Free Real Estate Expense Calculator

Operating expenses: property taxes, insurance, management fees, maintenance reserves, CapEx reserves, vacancy allowance, HOA, and utilities you pay. Debt service: principal and interest. Non-recurring: acquisition costs and any major capital improvements. All categories are modeled in Freddie.

Holding costs are expenses incurred while you own a property before the final exit — whether resale or rental stabilization. For flips: property taxes, insurance, utilities, HOA, and financing interest. For rentals: same plus management fees, maintenance, and vacancy. Every extra month adds holding cost.

CapEx reserves are most commonly underestimated — budget $150-$300/month per unit for major system replacements (roof, HVAC, water heater, appliances). Property management fees are often excluded from initial analysis. Vacancy is frequently modeled too low. Freddie prompts for all categories.

Operating expenses (excluding mortgage) typically consume 35-50% of gross rents. The 50% rule estimates 50% — useful for quick filtering. Actual ratios vary by property age, condition, management efficiency, and local tax rates. Always calculate actual expenses rather than relying on the 50% rule for final analysis.

Selling costs on a typical resale run 8-10% of sale price (6% agent commission plus 2-4% closing costs). On a $300K sale that's $24,000-$30,000 off your gross profit. Many investors forget to model selling costs on rentals they plan to eventually sell — always include them in long-term return projections.

Capital expenditures (CapEx) are major property improvements and system replacements — roof, HVAC, water heater, appliances, plumbing, electrical, windows. These are non-recurring but predictable over time. Reserve $150-$300/unit/month so you're never caught off guard when a major system fails.