How Much Cash Flow Should Your Rentals Make?

$100 to $200 per month per unit is widely considered a baseline for good cash flow, though $200 to $400 is often targeted as a solid performance standard. The “right” amount depends heavily on your location and financial goals, with some investors in high-cost markets accepting lower monthly profits while those in lower-cost markets aim for higher surpluses.

Key benchmarks include:

Cash-on-Cash Return: Aim for 10% to 12% annually, as this outperforms typical stock market returns and indicates efficient use of invested capital.
Return on Investment (ROI): An 8% to 15% annual ROI is generally favorable, with higher percentages providing greater reinvestment opportunities.
The 1% Rule: A quick screening tool where monthly rent should be at least 1% of the purchase price (e.g., $2,000 rent on a $200,000 property).
The 50% Rule: Estimates that operating expenses (excluding mortgage) will consume roughly 50% of gross rental income.

A healthy rental property should typically generate a net cash flow of $100 to $300 per door per month, or a cash-on-cash return of 8% to 12% annually, after accounting for all operating expenses, vacancies, capital reserves, and mortgage debt.

Example	Purchase Price	Gross Monthly Rent	Monthly Expenses + Debt	Net Monthly Cash Flow	Cash-on-Cash Return (%)
1. Subsidized Rural SFH	$100,000	$1,000	$800	$200	9.6%
2. Midwest Duplex	$150,000	$1,600	$1,300	$300	12.0%
3. Sunbelt Townhome	$200,000	$1,800	$1,550	$250	9.0%
4. Suburban Single Family	$250,000	$2,100	$1,850	$250	7.2%
5. Value-Add Triplex	$300,000	$2,800	$2,400	$400	10.7%
6. Coastal Metro Condo	$350,000	$2,400	$2,200	$200	4.6%
7. Secondary Market Quad	$400,000	$3,800	$3,200	$600	10.5%
8. Growing Tech-Hub SFH	$450,000	$3,200	$2,950	$250	4.3%
9. Small Multi-Family (8u)	$800,000	$7,600	$6,400	$1,200	10.1%
10. Urban Commercial/Multi	$1,200,000	$11,500	$9,700	$1,800	10.0%

Myers-Briggs (INTJ/INTP) Analyst Report

Analytical Focus: Relies heavily on quantitative metrics, data sheets, trailing 12-month metrics, and risk-adjusted return formulas.
Core Philosophy: Disdains emotional or speculative buying; prefers systems-based validation where cash flow must mathematically validate the asset’s intrinsic value before capital allocation.
Verdict: Rejects deals failing basic threshold formulas; treats cash flow as an absolute binary pass/fail logic gate.

Donald Trump Analyst Report

Analytical Focus: Centers on macro-location, high barrier-to-entry submarkets, tangible asset quality, and brand positioning.
Core Philosophy: Focuses on irreplaceable real estate and upside potential via negotiation and asset enhancement rather than microscopic monthly operational margins.
Verdict: Views small cash flow as secondary to long-term asset command, prime location control, and protection against inflation via scale.

Grant Cardone Analyst Report

Analytical Focus: Strict adherence to cash-flowing multi-family assets with a minimum 5% to 6% operational cash flow threshold at purchase.
Core Philosophy: Dismisses single-family home ownership entirely, advocating massive scale, debt conservatism (LTV under 70%), and forcing operational rent bumps to drive equity.
Verdict: Strongly favors scaled multi-family units over single-door rentals due to vacancy protection and compounding cash-on-cash expansion.

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