If you have been around the investing world at all, you have heard of ROI (return on investment). It is the most commonly used ratio for determining the value of an investment as it relates to the return you’ll experience on the money invested. In accounting terms: it indicates the percentage of invested money returned to the investor after the deduction of associated cost. In layman’s terms, it measures how much you are making on the money you invested. This will allow you to compare investments. In Real Estate, I use – Return on Cash.

Real Estate

Return on Cash equation is simple:

Annual NOI (Net Operating Income) – Debt Service (before taxes) / the total cash invested

Let us break down each part of this equation. This way you will understand where the numbers come from when analyzing a deal.

Annual NOI = Annual Operating Income – Annual Operating Expenses

What comprises operating income and operating expenses? Good question!

Operating income = all the income from the property. This includes rents, of course, but also things like laundry income, pet rent, luxury services such as dry cleaning pick up.

Operating expenses = all expenses of running the building (this includes utilities, repairs, maintenance, property management, landscaping, property taxes and insurance). You will note that debt service (the loan) is not included. Why is that? Because the debt is not directly related to the property’s “operation”. Debt will change depending on the owner

Debt Service = the loan payment(s) for the mortgage(s) on the property.

Total Cash Invested = the down payment on the loan, any repair or rehab costs that you initially put into the property, closing costs, etc.

Let’s take a look at the formula used in an example:

This is a 4 Unit building with 1 – 3 bedroom unit, 2 – 2 bedroom units and 1 – 1 bedroom unit. The building is fully occupied and rents are at market prices.

Purchase price = $385,000

Cash Invested = $96,250

Monthly Operating Income = $4020.65

Monthly Operating Expenses = $893.06

Monthly Debt Service = $1,353.68

(4020.65 *12) – (893.06 *12) = 37,524 – (1,353.68*12) = 21280 / 96,250 = .221

This would be a killer deal – because it will take less than 5 years to make back the investment.

When looking to get into a “rental” opportunity, I look for two things: Return on cash that was invested (using the formula above) and what the cash flow (cash money I put in my pocket each month) will be. The formula we use to calculate cash flow is called CADS (Cash after Debt Service).

The CADS formula is = NOI (which you will recall is Operating Income – Operating Expense) – Debt Service. This is calculated monthly.

Using the same example:

4020.65-893.06 = 3127.59 – 1,353.68.

Many commercial investors will only care about CAP rate, but will save that metric for another article. For me personally, I more care about what return I will see on the cash I have invested and how much money is going into my pocket each month. Basically, “Show me the Money”!!!

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Editors’ Picks

EUR/USD weakens to near 1.1900 as traders eye US data

EUR/USD weakens to near 1.1900 as traders eye US data

EUR/USD eases to near 1.1900 in Tuesday's European trading hours, snapping the two-day winning streak. Markets turn cautious, lifting the haven demand for the US Dollar ahead of the release of key US economic data, including Retail Sales and ADP Employment Change 4-week average.

GBP/USD edges lower below 1.3700 on UK political risks, BoE rate cut bets

GBP/USD edges lower below 1.3700 on UK political risks, BoE rate cut bets

The GBP/USD pair trades on a weaker note around 1.3685 during the European session on Tuesday. The Pound Sterling edges lower against the US Dollar amid political risk in the United Kingdom and rising expectations of near-term Bank of England rate cuts. 

USD/JPY drops toward 155.00 as focus shifts to US data

USD/JPY drops toward 155.00 as focus shifts to US data

USD/JPY meets fresh supply and inches closer toward 155.00 in the Asian session on Tuesday. The Japanese Yen holds the upper hand over the US Dollar after Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi led the ruling Liberal Democratic Party to a historic landslide win and on intervention talks. Traders brace for key US economic data that could offer more clues on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy.


Editors’ Picks

EUR/USD weakens to near 1.1900 as traders eye US data

EUR/USD weakens to near 1.1900 as traders eye US data

EUR/USD eases to near 1.1900 in Tuesday's European trading hours, snapping the two-day winning streak. Markets turn cautious, lifting the haven demand for the US Dollar ahead of the release of key US economic data, including Retail Sales and ADP Employment Change 4-week average.

GBP/USD edges lower below 1.3700 on UK political risks, BoE rate cut bets

GBP/USD edges lower below 1.3700 on UK political risks, BoE rate cut bets

The GBP/USD pair trades on a weaker note around 1.3685 during the European session on Tuesday. The Pound Sterling edges lower against the US Dollar amid political risk in the United Kingdom and rising expectations of near-term Bank of England rate cuts. 

Gold drifts lower as positive risk tone tempers safe-haven demand; downside seems limited

Gold drifts lower as positive risk tone tempers safe-haven demand; downside seems limited

Gold drifts lower during the Asian session on Tuesday and snaps a two-day winning streak, though it lacks strong follow-through selling and shows some resilience below the $5,000 psychological mark amid mixed cues. The outcome of Japan's snap election on Sunday removes political uncertainty, which, along with signs of easing tensions in the Middle East, remains supportive of the upbeat market mood.

Bitcoin Cash trades lower, risks dead-cat bounce amid bearish signals

Bitcoin Cash trades lower, risks dead-cat bounce amid bearish signals

Bitcoin Cash trades in the red below $522 at the time of writing on Tuesday, after multiple rejections at key resistance. BCH’s derivatives and on-chain indicators point to growing bearish sentiment and raise the risk of a dead-cat bounce toward lower support levels.

Follow the money, what USD/JPY in Tokyo is really telling you

Follow the money, what USD/JPY in Tokyo is really telling you

Over the past two Tokyo sessions, this has not been a rate story. Not even close. Interest rate differentials have been spectators, not drivers. What has moved USD/JPY in local hours has been flow and flow alone.

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