RentalCalcs · Original decision worksheet

Real-estate capital-allocation worksheet

Start with money earmarked for investing after a separate household emergency fund. Fill locally and print or save as PDF. Nothing is submitted or automatically saved.

Read the complete worked guide

Worked example

Hypothetical $100,000 budget: one rental deploys $78,000 and retains $22,000; two rentals $80,800/$19,200; house hack $29,500/$70,500; BRRRR initially $84,000/$16,000. These retained balances are not all free to reinvest.

1. Set the constraints

Investment budget; separate household emergency fund; cash needed soonHolding period, loss capacity, desired control and time availableOptions under consideration and evidence sources/dates

2. Trace the cash

Down payment/subscription, closing fees, initial work and retained cashIncome, operating expenses, debt payments and capital reserveIdentify result: rental cash flow, housing savings, distribution or total returnManagement/labor, fees, taxes and costs excluded from the comparison

3. Test the downside

Lower rent, higher vacancy, major repair and remaining liquidityBRRRR: repair overrun, delayed or failed refinance, loan payoff planPrivate offering: capital calls, debt maturity, transfer rules and payout waterfallListed investment: value decline plus distributions; concentration and costsUnverified inputs, responsible person and next decision date

Calculation notes

Initial budget = deployed cash + retained cash. Cash flow = NOI − debt service − capital reserve under this article’s convention. Returned refinance proceeds are new debt, not automatically profit. Total investment return includes changes in value, distributions and relevant costs.

Reviewed October 14, 2026. Original RentalCalcs educational worksheet. Numbers are hypothetical, not property estimates or a lender commitment. SEC private-placement investor bulletin.