Rental Property Calculator

Frequently asked questions

• What's a good cash-on-cash return on a rental?

  Most active investors target at least 8% cash-on-cash in year 1, computed against total cash invested (down payment + closing costs + immediate rehab). Anything below 6% means you're under-compensated for the work of being a landlord vs. passive alternatives. Anything above 12% in a stabilized property usually indicates concentrated risk (deferred capex, soft market, or aggressive assumptions worth re-checking).
• How do I estimate vacancy, maintenance, and CapEx for a rental?

  Use market vacancy, not your in-place tenant's history — 5–8% in stable markets, 8–12% in higher-turnover or class C properties. Maintenance typically runs 5–10% of gross rent. Capital expenditures (roof, HVAC, water heater) reserve at another 5–10% of gross rent. If you self-manage, still model 8–10% property management — you won't self-manage forever, and the deal needs to pencil if you stop.
• What's the difference between cap rate and cash-on-cash return?

  Cap rate is NOI ÷ purchase price — an unleveraged yield that lets you compare deals regardless of financing. Cash-on-cash return is annual cash flow ÷ cash invested — the actual return on the money you put in. Cap rate is the market's pricing metric; cash-on-cash is your personal-return metric. They diverge sharply once leverage enters the picture.
• What DSCR do banks want on rental loans?

  Conventional rental loans typically want DSCR ≥ 1.20. DSCR loans (which qualify the property's cash flow instead of your personal income) tier their pricing: ≥ 1.25 gets best pricing and max LTV, 1.10–1.24 is standard, 1.00–1.09 prices up with reduced LTV, and below 1.00 most lenders decline.
• How accurate are these rental calculator results?

  The math is unit-tested against textbook reference cases — the formulas are correct. Accuracy of the output depends entirely on accuracy of the inputs. Use realistic vacancy and operating-expense ratios, market rent (not asking rent), and conservative appreciation assumptions. The calculator can tell you if a deal pencils on the numbers you give it; it can't validate that those numbers reflect the actual market.
• Can I share my rental analysis with a partner or post it publicly?

  Yes. Every analysis encodes into the URL, so copying the page URL is enough to share the full deal. The link generates a clean preview image when posted to social media or messaging apps. Inputs stay in the URL — nothing is sent to our servers unless you separately submit the deal for review.