Rental Property Investment Calculator
Estimate rental income, operating expenses, financing, monthly cash flow, cap rate, cash-on-cash return, DSCR, break-even occupancy, and projected results when the property is sold.
- Cash-flow analysis
- Investor return metrics
- Hold-period projection
Analyze a rental property investment
Use current lease data, lender terms, tax records, insurance quotes, and realistic repair estimates when available. Percentage expenses are applied to income collected after vacancy.
Rental cash flow
First-year operating statement
Income, expenses, financing, and cash-flow treatment.
| Line item | Treatment | Annual amount |
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Hold-period projection
Illustrative values based on the growth and sale assumptions entered above.
| Year | Effective income | NOI | Cash flow | Loan balance | Property value |
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How the rental property investment calculator works
This calculator builds a simplified, before-tax rental property pro forma. It starts with scheduled rent and other recurring income, deducts vacancy, estimates operating costs, and then separates property performance from financing. That separation lets you compare a property’s cap rate with the cash return produced by your specific loan and upfront investment.
NOI = effective gross income − operating expenses
Cap rate = annual NOI ÷ purchase price
Cash-on-cash = annual cash flow ÷ cash invested
What is included in NOI?
The calculator includes effective rental income, property tax, insurance, HOA dues, owner-paid utilities, recurring miscellaneous expenses, property management, and routine repairs and maintenance. Mortgage principal and interest are excluded because NOI measures the property before financing. The capital expenditure reserve is also kept outside NOI here, but it is deducted when cash flow and cash-on-cash return are calculated.
How DSCR and break-even occupancy are estimated
Debt-service coverage ratio, or DSCR, divides annual NOI by scheduled annual principal-and-interest payments. Break-even occupancy estimates how much scheduled income must be collected to cover fixed operating costs, percentage-based expenses, the capital reserve, and debt service. A lender may calculate both measures differently and may use its own minimum ratios.
Understanding the projected return
The hold-period table grows scheduled income, fixed expenses, and property value at the entered annual rates. At the end of the selected year, estimated selling costs and the remaining loan balance are deducted from the projected property value. Before-tax IRR uses the initial cash invested, each year’s estimated cash flow, and net sale proceeds. It is a scenario—not a prediction—and can change sharply with small adjustments to rent, vacancy, financing, repairs, or sale price.
The initial cash reserve is included in cash invested and cash needed. For a conservative projection, the calculator does not automatically return that reserve at sale because some or all of it may be used while the property is owned. The annual capital reserve is also treated as a cash-flow deduction rather than assumed to accumulate untouched.
Use verified figures
Check leases, trailing operating statements, utility bills, tax records, insurance quotes, HOA documents, and the lender’s loan estimate.
Budget for irregular costs
Inspect the roof, structure, systems, appliances, code status, and deferred maintenance. A percentage reserve may not match the property’s actual needs.
Stress-test the deal
Try lower rent, higher vacancy, larger repairs, slower appreciation, and higher sale costs before making an investment decision.
Results are general planning estimates and are not an appraisal, loan approval, offer, financial advice, tax advice, or a guarantee of income, expenses, occupancy, property value, or investment performance. Dollar results are rounded for display; calculations use unrounded values.