailed. G3 records an unresolved project-support claim from a presentation. Eight scope fields remain missing, including the beneficiary, claim conditions, exclusions and cap description. Its three capacity fields are filled. A dated financial summary does not supply the absent contract terms. G4 has complete scope and capacity fields. Its entered end date is September 30, before the October 17 cutoff. The tool labels it after the entered window; the notes explain that survival and earlier claims still require review. It does not announce that the guarantee is void or that no recovery is possible. The summary therefore shows four records, one with scope gaps and two with capacity gaps. One exact guarantor label repeats. One fixed-date record is within its entered window and another is after it. The event-based and unknown terms are not forced into those date categories. The example's G1 source is sixteen days old at the cutoff. G3's capacity evidence, dated June 30, is 109 days old. These are elapsed-day calculations. They are not findings that either document is current enough to support a decision. ## Use the Missing-Information Lists Start with the field that could most change the meaning of the promise. An unknown beneficiary may matter more than a missing note about a routine follow-up. The tool lists gaps but does not assign weights or priorities for you. Turn each gap into a specific request. Ask for the executed agreement and its amendments, the exact entity named in the promise or the clause governing a shared cap. Put the next action and responsible person in the next-step field. When a response arrives, edit the record and preserve the relevant scope. New evidence may answer one question while leaving another open. Filling the contract fields should not erase a capacity question, and receiving a financial statement should not fill an unknown contract term. Review the finished record against the original document. Check that the summary does not broaden a duty, remove a condition or change the claimant. If a legal interpretation is needed, document the responsible professional's conclusion and limits outside this mechanical field check. ## Save, Filter and Export Your Checklist Save each record before building the checklist. An unfinished form or edit blocks the build so the output cannot quietly omit that work. Record IDs remain stable when another record is removed. New records receive new IDs rather than taking the number of a deleted one. The display filters can show scope gaps, capacity gaps or records after their entered date windows. Summary counts and both exports still include every saved record. A focused meeting view does not shrink the underlying file. Any input edit clears the prior output and disables exports until you build again. Removing a record, clearing unfinished work, loading the example and resetting the whole file use confirmation inside the tool. Cancel preserves the current work. An edit also cancels a pending replacement confirmation. The saved checklist is limited to 80,000 UTF-8 bytes. Some characters use more than one byte. An oversized save is rejected without replacing saved records. Each export is limited to one MiB. These are file-size limits, not review standards. JSON preserves the full entered data and calculated lists. Text provides the complete record in a readable form. The tool has no storage, import, automatic saving or revision history. Save dated exports and retain the original documents elsewhere before closing the page. ## FAQ ### Does a completed checklist mean a DST investment is safe? No. It means the selected fields contain information. The tool does not test the truth, legal effect or financial strength behind that information. Investment risk extends beyond the guarantee records you entered. ### Can a lender guarantee be counted as an investor principal guarantee? Do not make that change without support in the actual documents. Keep the named beneficiary and covered duty as written. A promise covering a lender's defined losses does not by itself establish a direct investor payment right. ### Why are a blank cap and a zero cap different? A blank means the amount is missing. Zero is an entered numeric amount. The checklist preserves that distinction and asks for the cap's scope, but it does not validate your contract reading. ### Does the tool add guarantees from the same company? No. It groups identical entered names to help you inspect shared obligations. Different caps may overlap or protect different parties. The group is not a total recovery estimate. ### Does an ended date window prove that a claim is barred? No. The label only compares entered dates. Survival terms, earlier events, notices, releases and other provisions require their own review. The tool does not calculate a legal claim deadline. ### Can I reopen an exported file in the tool? No import or restore feature is included. Exports are portable records for your own files and review meetings. Keep the source documents and dated versions in a suitable document system. ## About Sequoia Research Sequoia Research, LLC provides independent research on DSTs and other real estate investment offerings. This educational library explains how to organize investment evidence and preserve the limits of what it supports. ## Sources - [SEC: Private Placements Under Regulation D](https://www.investor.gov/introduction-investing/general-resources/news-alerts/alerts-bulletins/investor-bulletins/private-placements-under-regulation-d-updated-investor-bulletin), August 17, 2022; updated September 21, 2026. - [OCC: Commercial Real Estate Lending](https://www.occ.gov/publications-and-resources/publications/comptrollers-handbook/files/commercial-real-estate-lending/pub-ch-commercial-real-estate.pdf), version 2.0, March 2022, with the March 20, 2025 reputation-risk revision shown on the cover; printed page 54, Evaluating Guarantees. Bank-supervision context, not a DST-specific legal opinion. Sources opened October 17, 2026. All guarantee records and numerical examples in this guide are invented teaching examples. ## Related Reading and Tools - [Are DST Investments Safe in 2026? What Investors Should Understand About Risk](https://sequoia-research.com/writing/are-dst-investments-safe-in-2026-what-investors-should-understand-about-risk) - [Problems With Delaware Statutory Trust (2026): What Investors Should Investigate Before Buying](https://sequoia-research.com/writing/problems-with-delaware-statutory-trust-2026-what-investors-should-investigate-before-buying) - [Delaware Statutory Trust Returns: Exit Assumption Sensitivity Grid](https://sequoia-research.com/writing/delaware-statutory-trust-returns-exit-assumption-sensitivity-grid)