Rental property guides
Fifteen guides, each one built around the same arithmetic the free calculator runs. Every benchmark quoted here is the same benchmark the tool uses, and every weight is published on the methodology page.
Start here
Is it a good rental deal?
The four questions a lender, a CPA and an operator each ask about the same property.
How to calculate rental cash flow
Line by line, including the four costs that turn a positive deal negative.
Free rental property analysis tool
Everything the free tool does, and the three things it deliberately will not do.
The numbers
What is a good cash-on-cash return?
What counts as the cash you actually put in, and why that denominator decides the answer.
What is a good cap rate?
Why our number sits about a point below the broker's, and which one you should act on.
DSCR loan requirements
The two DSCRs, which one your lender sizes on, and the ratio you have to clear.
The 1% rule
Why a screen that almost nothing passes in 2026 is still worth running.
The 50% rule
The shortcut that catches the expenses you forgot, and where our own defaults land.
Strategies and property types
The BRRRR method, explained
What the strategy costs in reality: seasoning, contingency, and the money you leave in.
Is a duplex a good investment?
Two-to-four unit financing is a different animal. Here is what changes.
Markets
Birmingham, Alabama
What the public data actually says, and where the published ratios flatter the market.
Cleveland, Ohio
What the public data actually says, and where the published ratios flatter the market.
Indianapolis, Indiana
What the public data actually says, and where the published ratios flatter the market.