Find your rental property's cap rate, cash-on-cash return, NOI, and monthly cash flow — then project equity growth and total return 5, 10, and 20 years out.
| Year | Home Value | Loan Balance | Equity | Cumulative Cash Flow | Total Return |
|---|
Enter Property & Rental Details
Fill in the purchase price, financing, rent, and expenses, then click Calculate Rental Returns to see your cap rate, cash flow, and cash-on-cash return.
A rental property calculator turns a listing's price, rent, and expenses into the numbers that actually decide whether a deal is worth doing — cap rate, cash-on-cash return, Net Operating Income (NOI), and real monthly cash flow. NeftCal's version goes further as a full buy-and-hold analysis tool: it simulates your loan month by month to project remaining balance, equity, and cumulative cash flow 5, 10, and 20 years out, so you can see both the immediate cash-flow picture and the long-term wealth-building trajectory in one place.
Most quick "back of envelope" rental math skips vacancy, property management, and maintenance — three costs that can easily eat 15-20% of collected rent before a mortgage payment is even considered. This calculator layers in every major recurring cost, plus one-time closing and rehab costs, so your cash-on-cash return reflects what you'd actually need to invest and actually take home, not an optimistic gross-rent estimate.
Aspiring landlords evaluating their first rental purchase, active investors comparing multiple listings, house-hackers analyzing a duplex or triplex, and current owners deciding whether to refinance or sell all benefit from running a property's real numbers before signing a contract rather than after.
Real estate is illiquid and leveraged — a good deal compounds equity and cash flow for decades, while a bad one can quietly drain your savings every month for years before you notice. Cap rate lets you compare properties independent of financing; cash-on-cash return tells you how hard your actual invested cash is working; and the 5/10/20-year projection shows whether patience (appreciation, rent growth, and loan paydown) is likely to turn a thin first-year cash flow into a strong long-term return.
Income and operating expenses build Net Operating Income; financing and cash invested convert NOI into cap rate, cash flow, and cash-on-cash return
From listing price to a full cash-flow and ROI picture in under a minute
Input the property's purchase price, down payment percentage, interest rate, loan term, closing costs, and any rehab or repair costs.
Enter the expected monthly rent and any other monthly income, plus a realistic vacancy rate for the local market.
Fill in the property management fee, maintenance percentage, property tax rate, home insurance, and HOA fees.
Enter an annual appreciation rate and annual rent growth rate so the calculator can project value and returns over 5, 10, and 20 years.
Click Calculate to see monthly cash flow, cap rate, cash-on-cash return, NOI, a full income and expense breakdown, two charts, and a 5/10/20-year projection table.
A realistic buy-and-hold rental using this calculator's default settings
Suppose you're buying a $250,000 rental property with 25% down ($62,500), leaving a $187,500 loan at 7% annual interest over a 30-year term. Closing costs run 3% ($7,500) and you budget $5,000 for rehab. The unit rents for $2,100/month with no other income, a 5% vacancy rate, an 8% property management fee, 5% maintenance, 1.2%/yr property tax, $1,200/yr insurance, and no HOA. You expect 3%/yr appreciation and 2.5%/yr rent growth.
Long-term projection: Simulating the loan month by month and growing rent at 2.5%/yr and value at 3%/yr, this property's home value reaches roughly $289,819 by year 5 with a loan balance of roughly $176,497 (equity ≈ $113,322), and cumulative cash flow of roughly $12,770 — a cumulative total return of about 68% on the original $75,000 invested. By year 10, equity grows to roughly $175,081 and cumulative cash flow to roughly $39,814, for a cumulative total return of about 187%. By year 20, equity reaches roughly $344,090 with cumulative cash flow of roughly $144,469 — a cumulative total return of about 551%.
What this shows: a modest first-year cash flow (under $130/month) can still support a strong long-term total return once appreciation, rent growth, and loan paydown compound over a decade or two — which is why this calculator projects beyond year one rather than stopping at the initial cash-on-cash figure.
Cap rate tells you about the property; cash-on-cash return tells you about your specific deal
Cap Rate and Cash-on-Cash Return answer different questions, and reading them together — rather than either alone — gives the clearest picture of a deal.
| Cap Rate | General Read | Typical Context |
|---|---|---|
| Under 4% | Low | Common in premium, high-appreciation urban markets — return is priced into future value growth |
| 4% – 6% | Below-average to fair | Typical for stable single-family rentals in solid metro areas |
| 6% – 8% | Solid | Widely cited as a healthy range for many buy-and-hold investors |
| 8% – 10% | Strong | Often value-add properties or higher cash-flow secondary markets |
| Over 10% | Very high | Frequently signals higher risk, heavier management needs, or a distressed/turnaround property |
For buyers: if Cash-on-Cash Return is meaningfully lower than Cap Rate, your financing is consuming a large share of NOI — try a larger down payment or a longer amortization to see how the trade-off shifts. If Cash-on-Cash Return is close to or above Cap Rate, you likely have favorable "positive leverage."
NOI as a health signal: a shrinking or negative NOI, even before debt service, means the property's fundamentals — not just your financing — are weak. That's a bigger red flag than a low cash-on-cash figure alone.
Risk considerations: this calculator assumes steady occupancy, stable expense ratios, and a fixed interest rate. It doesn't capture a bad-tenant scenario, a major unplanned capital expense, or a market downturn in rents or values — treat the projection table as a planning estimate, not a guarantee.
This tool provides general financial estimates for educational purposes only and does not constitute personalized financial, tax, or investment advice. Real estate returns vary by market, property condition, and financing — confirm final figures with a licensed real estate professional, lender, or tax advisor before making an investment decision.
Where this calculator earns its keep before, during, and after a purchase
Confirm a specific listing's rent and expenses actually support a positive cash flow before making an offer.
Model rehab costs and a post-renovation rent estimate to compare a property's cap rate before and after improvements.
Run several properties through the same inputs to compare cap rate and cash-on-cash return side by side.
Test a duplex or triplex where you occupy one unit and rent the others, using combined rent from the remaining units.
Re-run the numbers at a new rate and term to see whether refinancing actually improves your cash flow.
Use the 5/10/20-year projection to judge whether a thin early cash flow is likely to turn into strong equity and returns.
Compare a potential replacement property's cap rate and cash flow against the property you're exchanging out of.
Produce a clean cap rate, NOI, and cash flow summary to support a conversation with a lender or investment partner.
Sanity-check a remote or turnkey rental's numbers using local tax, insurance, and vacancy assumptions.
Re-run the calculation at a higher vacancy or maintenance rate to see how much cushion the deal really has.
What this rental property calculator does well, and where it can't replace a full professional underwriting
General, widely-cited ranges — always confirm against current local comps, not benchmarks alone
| Property Class / Market Type | Typical Cap Rate Range | General Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Class A urban multifamily (major metro) | 3.5% – 5% | Lower risk, strong appreciation history, thinner cash flow |
| Class B suburban multifamily | 5% – 7% | Balanced risk and cash flow, most common target range |
| Class C value-add multifamily | 7% – 9% | Higher management intensity, higher potential yield |
| Single-family rental — primary metro | 4% – 6% | Often appreciation-driven rather than cash-flow-driven |
| Single-family rental — secondary/tertiary market | 7% – 10% | More cash-flow-driven, generally lower appreciation |
| Commercial / mixed-use | 6% – 9% | Varies heavily with tenant quality and lease terms |
| Distressed / turnaround property | 10%+ | Higher risk and effort; return depends on execution |
Common questions about cap rate, cash flow, and rental property analysis
Official and industry guidance to complement this calculator — not a substitute for licensed professional advice
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