A 4-unit multifamily is listed at $340,000. Gross rent is $4,800/month. The listing agent says "great cash flow property." Is it? You can't know from those two numbers. You need five metrics, and you need them calculated from your financing terms, not the seller's assumptions.
That's what a deal analyzer does. It takes 8-10 inputs you can gather in 15 minutes from any listing and tells you whether the deal works for your money, your financing, and your risk tolerance.
Every serious investor runs these five numbers. They each answer a different question.
Excludes mortgage payments. NOI tells you what the property earns independent of how you finance it. This is the foundation for cap rate and DSCR.
The property's unlevered yield. What you'd earn if you paid all cash. Useful for comparing properties across different price points and markets.
Your actual return on the money you put in (down payment + closing costs + any immediate repairs). This is the number that tells you whether your cash is working hard enough.
The lender's number. DSCR of 1.0x means the property barely covers its debt. Most lenders require 1.20x minimum. Below 1.0x, you're feeding the property cash every month.
What lenders look at when DSCR is borderline. 8%+ is safe. Below 7%, most commercial lenders decline the deal.
Back to the 4-unit at $340,000. Here's how to run the analysis in 10 minutes.
Monthly gross rent: $4,800 ($1,200/unit). Annual gross: $57,600. Apply an 8% vacancy factor (typical for a stabilized multifamily in a mid-tier market): effective gross income = $52,992.
Total operating expenses: $23,527/year. That's a 40.8% expense ratio, which is in the normal 35-45% range for residential multifamily.
$52,992 - $23,527 = $29,465.
Financing: 25% down at 7.2% on a 30-year fixed. Down payment: $85,000. Loan: $255,000. Closing costs: $8,500. Total cash in: $93,500.
Annual debt service (P&I on $255,000 at 7.2%, 30-year): $20,774.
Verdict: This deal works. All five metrics clear their thresholds. The cap rate is strong for a stabilized property, DSCR gives plenty of cushion, and cash-on-cash beats a high-yield savings account by a wide margin. Worth pursuing to due diligence.
Same property, but the seller wants $420,000 instead of $340,000. Rent stays the same.
At $420,000, the deal doesn't pencil. The cap rate alone would mislead you into thinking it's acceptable. You need all five metrics. A deal analyzer runs them simultaneously so one bad number doesn't hide behind four decent ones.
Interest rates change. Rents change. Vacancy fluctuates. A single-scenario analysis gives you one version of the truth. A sensitivity tab gives you the range.
For the $340,000 deal, what if vacancy runs 12% instead of 8%? What if rates are 7.8% instead of 7.2%? The sensitivity grid shows cash-on-cash return at every combination. Green cells pass your minimum threshold. Red cells don't. If most of the grid is green, the deal has margin. If it's mostly red with a few green cells near the optimistic corner, you're relying on best-case assumptions.
Shopfolio's Real Estate Deal Analyzer calculates NOI, cap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCR, debt yield, and the Go/No-Go verdict with a sensitivity grid. $9 Lite / $29 Pro.
See the Deal AnalyzerWhat is a real estate deal analyzer?
A deal analyzer is a spreadsheet or calculator that takes a property's financial inputs (purchase price, rent, expenses, financing terms) and outputs the key metrics investors use to decide whether a deal is worth pursuing: cap rate, net operating income (NOI), cash-on-cash return, DSCR, and debt yield. A good analyzer also includes a sensitivity analysis showing how the deal performs under different assumptions.
What is a good cap rate for a rental property in 2026?
Cap rates vary by market and property type. For residential 1-4 unit rentals in 2026: 4-5% in high-demand coastal markets, 5-7% in strong secondary markets (where most investors find deals), 7-10% in tertiary markets and value-add situations. A cap rate below 5% usually means you're buying for appreciation, not cash flow. Above 8% in a stable market is strong, but verify the rent assumptions.
How many deals should I analyze before making an offer?
Experienced investors analyze 50-100 deals for every one they close. By the 30th deal, you know your market's typical cap rate, expense ratios, and price-per-unit ranges. You spot outliers instantly. A deal analyzer that takes 10 minutes per property makes this volume practical.