Free rental analysis tool

Rental property cash flow calculator

Rent is the starting point. See what remains after vacancy, everyday expenses, financing and a reserve for major repairs. Change the assumptions to test the property you are considering.

No signup required. Manual inputs only. See how the numbers are calculated.

Start with a hypothetical example

Every number is editable. These starting values are illustrative, not live rents, lender quotes or recommended assumptions. Nothing you enter is saved or sent by this calculator.

$162.53 / month estimated. View results

Purchase & financing

Purchase price ($)

The price you expect to pay. No property value is looked up.

Down payment (%)

Share of the purchase price paid in cash. Enter 100 for an all-cash purchase.

Annual interest rate (%)

Fixed loan interest rate, excluding fees. Use your lender's quote; zero-interest loans are supported.

Loan term (years)

Whole years of fully amortizing monthly payments. No interest-only or balloon loan is modeled.

Closing costs ($)

One-time cash costs, including lender points and fees. Excludes your down payment and repairs.

Initial repairs ($)

Upfront work funded with cash. Separate from ongoing maintenance and capital reserves.

Rent & monthly bills

Monthly rent to owner ($)

Your assumed rent before vacancy. If starting from a gross-rent benchmark, adjust for tenant-paid utilities first.

Property tax / month ($)

Annual property tax divided by 12. Check possible reassessment after purchase.

Insurance / month ($)

Annual property insurance divided by 12, including any additional coverage you expect.

HOA / month ($)

Recurring association charges paid by the owner. Enter zero if none.

Owner utilities / month ($)

Utilities you pay as owner. This is separate from any tenant utility allowance used to adjust a gross-rent benchmark.

Vacancy, management & reserves

Vacancy allowance (%)

Share of scheduled rent set aside for vacancy and collection loss.

Management (%)

Management fee as a share of rent after the vacancy allowance. Add any other contract fees to your budget separately.

Maintenance (%)

Routine repairs as a share of scheduled rent, before the vacancy allowance.

Capital reserve (%)

Reserve for future major replacements as a share of scheduled rent. Deducted from cash flow, but excluded from NOI.

Your estimated cash flow

Updates as you edit. Before income tax; no appreciation, sale proceeds or guaranteed returns.

Monthly net cash flow

$162.53

After loan payment and capital reserve. A negative value is a modeled cash shortfall.

Monthly loan payment: $748.47; Principal and interest only. Taxes and insurance are modeled separately.
Annual net operating income (NOI): $11,832.00; Rent after vacancy and operating expenses, before debt service, capital reserves and income tax.
Cash invested upfront: $45,000.00; Down payment plus closing costs plus initial repairs. No additional opening cash reserve is included.
Annual cash-on-cash return: 4.33%; Annual cash flow after the capital reserve divided by upfront cash invested. Principal paydown and appreciation are excluded.

Monthly calculation

Scheduled rent: $1,500.00
Vacancy allowance: -$75.00
Rent after vacancy: $1,425.00
Tax, insurance, HOA & utilities: -$250.00
Management: -$114.00
Maintenance: -$75.00
Net operating income: $986.00
Loan payment: -$748.47
Capital reserve: -$75.00
Net cash flow: $162.53

How rental cash flow is calculated

Start with rent after vacancy. Scheduled monthly rent is reduced by your vacancy percentage. Management is charged on that remaining rent; maintenance and capital reserves are calculated from scheduled rent.

Separate the property from its financing. Net operating income (NOI) is rent after vacancy minus property tax, insurance, HOA, owner utilities, management and routine maintenance. This model excludes loan payments, capital reserves and income tax from NOI.

Estimate cash left each month. Net cash flow is NOI minus the loan payment and capital reserve. The loan assumes fixed interest and equal monthly principal-and-interest payments. A zero-interest loan divides the loan balance by the number of payments; 100% down means no loan payment.

Compare cash flow with cash invested. Annual cash-on-cash return is twelve months of estimated cash flow divided by the down payment, closing costs and initial repairs. It excludes appreciation, principal paydown and eventual sale proceeds. An additional opening cash reserve is not included in this denominator.

These are planning estimates before income tax, not a buy/pass recommendation. The model does not include every possible expense, such as leasing fees, special assessments or mortgage insurance. Budget for those separately and replace example values with your own evidence.

Using HUD Fair Market Rent as a starting point?

HUD Fair Market Rents (FMRs) are area-level gross-rent estimates. They include shelter rent and most tenant-paid utilities. A gross FMR figure is not automatically the rent paid to the owner. Check the relevant utility allowance and local housing agency requirements before entering a rent assumption here.

FMR is neither a guaranteed market rent nor approval of rent for a specific property. Housing Choice Voucher rents are subject to the local agency's rent-reasonableness process. This calculator does not retrieve FMR data or determine voucher eligibility.

Section 8 rent-assumption guide HUD: What FMR includes Official FMR datasets HUD: Rent-reasonableness guidance

Take the next step in your acquisition review

Use these assumptions to frame the questions you still need to answer. Explore Doormetrics for property screening, shortlisting and valuation review.

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