Cash Flow · NOI · Cap Rate · DSCR

The Rental Budget Planner

What a property actually nets you — not just what the rent roll says. Fill in what you know; the calculator adapts to what you've got (a purchase price unlocks cap rate, a down payment unlocks cash-on-cash return).

Income

Monthly gross rent, all units ($)

Vacancy allowance (%) Typical range: 5–8%.

Operating expenses

Property tax (annual $)

Insurance (annual $)

HOA / association dues (monthly $)

Utilities you pay (monthly $) Only what's landlord-paid, not tenant-metered.

Property management (% of collected rent) Leave at 0 if you self-manage.

Maintenance & reserve fund (% of rent) Common rule of thumb: 8–12% for an older building, less for newer.

Financing — optional, unlocks more metrics

Monthly mortgage payment ($) Principal + interest. Leave blank if paid in cash.

Purchase price ($) Unlocks cap rate.

Down payment + closing costs ($) Unlocks cash-on-cash return.

Reading these numbers

NOI ignores the mortgage on purpose. Net operating income measures the property's performance independent of how it's financed — that's what makes it comparable across different deals and loan structures.
Cash flow is the number that actually matters month to month. It's NOI minus your mortgage payment — what's left in your pocket (or what you're feeding in, if negative).
Cap rate compares deals, not your return. It ignores financing entirely — useful for comparing properties, not for judging whether a specific loan structure works for you.
Cash-on-cash return is about your actual money. It measures return on what you put in (down payment + closing costs), which is what cap rate can't tell you.
DSCR is what your lender cares about. Below 1.0 means the property's own income doesn't cover its mortgage payment — most lenders want at least 1.0–1.25 for a rental-property loan.
The reserve fund isn't optional, even if cash flow looks fine without it. A roof or water heater failure doesn't wait for a good month — budget for it before it happens, not after.