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Rental Property Calculator
Know a deal before you make an offer. Enter the price, down payment, rent, and expenses to see the monthly cash flow, your cash-on-cash return, and the cap rate — the three numbers that separate a rental that pays you from one that drains you.
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→ Your returns
$303.58 of monthly cash flow
Cash-on-cash return measures the pre-tax cash you earn on the cash you put in — many investors look for 8%+ , though appreciation and loan paydown add to the total return. Cap rate (7.0%) shows the unleveraged yield.
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An estimate for planning. It excludes closing costs, capital expenditures, and taxes — confirm the full numbers before you buy.
The three numbers a rental lives or dies on
Every rental deal comes down to three figures, and they answer different questions. Monthly cash flow tells you whether the property pays you or you pay it. Cash-on-cash return tells you how hard your invested cash is working. Cap rate tells you the property's yield stripped of financing, so you can compare it against other deals on equal footing. Read together, they turn a listing price into an investment decision.
How the math works
- Mortgage amortizes the financed amount (price − down payment) over the term
- Monthly cash flow = rent − operating expenses − mortgage
- Cash-on-cash = annual cash flow ÷ cash invested (the down payment)
- Cap rate = annual NOI ÷ price (unleveraged)
On a $350,000 house with 25% down, financed at 7%, the loan payment runs about $1,750 a month. With $2,800 rent and $750 of operating expenses, cash flow is roughly $300 a month — about $3,600 a year on $87,500 invested, a 4% cash-on-cash return before appreciation and loan paydown.
Why leverage cuts both ways
Financing amplifies returns when the property yields more than the loan costs, and erodes them when it doesn't. If the cap rate is above your mortgage rate, borrowing lifts your cash-on-cash above the cap rate — positive leverage. When rates climb past the cap rate, the mortgage eats the cash flow and leverage works against you. That's why the same house can be a good buy at one interest rate and a bad one at another, with nothing else changed.
What this calculator leaves out
For clarity it models the operating picture, not every dollar. Real deals also carry closing costs, periodic capital expenditures (roof, HVAC, turnovers), and taxes — and gain from appreciation and principal paydown that don't show up in monthly cash flow. Treat the output as the operating core of the deal, then layer those in. For the property's unleveraged yield on its own, use the cap rate calculator; to model the financing in detail, the commercial real estate loan calculator.
→ Beyond the calculator
Building a rental portfolio or financing a deal?
A cash-flow estimate is the first screen; lenders and partners want the full analysis. Our real estate business plan writers build the deal underwriting, market research, and projections behind it.
Frequently asked questions
- Cash flow = monthly rent − operating expenses − mortgage payment. Operating expenses cover taxes, insurance, maintenance, management, and a vacancy allowance — but not the mortgage, which is counted separately. Positive cash flow means the property pays you each month; negative means you feed it.
- It's the pre-tax cash you earn in a year divided by the cash you actually invested (chiefly the down payment). If you put $87,500 down and clear $6,000 of cash flow in a year, your cash-on-cash return is about 6.9%. It measures the return on your money, not on the whole property value — which is why leverage changes it.
- Many investors look for 8% or higher, but it depends on the market and your goals. Appreciation, loan paydown, and tax benefits add to your total return beyond cash flow, so some investors accept lower cash-on-cash in high-growth markets. Compare it against the unleveraged cap rate to see how much financing is helping — or hurting.
- Cap rate ignores the loan — it's NOI ÷ price, the return as if you paid cash. Cash-on-cash factors in the mortgage and measures the return on the cash you put in. In a low-rate environment, leverage lifts cash-on-cash above the cap rate; when the mortgage rate exceeds the cap rate, leverage drags it below.
- Yes — it runs in your browser, nothing is stored, and there's no sign-up. It excludes closing costs and capital expenditures for simplicity. When you're financing a rental or building a portfolio, our real estate business plan writers build the full deal analysis and projections lenders expect.