Rental Property Cash Flow – What it Means and How to Calculate
July 30th, 2010Cash flow is probably the most coveted return from any investment. It seems prudent for those involved in real estate investing therefore to understand what it means and how to calculate it.
What It Means
Cash flow is all of a rental property’s cash inflows less all of its cash outflows. Think of it as all the money flowing in such as rent, loan proceeds, and interest on bank accounts less all the money flowing out like operating expenses, debt payment, and capital additions and you’ll get the idea.
When one speaks about cash flow, it’s generally referring to cash flow before taxes (CFBT) which doesn’t take into consideration the owner’s tax liability. There is another instance, however, known as cash flow after taxes (CFAT). This does account for tax liability and is essentially CFBT less tax liability. Both cash flows are important to rental property analysis and should be understood by real estate investors.
How to Calculate
Net Operating Income
less Debt Service
less Capital Additions
plus Loan Proceeds
plus Interest Earned
= Cash Flow Before Taxes (CFBT)
Cash Flow Before Taxes (CFBT)
less Income Tax Liability
= Cash Flow After Taxes (CFAT)
Let’s take a closer look at the calculation.
Net operating income (NOI) is gross scheduled income less vacancy allowance less operating expenses. Debt service is the total loan payment (first, second, third loans) including principal and interest. Capital additions (different from maintenance and repairs) are improvements to the property having a useful life of more than one year and likely to increase (not merely maintain) the life of the property. Loan proceeds refer to the proceeds obtained from subsequent financing not to the original mortgage, where you might obtain a $40,000 second mortgage to cover the cost of constructing a $40,000 garage for instance.
Let’s look at an example.
You have a property with ten tenants each paying $1,000 per month rent totaling $120,000 per year. You estimate a vacancy and credit loss of 5%. The property has operating expenses of $45,600 per year, and a first mortgage payment of $36,326 per year. In month six, you add a new roof at the cost of $20,000 and take out a $20,000 second mortgage to cover the cost of that construction. Your payment on this loan totals $881 for the remaining six months. What is your property’s CFBT?
Gross Scheduled Income 120,000
less Vacancy 6,000
= Gross Operating Income 114,000
less Operating Expenses 45,600
= Net Operating Income 68,400
less Debt Service 37,206
less Capital Additions 20,000
plus Loan Proceeds 20,000
CFBT = 31,194
If your tax liability in year one is $7,000, than what is your property’s CFAT?
CFBT 31,194
less Taxes Due 7,000
CFAT = 24,194
One final thought. The key to forecasting cash flows from a rental property you’re planning to purchase is to be realistic during your evaluation. It’s better to anticipate small or negative cash flows you plan to handle with personal funds than to encounter a surprise after you purchase the property. Try to avoid pie-in-the-sky rents and always include all expenses. Remember, you’ll be paying for the cash flow a property generates, so be sure you know what it’s most likely to be.
About the Author
James R Kobzeff is the developer of ProAPOD Real Estate Investment Software – Want to learn more about how you can create rental property analysis presentations in minutes?
See our solutions, sample reports, screen shots, and more at => http://www.proapod.com