Calculate the real return on a rental property.
Move from rent to effective income, NOI, debt service, reserves, cash flow, break-even metrics, and total return with every assumption visible.
Part of the Landlord Operations Hub
What return does this rental property actually produce?
A useful answer separates property operations from financing and appreciation. Botway first calculates effective income and NOI, then subtracts reserves and debt service, and finally shows principal paydown and assumed appreciation as distinct long-term return components.
Private device draft. This national calculator saves assumptions only in this browser. It does not require signup and does not send property economics to Botway unless you explicitly email or save a report.
Use monthly rent, a single expense estimate, and financing terms.
Property and acquisition
Use purchase value, current value, or both. The selected basis controls the headline cap rate.
Scheduled and other rental income
Monthly operating expense estimate
Operating expenses reduce NOI. Replacement and capital reserves are shown below NOI and before cash flow.
Debt and cash invested
Supports cash, existing debt, acquisition financing, refinance, amortizing payments, and interest-only periods.
Holding period and stress cases
Appreciation is shown separately so the model never disguises a weak operating result with price growth.
Edit conservative and optimistic cases
Complete the property, income, expense, financing, and scenario inputs above, then calculate the rental return.
Rental return questions
What is NOI?
Net operating income is effective rental income minus operating expenses, before financing and income taxes. Botway shows capital and replacement reserves separately below NOI.
What is the difference between cap rate and cash-on-cash return?
Cap rate compares NOI with property value and ignores financing. Cash-on-cash return compares pre-tax cash flow after debt service and reserves with the cash invested.
What is DSCR and why does it matter?
The debt-service coverage ratio is NOI divided by annual debt service. Many lenders look for a minimum DSCR (often around 1.20-1.25) before financing an investment property. A ratio below 1.0 means the property does not cover its own debt from operations.
What counts as an operating expense?
Property taxes, insurance, utilities you pay, repairs and maintenance, management, and other recurring costs to run the property. It excludes mortgage principal and interest, capital improvements, and income taxes, which are handled separately.
Why does the calculator separate reserves from NOI?
Capital and replacement reserves fund future big-ticket items like a roof or boiler. Showing them below NOI keeps the operating picture comparable across properties while still reflecting real long-term cost.
What is break-even rent?
The monthly rent per unit at which the property exactly covers operating expenses, reserves, and debt service. Rent above break-even produces positive cash flow; rent below it requires an owner contribution.
How should I choose vacancy and expense assumptions?
Use your own recent history where you have it, then a conservative market assumption where you do not. Because every input is editable, run a low, expected, and high case rather than relying on a single figure.
Does the calculator include income taxes?
No. Returns are shown pre-income-tax. Depreciation, passive-loss rules, and your specific tax situation materially affect after-tax results, so confirm those with a tax professional.
Does appreciation make a weak rental a good investment?
The calculator never applies that label. It separates operating cash flow, principal paydown, and assumed appreciation so you can see what drives the projected return.
What this covers
- What it answers
- Calculate rental income, NOI, cap rate, cash flow, cash-on-cash return, DSCR, break-even metrics, and scenario sensitivity anywhere in the United States.
- Who it is for
- Landlords and owners of rental property.
- What you enter
- Rental analysis data
- What it does not cover
- Educational underwriting based only on entered assumptions. It is not an appraisal, market-rent opinion, lending decision, tax determination, or a good/bad investment label.