Operating expenses
Insurance
Annual landlord insurance. Typically 0.3-0.7% of property value for SFR; higher in coastal/storm zones.
Why Insurance matters
Insurance has been the most-moved-against expense in rental investing since 2020. FL/LA/coastal TX up 25-40% in 5 years. Always quote insurance YOURSELF before signing a contract — don't trust the seller's last-year number.
How to check Insurance before you rely on it
Get a written landlord-policy quote for the specific address before you go under contract, and make sure it is quoted as a rental rather than a primary residence. Ask what the policy excludes: wind, hail, flood, sewer backup, and vacancy are the common gaps, and each is a separate premium or a separate policy. Check the roof age and any prior claims on the property, because both move the premium and some carriers decline older roofs outright. Enter the quoted annual premium, then rerun the analysis with the premium twenty percent higher to see whether the cash flow survives a renewal increase.
Related terms
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Where Insurance shows up in TrueCap
Operating expenses are line items in the analyzer's expense section, each labeled with its source — a HUD or FRED benchmark, a TrueCap default you can replace, or your own number. Property tax is always your local figure. Together they produce NOI and cash flow after reserves, and the results view shows how much each one moves the decision.