🏠 Real Estate Investment Calculator
Every rental property is four numbers pretending to be a feeling. Investors do not ask 'is it nice?'; they ask what it cash flows after EVERYTHING (vacancy, taxes, insurance, management, the mortgage), what the cap rate is, and what return their actual cash invested earns. Run any deal through this before you fall in love with it.
The share of the year the unit sits empty between tenants. 5 to 10 percent is the standard planning range.
Typically 8 to 12 percent. Enter 0 if self-managing, but know you just hired yourself.
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Estimates for planning, not financial advice. Your real numbers will vary; that is exactly why you track them.
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See other income you could own →Good questions about this math
What is a cap rate and what is a good one?
Cap rate is the property's annual net operating income (rent after vacancy, management, taxes, and insurance, but BEFORE the mortgage) divided by the purchase price. It measures the property itself, independent of your financing. Typical US residential deals run 4 to 10 percent: lower in expensive coastal markets, higher in smaller markets with more risk.
What is the difference between cap rate and cash-on-cash return?
Cap rate ignores your loan; cash-on-cash is about YOUR money: annual cash flow after the mortgage, divided by the actual cash you put in (down payment plus renovation and closing). Cash-on-cash is the number to compare against other places your cash could go, and many investors want 8 percent or better.
Why include vacancy and management if I plan to self-manage a full unit?
Because the deal has to work in the real world, not the best case. Units turn over, tenants leave, and self-management is a job you might not always want. A deal that only works at 100 percent occupancy with free management is not a deal; it is a hope with a mortgage attached.
How is the mortgage payment calculated?
The standard amortization formula: loan amount times the monthly rate times (1 + monthly rate) to the number of payments, divided by ((1 + monthly rate) to the number of payments, minus 1). Principal and interest only; taxes and insurance are handled as their own lines so you can see them.
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