Rental Property Analyzer
To value a rental, start with NOI = effective rent − operating expenses and divide by purchase price for cap rate, or by cash invested for cash-on-cash. The building diagram below shows rent flowing in on the left, mortgage and OpEx flowing out on the right, and monthly cash flow as the foundation slab.
Quick Conversion
Formula: rule_pct = (rent / price) × 100
Cash Flow Building Elevation
Deal presets
Price → 1% rule rent
| Price | 1% rent | 2% rent |
|---|---|---|
| $80,000 | $800 | $1600 |
| $100,000 | $1000 | $2000 |
| $125,000 | $1250 | $2500 |
| $150,000 | $1500 | $3000 |
| $200,000 | $2000 | $4000 |
| $250,000 | $2500 | $5000 |
| $300,000 | $3000 | $6000 |
| $400,000 | $4000 | $8000 |
| $500,000 | $5000 | $10000 |
| $750,000 | $7500 | $15000 |
Pure cap-rate view? See Cap Rate Calculator →
Formulas
NOI = (rent − vacancy) × 12 − OpExcap = NOI / priceCoC = (NOI − debt service) / downWorked: price $165k, down $33k, rent $1,700, 5% vac, 8% mgmt, taxes $2,400, ins $1,200, repair $1,800 → cap 7.4%, CF ≈ $200/mo, CoC 7.3%.
From NAR 1908 to BiggerPockets 2026: how the 1% and 50% rules became investor shorthand
In 2026, a Midwest BRRRR investor flipping a fourth property in 18 months runs the numbers on this page in under 60 seconds before submitting an offer. The 1% rule, the 50% rule, cap rate, and cash-on-cash are the four numbers every BiggerPockets podcast, REI Mastermind, and Real Estate Rookie episode revolves around — all of them are computed here.
The National Association of REALTORS (NAR), founded in 1908, codified the first residential property appraisal standards. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA), created by Title II of the National Housing Act of 1934, brought the 30-year amortizing mortgage into the mainstream and made levered residential investing accessible. The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 (the GI Bill) added zero-down VA loans for military buyers, fueling the first wave of small-multifamily investing.
The Tax Reform Act of 1986 set residential rental depreciation at 27.5 years under IRC §168 — the "non-cash deduction" that, combined with cash flow shown on this page, drives the after-tax return on rental property. The 1986 act also created the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) under IRC §42, which subsidizes the development of properties that fit the same NOI / cap-rate framework used here.
The Internal Revenue Code §1031 Like-Kind Exchange has let investors defer capital gains since 1921 by trading one investment property for another. The 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act restricted §1031 to real property only, but otherwise preserved the framework. Most §1031 exchanges are sized using the cap rate output on a calculator like this one.
The 1% rule and 50% rule originated in BiggerPockets forums in the late 2000s — Brandon Turner, Mindy Jensen, and Brian Burke popularized them on the BP Podcast (launched 2013). The rules are screening heuristics: 1% rule = monthly rent ≥ 1% of price; 50% rule = OpEx ≈ 50% of effective rent. Neither is a buy signal — both are reasons to keep digging.
Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), created by the Cigar Excise Tax Extension of 1960 and codified in IRC §856, brought institutional-scale rental property valuation into the mainstream. Public REIT cap rates published by NAREIT and Green Street are the benchmark against which retail BRRRR investors compare their own deals.
By 2026, CBRE's US Cap Rate Survey, Marcus & Millichap's Multifamily Outlook, and Yardi Matrix all publish stabilized cap-rate ranges by metro and asset class. Class A multifamily caps in primary markets run 5.0-5.75% as of Q1 2026; Class B SFR 6.5-8.0%; Class C value-add 8-12%. Anything materially above those ranges signals either an off-market gem or a deferred-maintenance trap — and this calculator helps tell the two apart in seconds.
How to use the rental property analyzer
- Enter purchase + down. Loan amount and monthly P&I auto-compute.
- Rent comp. Pull from Rentometer / Zumper / MLS — not the seller's pro forma.
- OpEx annuals. Taxes, insurance, repair reserve. Vacancy and mgmt as percentages of rent.
- Read the building diagram. Rent in (green) vs mortgage + OpEx out (red/amber) feeds the foundation cash-flow slab.
- Validate against rules. 1% rule ≥ 1.00% screening pass; 50% rule check: OpEx/rent ≤ 50%; cap rate within CBRE band for asset class.
What landlords and real-estate pros say
“Cleanest BiggerPockets-style analyzer I have used. The building elevation visual is genius — agents I refer keep asking what software I am using. The 1% / 50% rule call-outs match the BP playbook I have run since 2017.”
“I use the cap-rate output in client pitches — matches my Argus runs to within 0.05% for stabilized SFR. The Section 8 fourplex preset particularly resonates with my voucher-program investor clients. Excellent quick-look tool.”
“The BRRRR preset captures my exact 4-property post-refi rent rolls. Watching the foundation flip from red to green when I drop the loan balance after refi is the cleanest visualization of the strategy I have ever seen.”
“The coastal duplex preset matches my own purchase math. Vacancy at 4%, mgmt at 7%, insurance running $3,600/yr — all dead on for an MA-CT corridor 2-unit. CBRE cap-rate context in the FAQ is accurate for 2026.”
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