Rental Property Calculator (2026)

Cap rates vary heavily by market, but 4-10% is a common range in the US. Lower cap rates (4-6%) are typical in expensive, low-risk markets with strong appreciation; higher cap rates (8%+) usually signal higher risk, more management intensity, or a less competitive market — not automatically a better deal.

The 1% rule is a quick screening test: monthly rent should be at least 1% of the purchase price (a $300,000 property should rent for at least $3,000/month). It's a rough filter for narrowing down deals worth deeper analysis, not a substitute for a full cash flow calculation — plenty of good deals fall short of 1% once you factor in strong appreciation or low expenses.

Cap rate measures the property's return ignoring financing (NOI ÷ purchase price) — useful for comparing properties apples-to-apples regardless of how each is financed. Cash-on-cash return measures your actual return on the cash you personally invested (down payment + closing costs), after mortgage payments — the number that matters most once you're actually financing the deal.

Property tax, insurance, maintenance/repairs, property management fees, HOA dues, and a vacancy allowance. Mortgage principal and interest are deliberately excluded from NOI — they're a financing cost, not an operating cost, which is what makes cap rate comparable across an all-cash buyer and a financed one.

Most lenders offering DSCR loans for investment properties want to see at least 1.20-1.25x — meaning the property's NOI covers the mortgage payment with 20-25% to spare. Below 1.0x means the property doesn't generate enough income to cover its own debt payment.

Yes. Use “Save results” to store a snapshot. Without an account it remains in this browser. If you log in, saved scenarios sync securely to your SmartRates account so they are available on your other devices.

Click “Share” in the toolbar to copy a link (or open your device’s share sheet). The link encodes your exact inputs, so whoever opens it sees the calculator pre-filled with the same numbers and the same result.

Yes. Click “Email results” to open your default email application with the current inputs, results, and calculator link already included. Review the message and choose the recipient before sending.

Yes. Click “Export PDF” to open a clean, printable summary of your inputs and results that you can save as a PDF or print. It includes a timestamp and a link back to the calculator.

The arithmetic follows the formula and assumptions documented on this page. The result is still an estimate because actual rates, fees, taxes, timing conventions, eligibility rules, and provider calculations can differ. Use figures from your official quote, statement, contract, or tax form before making a financial decision.

Rate, time, starting balance, recurring payments or contributions, and fees usually have the largest effects. Change one input at a time to create a conservative, expected, and optimistic scenario instead of relying on a single forecast.

Only when they appear as an input or are explicitly described in the methodology. Do not assume an omitted cost is zero. Review the formula and methodology sections to see exactly what is included before comparing the result with an outside quote.

No. A calculator projects the assumptions entered; it cannot predict market returns, inflation, variable interest rates, tax-law changes, or provider decisions. Rerun the calculation with several assumptions to understand the range of possible outcomes.

Professional systems may use daily timing, transaction dates, compounding conventions, rounding rules, account-specific fees, credits, eligibility details, or regulations that a general-purpose calculator cannot know. A small difference can be rounding; a large difference usually means an assumption or included cost is different.