Rental Property Calculator
See monthly cash flow, cap rate and cash-on-cash return on a rental property after all costs.
About the Rental Property Calculator
Enter the price, down payment, closing costs, mortgage rate and term, the rent, vacancy, property tax, insurance, maintenance and management (as shares of rent) and any HOA charge. The calculator gives the monthly cash flow, NOI, cap rate and cash-on-cash return.
Cap rate ignores financing; cash-on-cash return divides yearly cash flow by the cash you put in (down payment and closing costs). Many investors budget 5–10% of rent each for maintenance and management.
The formula
Cash flow = rent × (1 − vacancy) − operating costs − mortgage
Worked example
A 300,000 property, 25% down, 7% over 30 years, renting for 2,400 with this page's cost figures
- Rent after 5% vacancy: 2,280; operating costs 784; NOI 17,952 a year
- Cap rate 5.98%, but the mortgage is 1,497 a month
- Cash flow ≈ −1 a month: a healthy cap rate can still break even after financing
Questions people ask
What's the 1% rule?
A quick screen: monthly rent at least 1% of price. It ignores costs, so run the full numbers.
Does this include appreciation?
No; it's the cash return only.
How do I improve cash flow?
A bigger down payment, a lower rate, higher rent or lower costs; try each here.