Tool
Run the coverage ratio before you make the offer
Five inputs, one ratio, and a plain-English reading of what the property can carry. The rate field is deliberately blank: enter your own quote or a number you want to stress-test.
Coverage
Enter the monthly rent and the loan terms to see where the property lands.
- Gross monthly rent$0
- Principal and interest$0
- Taxes, monthly share$0
- Insurance, monthly share$0
- HOA dues$0
- Total monthly obligation$0
This is arithmetic on the numbers you typed, not an underwriting decision. It leaves out vacancy, management, maintenance, reserves and utilities, and it does not account for how a lender will treat the rent on the appraisal. Your actual qualification depends on the property, the entity, credit and the lender's program.
What this calculator does
It does the arithmetic a coverage-based lender does, on the numbers you supply. Rent goes in the numerator. Principal and interest, the monthly share of property taxes, the monthly share of insurance and any association dues go in the denominator. The result is the debt service coverage ratio.
That is the same shape of calculation an appraiser’s rent schedule and a lender’s underwriting model use. It is not the same decision. Underwriting adds condition, the appraiser’s market rent opinion, reserves, credit, entity structure and the lender’s own appetite for the property type.
What it deliberately leaves out
- Vacancy and credit loss — the months a unit is empty or a tenant is late
- Management fees, leasing fees and tenant turnover costs
- Maintenance and capital reserves for roof, HVAC, water heater and appliances
- Utilities the owner pays, lawn care, snow removal and pest control
- HOA special assessments, which are not part of the regular monthly dues
- Any state or local lodging tax on a short-term rental
A property that clears the ratio comfortably here can still be thin once those items are counted. Use the tool as a filter, not as a verdict.
Why there is no default rate
Because a rate on this page would be indistinguishable from a quote, and we do not publish or imply pricing. Rates move with the market, the lender, the property, the loan size and the borrower profile. Type the rate from your own quote, or a rate you want to test the property against if pricing moves.
How to read the result
Below the line, the rent does not cover the property’s obligations. Between the line and a comfortable cushion, the property works only if it stays leased. Above that, there is room for a vacancy month, a repair or an insurance increase before the property stops paying for itself. What counts as comfortable is the lender’s call, and it varies by program and property type.
Two habits worth building
First, run the ratio on the county tax bill with owner-occupied deductions stripped out, and on a real insurance quote rather than a guess. Second, run it again with the rent ten percent lower. If the property only works at the optimistic number, the optimistic number is doing the underwriting.
Before you send a scenario
- The county parcel record and current tax bill
- A landlord insurance quote with replacement cost
- Current leases or a rent roll with lease terms
- The HOA dues statement, if there is an association
- The entity documents, if you already have the LLC
Nothing entered into the calculator is stored or transmitted.
A ratio is a starting point. The appraisal decides.
Send the address and we will compare what the calculator says with what an appraiser is likely to report for market rent in that submarket.