What is a good cash-on-cash return for a rental property?

A cash-on-cash return (CoC ROI) of 8% or higher is generally considered excellent for a rental property. A return between 5–8% is good, 0–5% is marginal, and anything negative means the property costs more to hold than it generates. Deal Wise Rent color-codes your result and rates every deal automatically.

How do you calculate cash flow on a rental property?

Monthly Cash Flow = (Monthly Rent × Units) × (1 - Vacancy Rate) - Monthly Operating Expenses - Monthly Mortgage Payment. Operating expenses include property taxes, insurance, maintenance, property management fees, and other costs. Deal Wise Rent calculates all of this automatically when you enter your property details.

What is the 1% rule in real estate investing?

The 1% rule states that a rental property's monthly rent should be at least 1% of its purchase price to be cash-flow positive. For example, a $200,000 property should rent for at least $2,000/month. While a useful quick filter, it's a rough guideline — actual profitability depends on your mortgage rate, expenses, and local market. Use Deal Wise Rent for a full analysis.

What is the 50% rule for rental properties?

The 50% rule estimates that approximately 50% of a rental property's gross rental income will be consumed by operating expenses (excluding mortgage payments). It's a quick way to estimate NOI: NOI ≈ Gross Rent × 50%. For accurate numbers, use a full calculator like Deal Wise Rent that itemizes all expenses.

How do you calculate Net Operating Income (NOI) for a rental property?

NOI = Effective Gross Income - Total Operating Expenses. Effective Gross Income = Gross Rental Income × (1 - Vacancy Rate). Operating Expenses include property taxes, insurance, maintenance, CapEx reserves, and property management fees — but NOT mortgage payments. NOI is used to calculate cap rate: Cap Rate = NOI / Property Value.

How much monthly cash flow should a rental property produce?

Many experienced real estate investors target a minimum of $200–$300 per month per unit in positive cash flow after all expenses and mortgage payments. However, in competitive markets, any positive cash flow may be acceptable if appreciation potential is high. Use Deal Wise Rent's 10-year equity projection to see the full return picture.

Can I import a property from Zillow into the calculator?

Yes! Deal Wise Rent lets you paste a Zillow, Redfin, or Realtor.com listing URL directly into the Import panel. It automatically fetches the property details, current listing price, nearby rental comps, and uses AI to estimate any missing values like property taxes and insurance — all in seconds.

What is the difference between cash-on-cash return and total ROI?

Cash-on-cash return (CoC ROI) measures only the annual cash flow as a percentage of cash invested (down payment + closing costs). Total ROI adds principal paydown (equity buildup from mortgage payments) to the cash flow before dividing by cash invested. Deal Wise Rent calculates and displays both metrics, as well as a 10-year cumulative ROI projection.

What is a good down payment for an investment property?

Most conventional lenders require 20–25% down for investment properties. A larger down payment (25–30%) lowers your monthly mortgage and improves cash flow, but reduces cash-on-cash return since you have more cash invested. Deal Wise Rent lets you model different down payment percentages to find your optimal strategy.

One-Click AI Deal Analysis with 3 Scenarios — Free Rental Property Calculator | Deal Wise Rent

Get one-click AI deal analysis with 3 scenarios — conservative, moderate, and aggressive — in seconds. Instantly analyze any rental property's cash flow, cap rate, cash-on-cash ROI, and 10-year equity growth. Import listings directly from Zillow, Redfin, or Realtor.com. Free, no sign-up required.

What you can calculate

Monthly & annual cash flow — after all expenses and mortgage payments
Cash-on-cash return (CoC ROI) — annual cash flow ÷ cash invested
Cap rate — net operating income ÷ property value
Net Operating Income (NOI) — gross rent minus operating expenses
Total ROI — cash flow + principal paydown + appreciation
10-year equity projections — property value, remaining debt, equity growth
Monthly mortgage payment — based on your rate, term, and down payment
Deal rating — Excellent, Good, Marginal, or Negative

Key features

Import from Zillow, Redfin & Realtor.com — paste a listing URL to auto-fill all fields
Live market price lookup — fetches current asking price and listing status
One-Click AI Deal Analysis with 3 Scenarios — conservative, moderate & aggressive scenarios with 5-year and 10-year equity projections
Rent estimator — live rental comp data from nearby active listings
AI expense estimation — fills in missing property taxes, insurance, and maintenance costs
PDF export — download a full investment report
Save & compare deals — store multiple property analyses side by side
DIY mode — toggle off property management fees to model self-management

Rental Property Investment Formulas

Cash Flow Formula: Monthly Cash Flow = (Monthly Rent × Units × (1 − Vacancy%)) − Monthly Expenses − Monthly Mortgage
Cap Rate Formula: Cap Rate = (Annual NOI / Purchase Price) × 100
Cash-on-Cash ROI Formula: CoC ROI = (Annual Cash Flow / Cash Invested) × 100
Net Operating Income (NOI) Formula: NOI = Effective Gross Income − Total Operating Expenses (excluding mortgage)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a good cap rate for rental property?

In most US markets, a cap rate of 5–8% is considered good for residential rental properties. Hot markets like NYC or LA may see 3–5%, while Midwest markets can offer 8–12%. Cap rate = NOI / purchase price.

What is a good cash-on-cash return?

Most real estate investors target 8%+ CoC ROI as excellent, 5–8% as good, and anything below 0% as a deal to avoid. Cash-on-cash return measures your annual cash profit as a percentage of the cash you put in (down payment + closing costs).

How do I analyze a rental property?

Enter the purchase price, financing terms, rental income, and expenses into Deal Wise Rent. The calculator instantly computes cash flow, cap rate, CoC ROI, and projects your equity and returns over 10 years.

Is this rental property calculator free?

Yes — Deal Wise Rent is completely free to use with no sign-up required. Create a free account to save and compare multiple deals.