Watch: Rental Deal Analyzer Walkthrough
A complete video walkthrough of the Rental Deal Analyzer — from inputs to buy/no-buy decision.
1. How the tools fit together
The 11 tools in the toolkit cover three distinct stages of the landlord workflow. You don't need all of them at once — use what's relevant to where you are right now, and add tools as your portfolio grows.
↓ once you own it 02 Manage the property — Rent Roll Tracker · Expense Log · Security Deposit Ledger · Lease Renewal Tracker · Rent Increase Calculator
↓ as you grow 03 Make financing decisions — Portfolio Loan Qualifier · Refinance Decision Calculator
Each tool includes a "How It Works" tab in Excel explaining every metric in plain English — so you can hand it to a partner, accountant, or lender without needing to explain it yourself.
2. Before you buy — Deal Analysis
Every deal starts with numbers. These four tools help you stress-test a property before you commit capital.
Rental Deal Analyzer
The foundation. Enter purchase price, financing terms, rent, and expenses — the tool calculates monthly cash flow, cash-on-cash return, DSCR, and a 5-year projection. Use this on every conventional rental deal. Learn more →
BRRRR Analyzer
For distressed properties where the plan is to buy, renovate, rent, refinance, and recycle the capital. The key output is "cash left in deal" after the refi — ideally zero, meaning you've pulled all your money back out to use on the next deal. Learn more →
House Hack Analyzer
For 2–4 unit properties where you plan to live in one unit and rent the others. Shows your effective monthly housing cost after tenant income, savings vs. renting, and what the property yields as a pure rental if you move out later. Learn more →
Rehab Cost Estimator
Scope renovation costs room by room before making an offer. Works alongside the BRRRR Analyzer — use the Rehab Estimator to get an accurate rehab number, then plug it into the BRRRR Analyzer for the full picture. Learn more →
How they connect: Run the Rehab Cost Estimator first to scope the renovation, then feed that number into the BRRRR Analyzer or Rental Deal Analyzer for the full deal model.
3. Once you own — Property Management
These five tools handle the ongoing work of running a rental portfolio.
Rent Roll Tracker
Your portfolio's master record. One row per unit — tenant, lease dates, rent, deposit, and status. The lease expiry countdown updates automatically so renewals don't sneak up on you. Start here when you acquire a property. Learn more →
Landlord Expense Log
Every deductible expense logged by IRS Schedule E category as it happens — repairs, management fees, insurance, property taxes, and more. At tax time, your preparer gets a clean summary instead of a folder of receipts. Learn more →
Security Deposit Ledger
Tracks deposits held, deductions, and the state-mandated return deadline for every tenant. The deadline counts down automatically and flags overdue returns. Missing a deposit return window is one of the most avoidable — and expensive — landlord mistakes. Learn more →
Lease Renewal Tracker
See every upcoming lease expiration, required notice date, and renewal decision across your portfolio in one view. Use this 90–120 days before any lease ends so you have time to communicate with tenants before options close. Learn more →
Rent Increase Calculator
Models the trade-off between a higher rent and the risk of tenant turnover. Enter the proposed increase, your estimate of turnover probability, and your vacancy/re-leasing costs — the tool calculates the break-even probability and expected value of raising vs. holding. Use before every renewal conversation. Learn more →
Suggested rhythm: Check the Rent Roll Tracker and Lease Renewal Tracker monthly. Log expenses in the Expense Log as they happen. Run the Rent Increase Calculator 60–90 days before each lease renewal.
4. Financing decisions
These two tools are for moments when you're considering new debt or changing existing debt.
Portfolio Loan Qualifier
Before approaching a bank or DSCR lender, run your portfolio through this tool to see how your numbers look from a lender's perspective. It calculates DSCR and LTV per property and at the portfolio level, with pass/fail flags against configurable lender thresholds. Surprises in a lender meeting are avoidable — this tool helps you find them first. Learn more →
Refinance Decision Calculator
When rates drop, a lower payment feels like an obvious win — but you're paying closing costs today to get savings over time. This tool calculates your break-even point in months, net benefit at 5 and 10 years, and compares lifetime interest on both loans. Run it before paying for an appraisal. Learn more →
5. Deep dive: Rental Deal Analyzer
The Rental Deal Analyzer is the most-used tool in the kit and has the most inputs. Here's a complete walkthrough.
What the tool does
The Rental Deal Analyzer is a single Excel workbook with three tabs: Inputs, Summary, and 5-Year. You enter your deal assumptions once in the Inputs tab — purchase price, financing terms, rent, and expenses — and the other two tabs update automatically.
The goal is a clear, defensible answer to one question: does this property generate enough cash flow to justify the capital invested?
The Inputs tab
All orange cells are editable. Everything else calculates automatically. The tab is organized into four sections.
Deal Basics
| Field | What to enter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Property type | Optional label for your records (Single family, Duplex, etc.) | Duplex |
| Purchase price | Contract price — not asking price, not appraised value | $75,000 |
| Down payment (%) | 25% is typical for investment property. FHA is not available on rentals. | 25% |
| Interest rate (APR) | Your actual quoted rate. Enter as decimal (7% = 0.07). | 7.00% |
| Loan term (years) | Standard investment loans are 30 years. Some lenders offer 15 or 20. | 30 |
| Closing costs (%) | Buyer closing costs as a percent of purchase price. 3% is a reasonable estimate. | 3% |
| Initial repairs ($) | Out-of-pocket repairs before or at purchase. Include in your cash-to-close math. | $0 |
Income
| Field | What to enter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly rent (total) | Total scheduled rent across all units. Use current market rent, not optimistic projections. | $2,400 |
| Other monthly income | Laundry, parking, storage, pet fees. Leave at $0 if uncertain — don't count on it. | $0 |
| Vacancy allowance (%) | 5% is a common starting point for stable markets. Use 8–10% for higher-turnover areas. | 5% |
Operating Expenses (Monthly)
Enter all expenses as monthly figures. For annual costs like insurance, divide by 12.
