Investment calculator
Will it cash flow?
Run the numbers on a rental before you make an offer. Enter the price, then rent it either way: a twelve-month lease, or nightly stays with the rate and occupancy you expect. Either way you get the monthly cash flow, the cap rate, the cash-on-cash return, and the rent, rate, or price it takes to hit the cash flow you want. The Zillow links at the end carry those filters with them.
Based on a national average of 7.38% for 30 years and 7.03% for 15 years as of October 21, 2026, from Mortgage News Daily. This estimate uses 7.505%, which is 0.125 points above that average for your credit range.
These rates update automatically. Last checked October 21, 2026.
Investment property loans usually price above a primary home, so treat the rate here as a planning number.
The property
What you would pay for it, and what you would put in up front.
Your loan
These set the loan, the rate, and the payment.
How you rent it
A twelve-month lease, with a vacancy allowance set aside for the weeks it sits empty.
Operating costs
Defaults are close for Gallatin County. Change them if you know the numbers for this property.
Monthly cash flow
-$1,065/ month
- Rent
- $2,800
- Other income
- $0
- Vacancy allowance
- -$140
- Income after vacancy
- $2,660
- Property taxes
- -$344
- Insurance
- -$150
- HOA dues
- -$0
- Property management
- -$213
- Maintenance and reserves
- -$133
- Utilities and other costs
- -$0
- Mortgage payment
- -$2,886
- Net cash flow
- -$1,065
Does not cash flow
This runs about $1,065 a month short of covering its own costs at these numbers.
Cash flow goal
Set the monthly cash flow you want after every cost, and these numbers show the price and the rent that get you there.
At $2,800 a month in income, this goal works up to a purchase price near $335,000.
At the $550,000 price, it would take about $4,325 a month in rent.
At the rent and price you entered, you are about $1,265 a month short of that goal.
Cash flow at the numbers you entered: -$1,065 a month.
Returns
- Cash needed to buy
- $158,500
- Annual cash flow
- -$12,783
- Cap rate
- 3.90%
- Cash-on-cash return
- -8.06%
- Gross rent multiplier
- 16.4
- Rent to price
- 0.51%
- Debt coverage
- 0.63
- Rent to break even
- $4,100 / mo
Down payment, closing costs, and repairs.
After every cost and the mortgage.
Yearly income before the mortgage divided by what you pay for the property.
Yearly cash flow divided by the cash you put in.
Price divided by yearly rent. Lower is better.
The 1% rule looks for monthly rent at 1% of the price.
Lenders on rentals often look for 1.2 or better.
The rent where the property covers itself and nothing more.
Find it on Zillow
These links carry the filters from the numbers above: listings at or under $335,000, the price that still hits your cash flow goal at $2,800 a month in rent.
The rent search shows what similar units actually ask, which is the fastest way to check your rent assumption. Zillow does not officially support pre-filtered links, so glance at the filters once the page opens.
Looking at a specific property or unsure about the rent number? Send it over and I will run it with you, including what I would check on the building itself.
Talk to BillHow this works
- Cash flow is what is left each month after the mortgage, taxes, insurance, HOA dues, management, maintenance, and what it costs to keep it rented.
- On a long-term rental, the vacancy allowance sets aside a share of the rent for the weeks a unit sits empty. 5% to 8% is a normal planning range around Bozeman.
- On a short-term rental, occupancy does that work. Revenue is the nightly rate times the nights booked, and cleaning, supplies, and the booking platform fee are part of running it that way.
- Short-term stays in Montana also carry lodging and resort tax, which is normally collected from the guest rather than paid by the owner, so it sits outside these numbers.
- Management and maintenance are taken as a share of collected rent, which is how property managers quote and how reserves are usually planned.
- Cap rate is yearly income before the mortgage divided by what you pay for the property. Cash-on-cash return divides the yearly cash flow by the cash you put in, down payment, closing costs, and repairs included.
- Lenders on rentals often look for debt coverage of 1.2 or better, which is yearly income before the mortgage divided by the yearly mortgage payments.
- Rates start at the current national average and adjust for your credit score range. Investment property loans usually price above a primary home, so treat the result as a planning number rather than a quote.
Estimates only, for planning. Not financial, tax, or lending advice.