Every estimate,shown as arithmetic.
Two figures appear on a property card. Est. rental ROI is a modelled first-year return on an outright purchase, held and rented. Est. flip ROI and Est. Profit are a modelled outcome for renovating and reselling the same property. Neither is a result anyone has achieved, an offer, or a forecast.
Last updated September 8, 2026 · Applies to the estimates on the public property analysis cards
Round numbers, not a listing. 3 bd · 2 ba · 1,400 sqft. These four are the return figures the public property analysis cards publish.
How ROI on an investment property is calculated
The standard method, in three steps. Nothing here describes a figure published on this site.
The annual return on a rental
Subtract the recurring monthly costs of owning and letting the property — taxes, insurance, management, maintenance and vacancy — from the monthly rent, multiply the result by 12, and divide by the amount invested.
The return on a renovation and resale
Add the purchase price, the renovation and the cost of carrying the property to get the all-in cost. Subtract the all-in cost and the selling costs from the resale value to get the profit, then divide the profit by the all-in cost.
Know which costs the figure covers
Every published return figure covers a defined set of costs, so read which costs are inside it and which the buyer supplies. A rental return is an annual rate and a flip return is a return over the length of one project, so the two are not comparable.
Rent comes in whole. Four deductions later, this is what is left.
Nothing is netted out silently. Every column below is a named line, and the column heights are the dollars.
One month of rent, walked down to cash flow
Per month · $1,800 inWhere each rent dollar lands
| Of $1,800 rent | Per mo | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Property taxes | $250 | 13.9% |
| Insurance | $220 | 12.2% |
| Management | $180 | 10.0% |
| Financing on closing | $49 | 2.7% |
| Cash flow | $1,101 | 61.2% |
Est. rental ROI is a first-year return on an outright purchase: the modelled annual income left after the three recurring ownership costs the model deducts — taxes, insurance and management — and the financing cost carried on closing, divided by the purchase price. There is no mortgage on the property, so the figure does not move with a buyer's own loan terms.
The other figure is one project, not one year.
Buy, renovate, resell. Est. Profit is what survives the resale value once the modelled costs come out; Est. flip ROI is that profit against the money in.
The first three segments are the all-in cost. Each of the three inputs — the rent-free renovation allowance, the modelled schedule behind the holding costs, and the after-repair value itself — is an estimate. A flip return is stated over the length of the project, not per year, so it cannot be compared with the rental figure above.
These items also affect your ROI. The Deep Analysis Report is where you set the purchase price, the financing and the rent for one specific property.
The first two columns are inputs a listing-level estimate cannot know for one specific buyer; in that report vacancy, maintenance and HOA dues are charged as lines it calculates for you rather than as figures you enter, and capital expenditure is not modelled at all. The third column is not an input to anything: these figures are the analytical output of software, not an appraisal, not an offer, not a guarantee of results, and not investment, tax or legal advice.
Outside the rental figure
- A mortgage on the propertyNo loan, down payment or monthly payment is assumed
- VacancyThe model collects rent in every month
- Maintenance and repairsRoutine upkeep; no allowance for it is deducted
- Capital expenditureRoof, systems, major repairs
- HOA or condo duesNo association or condo fee is deducted
- The closing costs themselvesOnly the interest carried on them is counted
- Any change over timeIn rents, costs or property value
Outside the flip figures
- Purchase closing costsAnd transfer taxes
- Cost overrunsPermits, and anything an inspection would find
- Market movementDuring the renovation and the sale
- Time beyond the modelled scheduleEvery extra month adds carrying cost
- Taxes on any gain
And what they are not
- An appraisal or a valuationNo licensed appraiser has inspected anything
- An offer or a solicitationNo figure is a price anyone offers or accepts
- A guarantee of resultsNo return shown has been achieved; an outcome can be a loss
- Investment, tax or legal adviceVerify independently and take professional advice
- Hand-entered or suppliedNothing comes from a seller, an agent or an advertiser
Because vacancy and capital expenditure sit outside the rental figure, and because the model collects rent in every month of the year, a real first-year return on the same property would normally be lower than the figure shown. Every figure is derived per individual property from public records and licensed market data, and carries the date its analysis was run.