| Field | What to enter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Property taxes | Annual tax bill ÷ 12. Get the actual figure from the county assessor. | $250/mo |
| Insurance | Annual landlord policy premium ÷ 12. Get a real quote before closing. | $140/mo |
| Property management (%) | If self-managing, set to 0. If using a PM company, 8–12% of rent is typical. | 10% |
| Maintenance reserve (%) | Ongoing repairs — faucets, appliances, paint. 5% of collected rent is conservative. | 5% |
| CapEx reserve (%) | Big-ticket items: roof, HVAC, water heater. Separate from maintenance. 5% is a starting point. | 5% |
| Utilities (owner-paid) | Water, trash, gas if you pay them. If tenants pay all utilities, set to $0. | $0 |
| HOA (monthly) | If no HOA, leave at $0. | $0 |
5-Year Assumptions
| Field | What to enter | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Annual rent growth (%) | Conservative estimate. 3% matches historical averages in stable markets. | 3% |
| Annual expense growth (%) | Expenses tend to grow with inflation. Match your rent growth assumption or go slightly higher. | 3% |
| Annual appreciation (%) | Used only for exit math. Don't buy a deal based on appreciation — it's a bonus, not a foundation. | 3% |
| Selling costs (%) | Realtor commission + closing costs if you sell. 8% is a reasonable estimate. | 8% |
The Summary tab
The Summary tab shows everything that matters for the buy decision, organized into three sections.
Loan & Purchase
Confirms your cash-to-close math. The key number is Total cash invested at purchase — down payment + closing costs + initial repairs. This is the denominator in your cash-on-cash return calculation.
Example: $75,000 purchase · 25% down · 3% closing costs · $0 repairs = $21,000 total cash invested
Monthly Operations
↓ minus vacancy loss 02 Effective gross income — realistic collected income
↓ minus all operating expenses 03 Net operating income (NOI) — income before the mortgage
↓ minus mortgage payment (P&I) 04 Monthly cash flow — what lands in your pocket
Key Metrics
| Metric | What it means | What to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cash flow | NOI minus mortgage P&I. What you actually receive each month after all expenses and debt. | Positive. $100–$200/unit minimum as a rule of thumb. |
| Cash-on-cash return | Annual cash flow ÷ total cash invested. The yield on your down payment. | 8–12% is solid. Below 6% is weak. Above 15% warrants a second look at your assumptions. |
| DSCR | Debt service coverage ratio. NOI ÷ mortgage payment. How many times over the property covers its debt. | Above 1.25 is generally safe. Below 1.0 means negative cash flow. |
| Break-even rent | The minimum monthly gross rent needed to reach $0 cash flow. Useful for stress-testing. | Compare to current market rent. A wide margin = more cushion if a unit goes vacant. |
The 5-Year tab
Projects deal performance over time using your growth assumptions. Simple model — doesn't account for taxes, depreciation, or refinancing — but gives a useful long-term picture.
| Output | What it means |
|---|---|
| Sale price (Year 5) | Purchase price compounded by your annual appreciation assumption. |
| Selling costs | Realtor commission + closing costs deducted from sale price. |
| Remaining loan balance | Approximate balance after 5 years of payments. |
| Net sale proceeds | What you walk away with after paying off the loan and selling costs. |
| Cumulative cash flow | Total cash flow collected over 5 years. |
| Multiple on cash (MoC) | Total return ÷ cash invested. A MoC of 4.6x means you got back 4.6 times what you put in. |
| Simple annualized return | A rough annualized return figure. Not IRR — simplified but directionally useful. |
Important: Don't make a buy decision based on the 5-Year appreciation math. Buy on cash flow. Let appreciation be a bonus.
Worked example
A duplex at $75,000 with $2,400/month in total rent.
| Input | Value |
|---|---|
| Purchase price | $75,000 |
| Down payment | 25% ($18,750) |
| Interest rate | 7.00% |
| Loan term | 30 years |
| Closing costs | 3% ($2,250) |
| Monthly rent | $2,400 |
| Vacancy | 5% |
| Taxes | $250/mo |
| Insurance | $140/mo |
| Property management | 10% |
| Maintenance reserve | 5% |
| CapEx reserve | 5% |
| Result | Value |
|---|---|
| Total cash invested | $21,000 |
| Monthly P&I | $374 |
| Effective gross income | $2,280/mo |
| NOI | $1,434/mo |
| Monthly cash flow | $1,060 |
| Cash-on-cash return | 60.6% |
| DSCR | 3.83 |
| Break-even rent | $1,006/mo |
Illustrative example with a low purchase price to demonstrate mechanics. Always run your own numbers with your actual market data.
Making the buy / no-buy decision
Once you've filled in the Inputs tab, look at three numbers on the Summary tab:
-
Monthly cash flow
Is it positive? Is it enough to cover surprises — a bad month, an unexpected repair? A deal that barely cash-flows has no margin for error.
-
Cash-on-cash return
Is the yield worth locking up your capital? Compare it to what else you could do with that down payment. Below 8% is worth questioning.
-
Break-even rent
How far would rent have to fall before you're underwater? A large gap between break-even and market rent means the deal can absorb stress.
If all three look solid, the numbers support moving forward. If any one is marginal, stress-test it: raise vacancy to 10%, cut rent by 10%, raise expenses. If the deal still works under worse assumptions, it's a more resilient investment.
Ready to put the toolkit to work?
Get all 11 tools for $99 — or pick up the Rental Deal Analyzer on its own for $29.