§ 17 / RENTAL
underwrite,
don't guess.
A defended valuation, a defensible rent estimate, and a working cash-flow model in a single address-in pass. Cap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCR, and the 1% rule update the second you move a slider.
01 / CONTEXT
A buy-and-hold rental is not a feeling. It is a number. Cap rate against your hurdle. Cash-on-cash against your alternative. DSCR against the lender's threshold. Rent against PITI. If those numbers don't clear, the property doesn't clear — no matter how much you like the kitchen.
The tools investors inherited weren't built for the speed at which deals move. Zillow won't tell you whether it cash flows. BiggerPockets makes you type in every figure from scratch. Spreadsheets drift the moment a rate or a tax bill changes. The PlainComp rental analyzer collapses the underwriting pass into address-in, defended-pro-forma-out — so you can screen ten properties in the time it used to take to model one.
02 / PAIN
The tools investors lean on were built for the seller meeting, the listing presentation, or the bank file — not for fast, iterative underwriting from the buy side. Each row is a friction point we removed.
○ INCUMBENT
Zillow gives you a Zestimate. It will not tell you whether the property cash flows.
▮ PLAINCOMP
Defended valuation, defensible rent estimate, full PITI + operating model in one pass.
○ INCUMBENT
BiggerPockets calculator is solid, but you have to type in every number from scratch.
▮ PLAINCOMP
Address in. Value, rent, taxes, and a working pro forma pre-filled. Edit what changes.
○ INCUMBENT
Spreadsheet pro formas drift the moment rates, rent, or taxes move.
▮ PLAINCOMP
Live recalc on every input. Cap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCR, GRM update in real time.
○ INCUMBENT
Most underwriting tools skip vacancy, management, maintenance, and HOA.
▮ PLAINCOMP
All four reserves modeled by default. Toggle them off if you self-manage.
03 / TOOLKIT
Built around the question every buy-and-hold investor is actually asking — does this thing pay me back, at what rate, with what risk on the rent line. No back-office bloat.
01 / VALUE
Defended property valuation
Twelve-comp model with ridge regression and confidence grade. The same engine licensed agents present at the kitchen table — applied to your acquisition target.
02 / RENT
Pre-filled rent estimate
Bedroom, bath, and square-footage adjusted rent figure pulls in the moment the address resolves. Edit it if your local read is sharper than the model.
03 / PITI
Live mortgage + tax + insurance
Down payment slider, rate, 15 vs 30. Property tax derived from value, insurance configurable. P&I and full PITI break out side-by-side.
04 / NOI
Operating expense model
Vacancy, management, maintenance reserve, and HOA modeled as the percentages serious investors actually use. Effective income falls through cleanly to NOI.
05 / YIELD
Cap rate, CoC, GRM, DSCR
Four return metrics the moment you change a number. Cap rate on NOI, cash-on-cash on total cash needed, gross rent multiplier, and debt service coverage.
06 / STRESS
Rent sensitivity table
Minus-twenty to plus-twenty percent rent scenarios. See where your cash flow flips negative before you wire earnest money.
04 / BENCHMARKS
Rules of thumb the analyzer surfaces against. Calibrate to your market and your hurdle, but these are the bands most U.S. SFH operators underwrite to.
1% RULE
~ 1.0%
Monthly rent / purchase price. Above 1% screens as a cash-flow candidate.
CAP RATE
5–8%
NOI / value. Most U.S. SFH rentals land here. Below 5% is appreciation play.
CASH-ON-CASH
8–12%
Annual cash flow / total cash in. The leverage-adjusted return.
DSCR
> 1.20
NOI / debt service. Lender threshold for most non-QM rental loans.
05 / VS
Side-by-side against BiggerPockets, a DSCR-loan bank file, and a DIY spreadsheet on the spec lines that matter when you're screening deals at speed.
| METRIC | ▮ PLAINCOMP | ○ BIGGERPOCKETS | ○ DSCR LOAN FILE |
|---|---|---|---|
| PRICE | FREE — $39/MO | $39/MO | $0 (BANK ONLY) |
| VALUATION | DEFENDED + GRADE | YOU TYPE IT | BANK APPRAISAL |
| RENT ESTIMATE | PRE-FILLED | YOU TYPE IT | BANK NUMBER |
| CAP RATE / CoC | LIVE RECALC | LIVE RECALC | STATIC |
| DSCR | INCLUDED | INCLUDED | INTERNAL |
| STRESS TEST | ±20% RENT TABLE | — | — |
| MLS LOGIN REQUIRED | NO | NO | YES |
06 / ANALYZER
Drop an address. The model pulls a defended valuation, pre-fills a rent estimate, and produces a working pro forma. Edit any input — every metric recalculates live.
07 / NEXT DEAL
ten deals in the time it took to model one.
First analysis is free. No credit card. Drop an address — get a defended valuation, a defensible rent, and a working pro forma in under a minute.