Deal Analysis How-Tos
Every verdict starts with a calculation done right. These guides walk each core metric step by step — inputs, formula, worked example, and the mistakes that skew the answer — and the calculators run the same math instantly.
Guides
How to calculate cap rate (with worked examples) — 2026 guide
Cap rate = NOI ÷ purchase price. Learn the lender-style NOI convention, how vacancy and operating costs work, where CapEx belongs, and see three worked examples.
7 min read
How to calculate cash-on-cash return on a rental property — 2026 guide
Cash-on-cash return = annual cash flow ÷ total cash invested: the return on the dollars you actually put in. The formula, what counts as total cash invested, three worked examples, and the shortcuts that inflate the number.
7 min read
How to calculate DSCR: the formula, a worked example, what counts as good, and DSCR loans
DSCR = NOI ÷ annual debt service. The four steps, a sample rental worked through, what counts as a good ratio, why a lender's DSCR can come out higher or lower than yours, and how DSCR loans use it.
14 min read
How to calculate ARV (after-repair value): the comps method, step by step (2026)
The number every flip and BRRRR model is built on, and one you cannot simply look up. How to calculate ARV from renovated comps, adjustments and price per square foot, with a worked example, a 70%-rule price screen, BRRRR refinance math and what an ARV miss does to the result.
11 min read
Exit cap rate: how to pick the number that sets your sale price (2026)
The cap rate you assume a future buyer pays sets your projected sale price: exit-year NOI ÷ exit cap rate. A worked $300K duplex where a 1.5-point swing moves the sale price $73,000 and the 5-year IRR from +11.5% to −2.6%, the exit-at-or-above-entry rule of thumb, and the residential comps caveat.
11 min read
How TrueCap's screening bands classify a deal
The cash flow, DSCR, cash-on-cash and (for all-cash deals) cap-rate thresholds behind TrueCap's five screening bands, and how to read them.
10 min read
Calculators for this
Break-Even Calculator
Months until rental cash flow returns your initial investment.
Gross Rent Multiplier (GRM) Calculator
A first-pass screening ratio for triaging rental deals.
1% Rule Calculator
Pass/fail rental screening filter.
Run a real deal
Reading is step one. Enter an address, the asking price and a bedroom count in TrueCap and get cap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCR, cash flow, and a Buy Box fit — free.