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Real Estate · Investment Screening
Rental Property Deal Screener
Three numbers decide whether a rental is worth a second look. Net operating income tells you what the property earns before financing. The cap rate tells you what that income is worth against the price. The debt service coverage ratio tells you whether a lender will touch it. This screener computes all three from one set of inputs, along with cash on cash return, break-even occupancy, and the gross rent multiplier, and flags where a deal falls short of common thresholds.
Data: 2026, all rates user-supplied, screening thresholds are conventions, not statute
Acquisition STEP 1
Money spent before the first tenant
Investment loans typically require 20 to 30
Investment rates run above owner-occupied rates. Not fetched.
Income STEP 2
Market rent, not what the current owner charges
Laundry, parking, storage, pet fees
5 to 10 is typical. Do not use 0.
Operating Expenses, All Annual Unless Noted STEP 3
Landlord policies cost more than homeowner policies
Enter 0 only if you truly self-manage. Based on effective gross income, not scheduled rent.
Based on scheduled rent, not collected income
Roof, HVAC, water heater. Skipping this is the most common screening error.
Licensing, legal, accounting, turnover
Constants Panel EDITABLE
Common investment lender minimum, not statute
Apex screening convention, varies enormously by market
Apex screening convention
Apex screening convention
Investor rule of thumb
Investor rule of thumb
--
Net Operating Income
--
Before financing
Cap Rate
--
On purchase price
DSCR
--
1.25x is a common lender minimum
Vacancy is entered as 0%. No property is occupied every day of every year; consider a realistic vacancy assumption.
Entered operating expenses are less than 60% of the fifty percent rule benchmark. Underestimating expenses is the classic screening failure; double-check maintenance, capex, and management assumptions.
Management is entered at 0%, meaning self-management. Self-management is unpaid labor, not free labor; consider what a manager would cost if you ever stop doing it yourself.
Income & Operating Expenses
Gross scheduled income--
Vacancy loss--
Effective gross income--
Total operating expenses--
Operating expense ratio--
Net operating income--
Mortgage payments are not an operating expense; they are shown separately below
Returns
Cap rate on purchase price--
Cap rate on total project cost--
Loan amount--
Monthly debt service--
Annual debt service--
DSCR--
Annual cash flow--
Monthly cash flow--
Total cash invested--
Cash on cash return--
Rules of Thumb & Screen
Gross rent multiplier--
Break-even occupancy--
One percent rule--
Fifty percent rule expense benchmark--
DSCR ≥ 1.25x--
Cap rate ≥ threshold--
Cash on cash ≥ threshold--
Monthly cash flow ≥ threshold--
One percent rule pass--
Metrics passed--
Screen verdict--
This is a screen, not a recommendation. It tells you whether a deal clears common thresholds, not whether you should buy it.