Landlord Calculator

1% Rule Calculator

A 10-second gut check for any rental: does the monthly rent clear 1% of the purchase price? If it does, the deal is worth a closer look.

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Opens live in the Rental Flow app - no account needed.

What this calculator does

The 1% rule is a quick screen, not a full analysis. It says that for a rental to be worth deeper diligence, its monthly rent should be at least 1% of the all-in purchase price. It won't tell you whether a deal is good - cap rate and cash-on-cash do that - but it's a fast way to filter a long list down to the few worth modeling in detail.

The formula

Rent-to-price ratio = Monthly Rent ÷ Purchase Price  →  passes if ≥ 1%

Worked example

$220,000 property renting for $2,000/month

Purchase price$220,000
Monthly rent$2,000
Rent-to-price ratio0.91%
ResultBelow the 1% rule

At $2,000 rent this property falls just short - it would need about $2,200/month (or a lower price) to clear the bar. In hot markets very few properties pass the 1% rule, so treat it as one input, not a hard cutoff.

Try it with your own numbers →