JB PARCELRental Property Calculator
The full underwrite on a buy-and-hold rental. Vacancy, capex reserves, and management are in the model by default, because leaving them out is how a deal looks good on paper and bleeds in real life.
How this calculator works
The model runs top down. Start with gross scheduled rent, take out vacancy to get collected rent, add other income, then subtract every operating expense to reach net operating income. NOI minus the mortgage is cash flow. Cap rate is NOI over purchase price. Cash-on-cash is annual cash flow over the total cash you actually put in, which is down payment plus closing costs plus rehab.
The three percentages in Advanced options are where most spreadsheets lie. Management at nine percent belongs in the model even if you self-manage, because your time has value and because the next buyer will underwrite it. Maintenance at six percent covers turnovers and the small stuff. Capital reserve at six percent covers the roof, the HVAC, the water heater, and the flooring, none of which are annual expenses and all of which are certain. Strip those three out and a deal that loses money looks like it makes $400 a month.
The projection table extends income and expenses at separate growth rates. That gap is the quiet story of buy-and-hold: rents in most Tennessee submarkets have grown faster than expenses over long stretches, and a deal that is flat in year one can be genuinely good by year five. It also works the other way when insurance jumps twenty percent, which is exactly why the two rates are separate inputs.
Worked example: a Clarksville single-family rental
$285,000 purchase, 25 percent down at 7.25 percent, rents for $2,050, with realistic reserves.
| Collected rent after 6% vacancy | $23,124 |
|---|---|
| Taxes, insurance, other | $3,950 |
| Management, maintenance, capex (21%) | $4,856 |
| NOI | $14,318 |
| Debt service | $17,498 |
| Annual cash flow | -$3,180 |
| Cap rate | 5.02% |
Negative $264 a month. That is a common outcome at current rates on retail-priced Tennessee single-family, and it is not automatically a no. It is a bet that rent growth outruns expense growth and that you exit with appreciation. The projection table shows the gap closing steadily: still negative $131 a month in year five, and finally crossing into positive territory in year nine. Just make sure you are choosing that bet rather than discovering it in month eight.
Questions investors ask
What is a good cash flow number per door?
Most experienced buy-and-hold investors want $200 to $300 a month per unit after reserves, because that is roughly what it takes to survive one bad turnover a year without writing a check. Anything under $150 is fragile. If you accept less, be clear that you are buying appreciation and tax benefit, not income.
Should I include property management if I manage it myself?
Yes. Two reasons. Your time is worth something and self-management is a job, not a discount. And the day you sell, the buyer underwrites with management in the expense line, so a deal that only works unmanaged is a deal that only works for you. If you want to see both, set it to zero and compare.
What vacancy rate should I use?
Six percent is a reasonable default for a stabilized single-family rental in a solid Tennessee submarket, roughly three weeks a year. Use eight to ten percent for class C, for short-term leases, for student housing, or in a submarket with heavy new supply. If you have real leasing history on the property, use that instead of any rule of thumb.
Is the 1 percent rule still useful?
As a screen, yes. As an underwrite, no. It was a shortcut from an era of four percent money, and at current rates almost nothing in Middle Tennessee clears it. Use it to sort a list fast, then run the actual numbers on the survivors. The note under the results shows you where the property lands.
How do I get accurate taxes and insurance?
Taxes: pull the property on the JB PARCEL map for its current appraised and assessed value, then run the Tennessee property tax calculator with your county and city rates. Remember that a sale often triggers reassessment, so the prior owner’s bill can understate yours. Insurance: get a real quote. Landlord policy pricing has moved sharply and a stale number can be off by half.
Related calculators
Screening a real property? Pull its appraised value, assessed value, acreage, land use, and last recorded sale off the JB PARCEL parcel map and drop the real numbers into this calculator instead of guessing. Coverage runs across every county we carry.