Property Decision Dashboard
Mortgage, cash flow, returns, rent versus buy, affordability and stress tests in one place. Every figure updates as you type.
Assumptions
Deal score
Each factor is scored against a stated benchmark.Where the rent goes
Monthly, year 1Equity build-up
Property value, loan balance and equity over the holding periodCash flow by year
After mortgage, PMI and all costsIf you sell
Stress test
Monthly cash flow if conditions turn worseWhat the numbers say
Renting instead
Home price, down payment, rate and costs come from the assumptions panel.Net worth: buying vs renting
Buying counts home value after selling costs, minus the loan. Renting counts your down payment and every monthly saving, invested.Year by year
Pay it off faster
Loan amount, rate and term come from the assumptions panel.Loan balance
Milestones
Annual amortization
Your finances
Lenders compare housing cost and total debt to gross income.Maximum price by interest rate
Standard 28/36 limitsWhat you can afford
Three common lending limits: housing cost / total debt as a share of gross income.Standard limit, monthly cost
Sensitivity map
See how the result moves when two assumptions change together. The outlined cell is your current case.Side by side
Tax and insurance scale with price. Everything else comes from the assumptions panel. Best value in each row is shaded.Planning tool. Results are estimates, not financial, tax, legal or investment advice. Real lending terms, taxes, insurance, upkeep, transaction costs and market performance will differ. Income tax, depreciation and mortgage interest deductions are not modelled.
How to use the Property Decision Dashboard
One page that tells you whether a property is a good deal, whether to buy or keep renting, what you can afford, and what happens if things go wrong. Everything updates the moment you type.
Quick start
It is the box on the left (or at the top on a phone). Start with the price, down payment, rate and rent.
The four big numbers and the deal score give you the verdict in seconds.
Scroll to the stress test to see what happens if rates rise, rent falls or the home sits empty.
Use the Scenarios tab to put three deals side by side, then copy a summary to share.
Your numbers are saved in your own browser, so they are still there when you come back. Nothing is sent anywhere.
The assumptions panel
Every tab uses these numbers, so fill this in once. Anything you are unsure of can stay at the default while you explore.
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Property price | The purchase price of the home. |
| Down payment and % | Change the dollars or the percent and the other one follows. Under 20% down usually adds PMI. |
| Interest rate and loan term | Use the rate your lender quoted, not the one in the ads. |
| Closing costs | Fees to buy, as a percent of price. 2% to 4% is common. |
| PMI | Yearly insurance rate that applies only when the loan is over 80% of the price. It drops off automatically once you pass 20% equity. |
| Monthly rent received | What a tenant pays you. Leave at 0 if you will live there yourself. |
| Vacancy | The share of the year the home sits empty. 5% is about 18 days. |
| Management fee | What a property manager charges. Pick whether it is charged on the full rent or only on rent actually collected. Many managers charge on collected rent, so check your contract. |
| Property tax, insurance, maintenance, HOA | Yearly dollars. Maintenance of 1% of the price per year is a decent starting guess. |
| Price growth, rent growth, cost growth | How fast you expect each to rise per year. Be modest here, small changes add up over 10 years. |
| Selling costs | Agent fees and closing costs when you sell. About 6% is typical. |
| Holding period | How many years you plan to own it. Sale profit and the IRR are calculated for this date. |
Deal analyzer
Is this property worth buying?
The top row shows the monthly payment, monthly cash flow, cash-on-cash return and the IRR over your holding period. Below it you get a deal score out of 100 and charts for equity and yearly cash flow.
| Measure | What it means | Good sign |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cash flow | Rent left after the loan and every cost. | Above zero |
| Cash-on-cash | Year 1 cash flow divided by the cash you put in. | 8% or more |
| Cap rate | Yearly income after costs, before the loan, divided by the price. | 6% or more |
| IRR over the holding period | Your yearly return counting cash flow and the sale. | 10% or more |
| Debt coverage (DSCR) | Income after costs divided by the loan payments. | 1.35x or more |
| Break-even occupancy | The share of the year the home must be rented to cover costs. | 75% or less |
The score marks each of these against the targets above, and the label (Weak, Workable and so on) comes with a short plain explanation.
Where the rent goes splits each rent dollar into vacancy, management, taxes and upkeep, the mortgage, and what is left for you. If you sell shows the sale price, selling costs, loan payoff and your total profit. What the numbers say at the bottom gives the break-even rent and other plain-language takeaways.
The stress test
The cards show your monthly cash flow if the rate goes up 2 points, rent drops 10%, vacancy rises 10 points, costs rise 20%, and all four happen together. A deal that only works in the best case is a risk.
Rent vs buy
Should you buy, or keep renting and invest the difference?
- Enter the rent you would pay instead.
- Set the investment return you could earn on your savings, and how many years to compare.
- Read the result: your net worth if you buy versus if you rent, and the first year buying pulls ahead.
Buying counts the home value after selling costs, minus the loan. Renting counts your down payment and every monthly saving, invested. The chart and the year-by-year table show where the lines cross.
Mortgage
See the full loan and pay it off faster
Type an amount into Extra payment / month and see what it does to your total interest, your payoff date and the loan balance chart. The milestones list shows when half the loan is repaid and when PMI ends. The annual amortization table shows how much of each year goes to principal and how much to interest.
Affordability
What price can you actually afford?
- Enter your gross yearly income, other monthly debt payments and the cash you have for a down payment.
- Set the interest rate, loan term, and the tax and insurance estimates.
- Read the table. It shows the maximum price at three lending limits.
| Limit | Housing cost | All debt |
|---|---|---|
| Comfortable (25/33) | 25% of income | 33% of income |
| Standard (28/36) | 28% of income | 36% of income |
| Stretch (31/43) | 31% of income | 43% of income |
The chart shows how the maximum price falls as rates rise. Press Analyze this price as a deal to send that price to the Deal analyzer.
Sensitivity
See how two assumptions move the result together
- Under Result, pick monthly cash flow, cash-on-cash return, IRR at sale, or debt service coverage.
- Under Vary, pick which two things change: price and rate, rent and price, or rent and rate.
- Read the colored grid. Green cells work, red cells do not. The outlined cell is your current case.
This is the quickest way to find out how much you can negotiate on price, or how high a rate you can survive.
Scenarios
Compare up to three deals side by side
Scenarios A, B and C each have their own price, down payment %, rate, rent and price growth. Everything else comes from the assumptions panel. Press Copy the current deal into scenario B to start from what you already entered, then tweak it. The best value in each row is highlighted.
Worked example
A $400,000 rental at the starting numbers
With the dashboard’s starting numbers ($400,000 price, 20% down, 6.5% rate, 30 years, $2,500 rent), the Deal analyzer says:
The rent does not cover the mortgage and costs. The break-even rent is the number to look at. Raise the rent to $3,300 and the same home becomes:
It now works, but only just. The stress test shows cash flow falling to -$390 a month if the rate were 2 points higher, so there is almost no cushion. That is the kind of thing this tool is for: seeing the weak point before you sign.
This guide and the dashboard are planning tools, not financial, tax, legal or investment advice. Real lending terms, taxes, insurance and market performance will differ.