How do you calculate ROI on a rental property?
Annual return on a rental property is the property's annual net operating income divided by the amount invested.
How do you calculate the return on a house flip?
Return on a renovation-and-resale, or flip, is the profit on the sale divided by the total amount put into the deal.
Can a rental return and a flip return be compared?
No. A rental return is an annual rate and a flip return is a return over the length of one project, however long that project takes, so comparing them directly is a category error.
How is Est. rental ROI calculated on this site?
Est. rental ROI is a first-year return on an outright purchase: the modelled annual income left after the three recurring ownership costs the model deducts — taxes, insurance and management — and the financing cost carried on closing, divided by the purchase price.
What is not included in Est. rental ROI?
A mortgage on the property, vacancy, maintenance, capital expenditure, HOA or condo dues, the closing costs themselves and any change over time in rents, costs or property value all sit outside Est. rental ROI. Each of those also affects your ROI. In the Deep Analysis Report you set the purchase price, the down payment, the mortgage rate, the monthly rent and a one-time cost for one specific property, and maintenance, vacancy and HOA dues are charged there as lines the report calculates for you rather than as figures you enter.
How are Est. flip ROI and Est. Profit calculated on this site?
Est. Profit is a modelled after-repair value minus the all-in cost and the selling costs, and Est. flip ROI is that profit divided by the all-in cost. Where a property has no modelled renovation, holding and selling costs on record, Est. Profit is the after-repair value minus the purchase price alone.
The card is a summary. This is what each figure on it is.
A property card carries one return figure, the list price, the property's own facts, and the date its analysis ran. Most misreadings come from reading the headline percentage as money in hand, or from comparing a rental figure with a flip figure.
Analyzed <date>
The shape of a public property analysis card, drawn with the same round numbers used everywhere on this page. No listing, no property depicted. A card shows either the rental figure or the flip figures, never both, and a rental card has no Est. Profit.
The headline percentage names which return it is
A card shows one of two figures and the caption underneath says which. Est. rental ROI is a modelled first-year return on an outright purchase, held and rented. Est. flip ROI is a modelled return over the length of one renovation-and-resale project, however long that project takes. The two are different quantities and cannot be compared. The asterisk on the caption points at the qualification printed above the grid of cards.
List price is the price the property is listed at
Est. rental ROI divides by the purchase price, so on a rental card the list price is the figure the percentage is measured against. Est. flip ROI divides by the all-in cost — the purchase price plus the renovation and the cost of carrying the property — so on a flip card the list price is one part of that figure rather than the whole of it. It is not an appraisal and not a valuation.
The property facts describe the property, not the estimate
The street address, the city, state and ZIP, and the bedroom, bathroom and floor-area counts come from the property record the analysis was run against. Where a neighborhood grade is on record for the property it appears beside the location, as the grade followed by the word Neighborhood.
Est. Profit is a project total, not an annual figure
On a flip card it is the modelled after-repair value less the all-in cost and the selling costs — the same arithmetic as section 02. Where a property has no modelled renovation, holding and selling costs on record, Est. Profit is the after-repair value less the purchase price alone, and is higher than a fully costed figure would be.
The date is the date the analysis ran
Every card carries it. Nothing on the card is recalculated while you look at it, and a property record can change after that date. The items section 03 lists as outside these figures also affect your ROI. The Deep Analysis Report is where you set the purchase price, the down payment, the mortgage rate, the monthly rent and a one-time cost for one specific property; vacancy, maintenance and HOA dues are charged there as lines it calculates for you rather than as figures you enter.
Returns shown are modeled estimates based on public listing data and rent comparables, and what sits outside the figure differs by strategy. Rental estimates are before a mortgage on the property, and exclude vacancy, maintenance, capital expenditure and HOA dues. Flip estimates compare a modeled after-repair value against the list price and deduct estimated rehab, holding and selling costs where those are part of the estimate — holding covers taxes, insurance and the interest on any purchase loan the model assumes, so financing is not excluded from that profit; where those costs are not part of the estimate, the profit shown is the after-repair value less the list price alone. They are not projections of actual results, not a guarantee, and not investment advice.