Cash flow and cash on cash return are the two most important metrics that determine whether a
property makes a good investment or not. Finding the most accurate numbers and running them using a
real estate calculator before making your next investment is critical. The more the cash flow and
cash on cash return the better it is.
At Cashonplex we have built a
real estate investment calculator that can
be used to compare properties that you have in your market and shortlist them
based on the numbers. It is free to use as many times as you like and you can save the results of
your calculator and get a sharable link to it. Unlike other calculators you don’t have to sign up
and we have made it super simple to use. Here we explain how to find the most accurate numbers and
enter them into this calculator. As a rule of thumb it is safer to overestimate expenses and
underestimate rents if you can’t get the actual values.
Step 1 - Property information
Enter property address. If it’s a multifamily then enter the number of units it has or else enter 1.
Step 2 - Mortgage information
If it is a cash purchase then all you have to do is turn the switch to indicate it is a cash
purchase and skip to the next step. If you’re taking a loan then enter the purchase price, down
payment percentage, loan term and interest rate. Cash flow and cash on cash return can be increased
by putting a low down payment and / or by bringing down the interest rate. The terms of the loan
depends on the lender and the different products they have to offer. Shop around for as many
lenders as possible and all possible products they have. Get quotes for a 30 year fixed,
5/7/10 ARMs etc. The ARMs will have low interest rates in most cases but the interest rates are
fixed only for a short period thereby affecting your cash flows after that. If you plan to refinance
this property and cash out the equity in this property in the near future ( most real estate
investors do this ) then the ARMs will be a better option to boost your cash flow and cash on cash
returns. Sometimes you can reduce interest rates by paying some of it at closing known as points
( aka loan origination fee ). These are part of closing costs and discussed in step 3.
Step 3 - Startup costs
These are closing costs and repair costs. Your lender could come up with the closing cost you would
pay. You must be careful with repair costs. When you’re walking around the property during the
showing look for things that are end of life or in bad condition. Like furnaces, water heaters,
leaking roofs / ceilings, very old plumbing, very old electric (knob and tube circuits), etc. If
the property is built prior to 1978 then make sure you factor in the cost of removing lead based
paint if it’s not already been taken care by the seller. It is always a good idea to negotiate
repairs with the seller either by reducing purchase price or have it fixed by the seller prior to
closing depending upon how the seller responds. Nothing wrong in giving it a try! You can add more
line items to the startup costs by clicking on the “Add expense” button.
Step 4 - Monthly expenses
There are several monthly expenses that are involved in operating a property. Some of them are
already listed as defaults in the calculator and more can be added by clicking on the “Add expense”
button.
Insurance - call a local insurance agent and get a quote for the property.
Property taxes - most towns and cities have something called property records or assessor’s
database from where you can get the most recent assessed value of the property. You should be able
to find this with a simple Google search. For example for the city of Worcester you can find the
link to the city’s assessor’s database by Googling
“worcester property records”.
Towns and cities also have a tax rate which can be obtained by a Google search again. A tax rate
of $15 means you pay $15 for every $1000 of assessed value of your property. That means if your
property’s assessed value is $300K then your property tax per year is going to be 300 times 15
which is $4500.
Repairs and maintenance - this completely depends on the condition and the nature of the
property. A property manager local to the area and managing similar properties will be a good
source of such information. This must include costs related to snow plowing, landscaping, cleaning,
pest control, plumbing repairs, etc.
Management fee - property managers in most cases charge a percentage of gross income as
their fee. Some also charge a fixed fee per unit. This is a good time to start conversations with
property managers in the area and start getting quotes from them.
Utilities - sometimes landlords pay for tenant’s utilities and the utilities for the common
areas (in case of multi family homes). The listing agent or the seller should be able to give you
accurate numbers for this.
HOA dues - this is in case the property is part of a HOA. Often available in the MLS listing
but if it’s not there then the seller or the listing agent should give you the accurate numbers.
Step 5 - Rents and vacancies
Most properties will have rents below market value and will not cash flow as is. It is essential to
know the market rents and percentage vacancies for the neighborhood. A property manager is the best
source of this information. With pictures of the unit and the number of bedrooms it has a property
manager will be able to tell you the market rents provided he/she is local to the area and he/she
has properties under management in the neighborhood. This is a good time to start discussions with
property managers to hire them. Another source of viewing rents in the neighborhood is a website
called
Rentometer. It displays actual rents of similar
units in the area and the information is quite reliable.
With all the above information entered the calculator can come up with monthly net cash flow, cash
on cash return, cap rate and also a 50% rule analysis. You can compare this analysis with actual
rents and market rents side by side. The average annual return of the S&P 500 between 2010 and 2020
is 13.6%. A cash on cash return that is greater than the average annual return of the stock market
makes the property a strong candidate for purchase. At this point the results of this calculator
can be saved and a publicly sharable link can be obtained by clicking
“Get sharable link”
button.