Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Internal rate of return
9%
Equity multiple on cash invested
2
Total profit over the hold
$118,218
Cumulative cash flow
$26,343
Net proceeds at sale
$181,875
Principal paid down by tenants
$31,922
Property value at exit
$403,175
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Got your number — what next?
Pick one, it takes 20 secondsHow to use this
- 1Enter purchase price ($).
- 2Enter down payment (%).
- 3Enter closing + rehab ($).
- 4Enter loan rate (%).
- 5Enter starting monthly rent ($/mo).
- 6Enter operating expenses (% of rent).
- 7Enter annual rent growth (%).
- 8Enter annual expense growth (%).
- 9Enter annual appreciation (%).
- 10Enter hold period (years).
- 11Enter selling costs (% of sale).
- 12Read your internal rate of return on the right — it updates as you type.
- 13Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
Cash-on-cash measures one year; a rental's real return comes from four sources over a hold period — cash flow, principal paydown, appreciation, and the tax-deferred nature of the whole thing. This calculator projects rent growth, expense growth, and appreciation year by year, computes the loan balance at exit, deducts selling costs, and returns the internal rate of return and the equity multiple on your original cash. The IRR is what lets you compare a rental honestly against an index fund, because it accounts for when each dollar arrives rather than just how many there are.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Purchase price: 300000 $
- Down payment: 25 %
- Closing + rehab: 15000 $
- Loan rate: 7 %
- Starting monthly rent: 2450 $/mo
- Operating expenses: 38 % of rent
- Annual rent growth: 3 %
- Annual expense growth: 3.5 %
- Annual appreciation: 3 %
- Hold period: 10 years
- Selling costs: 7 % of sale
Results
- Internal rate of return: 9.2%
- Equity multiple on cash invested: 2.31
- Total profit over the hold: $118,218.06
- Cumulative cash flow: $26,343.25
- Net proceeds at sale: $181,874.81
- Principal paid down by tenants: $31,922.14
- Property value at exit: $403,174.91
What each field means
Inputs
- Purchase price ($)
- The purchase price used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 300000 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Down payment (%)
- The down payment used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 25 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–100 %.
- Closing + rehab ($)
- The closing + rehab used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 15000 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Loan rate (%)
- The loan rate used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 7 % so you have a working example on load.
- Starting monthly rent ($/mo)
- The starting monthly rent used in the calculation, measured in $/mo. Starts at 2450 $/mo so you have a working example on load.
- Operating expenses (% of rent)
- The operating expenses used in the calculation, measured in % of rent. Starts at 38 % of rent so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–90 % of rent.
- Annual rent growth (%)
- The annual rent growth used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 3 % so you have a working example on load.
- Annual expense growth (%)
- The annual expense growth used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 3.5 % so you have a working example on load.
- Annual appreciation (%)
- The annual appreciation used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 3 % so you have a working example on load.
- Hold period (years)
- The hold period used in the calculation, measured in years. Starts at 10 years so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 1–30 years.
- Selling costs (% of sale)
- The selling costs used in the calculation, measured in % of sale. Starts at 7 % of sale so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–20 % of sale.
Results
- Internal rate of return
- Returned as a percentage and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Equity multiple on cash invested
- Returned as a whole number. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Total profit over the hold
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Cumulative cash flow
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Net proceeds at sale
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Principal paid down by tenants
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Property value at exit
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
Why is IRR better than total profit?
Because it accounts for timing. Two deals returning the same dollars over five years and fifteen years are not equivalent, and IRR is the standard way to express that difference as a single annual rate you can compare against other investments.
What appreciation rate should I use?
Something close to long-run local nominal growth, which historically has often tracked inflation plus a small margin in most markets. Recent hot-market growth rates are the worst possible input, because they embed conditions unlikely to persist over a ten-year hold.
Should expense growth exceed rent growth?
Modelling expenses growing slightly faster is the conservative choice, and insurance and property tax increases in many markets have justified it. If you assume rents outrun costs forever, the model will show a return that no real property has ever delivered.
Does this include tax on the sale?
No. Capital gains and depreciation recapture apply on a taxable sale, though a 1031 exchange can defer both. Treat the IRR as pre-tax and compare it to pre-tax returns from other assets for a fair comparison.
Accuracy and limitations
- Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.
- Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.
- This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant.
Related tools
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Rental Hold Period IRR Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/rental-hold-irr
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/rental-hold-irr" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rental Hold Period IRR Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Rental Hold Period IRR Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/rental-hold-irr) (2026).