Turnkey Rental Calculator
Analyze a turnkey rental property with management fees, mortgage, vacancy, and maintenance to project cash flow and key investment metrics.
About this calculator
Turnkey rentals are sold ready to rent — already renovated, often already tenanted — which usually means a purchase price premium over a distressed comparable, so the numbers deserve real scrutiny rather than the seller's pro forma. This calculator builds a standard amortized mortgage payment from purchase price, down payment percentage, interest rate, and loan term, then works through the income and expense stack separately: gross annual rent is reduced by a vacancy percentage to get effective income, from which a property management fee (calculated on collected rent, not gross rent) and a maintenance reserve (calculated on gross rent) are subtracted alongside fixed monthly taxes, insurance, and HOA dues. Net operating income minus annual mortgage payments produces annual and monthly cash flow, and from there the calculator derives cap rate (NOI divided by purchase price), cash-on-cash return (annual cash flow divided by the actual cash invested as a down payment), the gross rent multiplier, and a 1%-rule check comparing monthly rent to purchase price.
A key mechanic to understand: because management fees here apply only to effective (post-vacancy) income while maintenance applies to gross rent, the two expense lines scale differently as vacancy assumptions change, so don't assume they move in lockstep. Also remember this is a static first-year snapshot — it doesn't model rent growth, expense inflation, or amortization's effect on future cash flow, so cash-on-cash and cap rate should be treated as a day-one baseline, not a multi-year projection, and are especially sensitive to whatever vacancy and management-fee assumptions you enter.
Financial Disclaimer
This calculator is for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Results are estimates based on the inputs provided. Consult a qualified financial advisor before making investment or financial planning decisions.
Inputs
Results
Monthly Cash Flow
-$177.04
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter Purchase Price — turnkey properties often carry a premium over distressed comparables.
- Input Monthly Rent, Vacancy Rate %, and Property Management Fee % (typically 8–12%).
- Enter Monthly Taxes, Insurance, HOA, and Maintenance Reserve % to capture total operating costs.
- Set Down Payment %, Interest Rate, and Loan Term for the financing scenario.
- Review Monthly Cash Flow and Cap Rate to assess turnkey performance.
- Check Cash-on-Cash Return — turnkey properties often yield lower CoC than BRRRR deals but require less effort.
How the result changes with Monthly Rent ($)
| Monthly Rent ($) | Monthly Cash Flow |
|---|---|
| 900 | -$877.24 |
| 1,350 | -$527.14 |
| 2,700 | $523.16 |
| 4,500 | $1,923.56 |
What each input means
- Purchase Price ($)
- Turnkey property purchase price including any markup.
- Monthly Rent ($)
- Expected monthly rental income.
- Vacancy Rate (%)
- Expected annual vacancy rate.
- Property Mgmt Fee (%)
- Property management fee as % of collected rent.
- Monthly Taxes ($)
- Monthly property tax.
- Monthly Insurance ($)
- Monthly insurance premium.
- Monthly HOA ($)
- Monthly HOA or condo fees.
- Maintenance Reserve (%)
- Annual maintenance reserve as % of gross rent.
- Down Payment (%)
- Down payment as % of purchase price.
- Interest Rate (%)
- Annual mortgage interest rate.
- Loan Term (years)
- Mortgage term in years.
What each result means
- Monthly Cash Flow
- Net monthly income after all expenses and debt service.
- Annual Cash Flow
- Net annual income after all expenses.
- Cap Rate
- NOI / Purchase Price. Higher is better.
- Cash-on-Cash Return
- Annual cash flow / down payment.
- Net Operating Income
- Income minus operating expenses (before debt service).
- Monthly Mortgage
- Calculated P&I payment.
- Annual Operating Expenses
- Management, maintenance, taxes, insurance, HOA.
- Gross Rent Multiplier
- Purchase price / annual rent. Lower is better.
- 1% Rule Test
- Monthly rent / purchase price. >= 1% is the benchmark.
How this is calculated
Worked example, using the default values
- Identify Input Parameters4 parametersPurchase Price ($) = 250000, Monthly Rent ($) = 1800, Vacancy Rate (%) = 8, Property Mgmt Fee (%) = 10 = 11 input(s) provided
- Calculate Monthly Cash FlowMonthly Cash Flow = annualCashFlow / 12-177.04 = $-177.04
- Calculate Annual Cash FlowAnnual Cash Flow = noi - annualMortgagePayments-2124.51 = $-2,124.51
- Calculate Cap Rate5.14 = 5.14%
Engine last updated . Checked against 1 independently-derived test — how we verify calculators. Built by Paul Gunder, a software engineer, not a licensed financial, medical, or legal professional.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do management fees and maintenance reserves grow at different rates as vacancy rises?
Property management fees are calculated on effective income — gross rent after the vacancy percentage is applied — so the management expense shrinks along with collected rent as vacancy rises. Maintenance reserves are calculated on gross rent instead, so they stay constant regardless of how much of that rent is actually collected. Raising the vacancy input alone will therefore change the ratio between these two expense lines, not just the total.
What's the difference between cap rate and cash-on-cash return here, and why would they diverge?
Cap rate is net operating income divided by the full purchase price, so it measures the property's return as if bought entirely in cash, ignoring financing. Cash-on-cash return is annual cash flow (after the mortgage payment) divided by the actual cash you put down, so it's sensitive to your down payment percentage and interest rate. A highly leveraged purchase can show a strong cash-on-cash return even with a mediocre cap rate, or vice versa, because they isolate different parts of the deal.
Does this calculator account for a turnkey property's markup over comparable distressed properties?
No — it takes whatever purchase price you enter at face value and runs the standard cash flow and return math against it. It's on you to compare that entered price against distressed comparables in the area; the calculator's outputs will look identical whether the price reflects a fair turnkey premium or an inflated one.
Why does the 1% rule check use monthly rent instead of the mortgage payment?
The 1% rule is a quick screening heuristic that compares monthly rent directly to purchase price, independent of financing terms, so it's computed as monthly rent divided by purchase price regardless of down payment or interest rate. It's meant as a fast first-pass filter before running the full cash flow analysis, not a substitute for cap rate or cash-on-cash return, which do account for the actual financing structure.
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