Rental property calculator

A rental works when rent covers vacancy, operating costs and the loan payment, and leaves a return you're happy with. Enter a property here to see monthly cash flow, cap rate, cash-on-cash return and DSCR together.

  • Free, no signup
  • Official county data
  • Formulas published

Rental assumptions

Model rent, financing, and operating costs. Results update as you edit.

Property

Purchase & income

Price, rent, and capital required at closing.

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Operating costs

Vacancy, reserves, and ownership expenses.

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Calculated results

Rental performance

Cash flow and return metrics from your assumptions.

Enter purchase price and monthly rent to see cash flow and DSCR.

Enter assumptions

Complete the required inputs to save.

What does the rental property calculator do?

This calculator underwrites a buy-and-hold rental: purchase price, down payment, loan terms, rent, vacancy, taxes, insurance, HOA, maintenance, capex, and management.

Who should use it?

Rental investors, BRRRR underwriters (for cash-flow stages), and anyone comparing long-term hold scenarios.

What you need to enter

  • Purchase price and down payment
  • Interest rate and loan term
  • Monthly rent and other income
  • Vacancy, maintenance, capex, and management percentages
  • Taxes, insurance, HOA, and owner utilities
  • Cash-on-cash and DSCR thresholds for the verdict

How the calculation works

  1. 1Effective income accounts for vacancy.
  2. 2NOI = effective income − operating expenses.
  3. 3Cash flow = NOI − debt service (plus other adjustments per the engine).
  4. 4Cash-on-cash = annual cash flow ÷ cash invested.
  5. 5DSCR compares NOI to annual debt service (stored as ratio × 10,000).

The same formulas run the full workspace and are listed on the formulas page.

Worked example

Illustrative Hillsborough County, FL rental

Purchase
$320,000
Down payment
25%
Rent
$2,400 / month
Vacancy
5%

Hypothetical teaching example. Insurance and taxes vary widely in Florida — edit defaults before relying on results.

How to read the results

  • Default verdict looks for positive cash flow, cash-on-cash ≥ 8%, and DSCR ≥ 1.25 — thresholds you can change.
  • Cap rate helps compare unlevered yield; cash-on-cash reflects your cash in the deal.

Common mistakes and limits

  • Using optimistic rent without vacancy.
  • Underestimating insurance in coastal markets.
  • Ignoring capital expenditures and turnover.
  • Comparing levered and unlevered metrics interchangeably.

Confirm flood zone status, wind mitigation credits, and local rental ordinances. HOA or condo association rules can limit leasing.

Questions people ask

Yes. Management is modeled as a percentage of rent (editable), along with maintenance and capex reserves.

FlipMetric

Ready to run your own numbers?

Use the calculator above, or open the full workspace. Your first analysis doesn't need an account.

Open the workspaceSee pricing

Estimates only, not financial, legal or tax advice. Read the disclaimer.