🏢 INVESTMENT TOOL

Real Estate Calculator

Analyze any deal three ways in one tool — rental cash flow and cap rate, a fix-and-flip profit projection, or a quick rent-vs-buy read — with cap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCR, GRM, and a full income statement calculated live.

NOI

Net Op. Income

CoC

Cash-on-Cash

Cap

Cap Rate

DSCR

Debt Coverage

Property & Financing

Income & Expenses

ANNUAL INCOME

ANNUAL OPERATING EXPENSES

Monthly Cash Flow

-$536

After all expenses

Cap Rate

4.2%

NOI / Price

Cash-on-Cash

-9.5%

Annual CoC return

DSCR

0.66x

Debt coverage

GRM

12.5x

Gross rent multiplier

Total Cash Invested

$68,000

Down + closing

Income Statement

INCOME

Gross Scheduled Income
$24,000
Less: Vacancy Loss
-$1,680
Other Income
$0
Effective Gross Income (EGI)
$22,320

OPERATING EXPENSES

Property Tax
-$3,600
Insurance
-$1,200
Maintenance & Repairs
-$2,400
Property Management
-$1,786
HOA / Other
-$0
Total Operating Expenses
-$9,586
Net Operating Income (NOI)
$12,734

FINANCING

Annual Debt Service (Mortgage)
-$19,161
Before-Tax Cash Flow (BTCF)
-$6,426

Investment Ratios

MetricValueStatus
Cap Rate4.2%🟡
Cash-on-Cash Return-9.5%🔴
DSCR0.66x🔴
Gross Rent Multiplier12.5x🟡
Net Income Multiplier23.56x
Price per Unit$300,000

Income vs Expenses Breakdown

$0k$6k$13k$19k$25kGross IncomeOperating ExpensesDebt ServiceNet Cash Flow

How to Analyze a Rental Property Investment

Every real estate deal comes down to the same handful of numbers — how much income it produces after expenses (NOI), how that income compares to the price you're paying (cap rate), how hard your actual cash works once financing is factored in (cash-on-cash), and whether a lender would even approve the loan (DSCR). This calculator runs all of it live as you type, plus a fix-and-flip profit model and a quick rent-vs-buy read, so you can screen a deal in minutes instead of building a spreadsheet from scratch. Shopping for your own home instead of an investment? Use our house affordability calculator, mortgage calculator, or mortgage payoff calculator.

📐 Key Real Estate Formulas

NOI = Effective Gross Income − Operating ExpensesCap Rate = NOI / Purchase Price × 100Cash-on-Cash = Annual Cash Flow / Total Cash Invested × 100DSCR = NOI / Annual Debt ServiceGRM = Purchase Price / Annual Gross Rent

✅ What Good Numbers Look Like

  • Cap Rate: 5-10% is typical — higher usually means more risk
  • Cash-on-Cash: 8-12%+ is generally considered a good return
  • DSCR: 1.25+ is preferred by lenders; below 1.0 means negative cash flow
  • GRM: lower is better — 8-12x is typical in most markets
  • Vacancy: conservative investors budget 8-10%

📏 The 1% Rule of Thumb

A quick screen before you run the full numbers: monthly rent should be at least 1% of the purchase price.

  • $200,000 home → $2,000/month rent minimum
  • $350,000 home → $3,500/month rent minimum

It's a filter, not a full analysis — use the calculator above to model actual cash flow and returns after every expense and financing cost.

⚠️ Common Investor Mistakes

  • Underestimating vacancy — budget at least 7-10% even in hot markets
  • Ignoring management fees — 8-12% even if self-managing, as your time has value
  • Low maintenance budget — budget 1%+ of property value per year
  • Assuming appreciation — deals should work on cash flow alone
  • Forgetting closing costs in total cash invested

— FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions