Rental Property Calculator
Underwrite a rental the way a lender and a seasoned landlord would: monthly cash flow, cap rate, cash-on-cash return, DSCR and a 30-year hold-or-sell projection — all from one parcel card.
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30-year projection
Rent and expenses grow at your rates, the loan amortizes on schedule, and the “if sold” columns subtract your selling costs and the remaining balance. IRR counts every year’s cash flow plus the sale.
| Year | Rent / mo | NOI | Cash flow | Value | Loan balance | Equity | Profit if sold | IRR if sold |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $2,350 | $15,486 | −$2,012 | $293,550 | $211,681 | $81,869 | −$26,442 | −30.8% |
| 2 | $2,421 | $15,976 | −$1,522 | $302,357 | $209,457 | $92,899 | −$17,549 | −10.7% |
| 3 | $2,493 | $16,481 | −$1,016 | $311,427 | $207,067 | $104,360 | −$7,739 | −3.0% |
| 5 | $2,645 | $17,540 | $42 | $330,393 | $201,735 | $128,658 | $14,778 | 3.1% |
| 10 | $3,066 | $20,491 | $2,993 | $383,016 | $184,488 | $198,528 | $89,847 | 7.3% |
| 15 | $3,555 | $23,932 | $6,434 | $444,021 | $159,734 | $284,287 | $196,412 | 8.3% |
| 20 | $4,121 | $27,945 | $10,447 | $514,742 | $124,203 | $390,539 | $341,676 | 8.6% |
| 25 | $4,777 | $32,623 | $15,125 | $596,727 | $73,203 | $523,524 | $534,903 | 8.8% |
| 30 | $5,538 | $38,076 | $20,578 | $691,770 | $0 | $691,770 | $788,145 | 8.9% |
The four ways a rental pays you
Monthly cash flow is only the visible part. Tenants also pay down your loan, the building (usually) appreciates, and depreciation shelters income from tax. Drag the holding period and watch how the mix shifts: early on, cash flow and paydown dominate; later, appreciation compounds and takes over.
- Cash flow
- $3,880
- Loan paydown
- $29,262
- Appreciation
- $98,016
- Tax saved by depreciation*
- $18,240
*Assumes 80% of the price is building, depreciated over 27.5 years, saving tax at a 22% rate, and ignores recapture on sale. See the depreciation calculator for your own figures.
How to read the numbers
Cash flow is rent collected minus vacancy, every operating cost and the mortgage. A deal can show positive cash flow on paper only because maintenance, CapEx or management were left at zero — keep them in even if you self-manage, because roofs and water heaters bill you eventually.
Cap rate (NOI ÷ price) tells you what the property earns before financing, so it’s the fair way to compare two buildings. Cash-on-cash tells you what your money earns with your loan. DSCR is what a lender looks at: NOI divided by the annual mortgage. Most DSCR lenders want 1.20–1.25 or better.
Break-even occupancy is the share of the year the unit must be rented just to cover every cost. Under about 85% leaves you a cushion; above 95% means one bad turnover wipes out the year.
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Questions investors ask
What is a good return on a rental property?
Many buy-and-hold investors look for cash-on-cash returns of 8–12% and a cap rate at or above their mortgage rate, but it depends on the market. A low-cash-flow deal in a fast-appreciating city can still out-earn a high-yield deal in a flat one. Judge a deal on all four return sources: cash flow, loan paydown, appreciation and tax savings.
How much should I budget for expenses on a rental?
Beyond taxes and insurance, a common underwriting set is 5–8% of rent for maintenance, 5–10% for capital expenditures (roof, HVAC, appliances), 8–10% for property management even if you self-manage, and 5–8% vacancy. Total operating expenses commonly land between 35% and 50% of gross rent, which is where the 50% rule comes from.
Does this rental property calculator include appreciation?
Yes. The projection grows rent, expenses and property value at the rates you set, pays down the loan on its real amortization schedule, and shows what you would walk away with if you sold in any year after selling costs, plus the annualized return (IRR) of that sale.
What is the difference between cap rate and cash-on-cash return?
Cap rate is NOI divided by price and ignores financing, so it compares properties. Cash-on-cash return is annual cash flow after the mortgage divided by the cash you invested, so it measures your deal with your loan. When the cap rate is above your mortgage rate, leverage raises cash-on-cash; when it is below, leverage drags it down.
Can I use this for a house hack or a small multifamily?
Yes. Enter the total rent of all units. For a house hack, enter only the rent from the units you lease out and add what you would otherwise pay in rent as other income if you want to see the full economic picture.
Is my data saved anywhere?
Your inputs stay in your browser (localStorage) so the form is filled in next time. Nothing is sent to a server unless you click an AI button, and then only the numbers on the page are sent to generate the answer.