Screening one property answers whether a deal works. Comparing several answers which deal works best with the same money. This workbook puts up to ten properties side by side with identical formulas for NOI, cash flow, cap rate, cash-on-cash return, and DSCR, then ranks them automatically.
In the six-property sample, the average cap rate is 8.9% and the average monthly cash flow is about $991. Oak Avenue Rental ranks first, Main Street Duplex second, and Lakeview Short Rental last, even though the properties are in the same portfolio.
The workbook ranks deals with a transparent score instead of a hidden formula: DSCR multiplied by 25, plus positive cash-on-cash return multiplied by 100, plus a 15-point bonus when the cap rate is at least 8%, capped between 0 and 100. The rank column then sorts by that score.
In the sample, Oak Avenue Rental scores 65 (DSCR 1.51, cash-on-cash 11.9%, cap rate 8.9%), Main Street Duplex scores 63, and Lakeview Short Rental scores 58. Because the score is built from three numbers you can inspect, you can disagree with a ranking and still see exactly why the workbook produced it.
Every column is calculated from the inputs on the same row, and the table shows how each one is built.
| Column | How it is calculated | What it tells you |
|---|
| Monthly NOI | Monthly rent minus monthly operating expenses | Income before the loan |
| Annual NOI | Monthly NOI multiplied by 12 | The numerator used by the cap rate |
| Monthly debt service | Loan payment from amount, rate, and term | What the property pays the lender each month |
| Monthly cash flow | Monthly NOI minus monthly debt service | What is left for you |
| Cap rate | Annual NOI divided by purchase price | The property's unlevered yield |
| Cash-on-cash | Annual cash flow divided by cash invested | The return on your own money |
| DSCR | Monthly NOI divided by monthly debt service | How much cushion covers the loan |
| Deal score | DSCR x 25 + positive cash-on-cash x 100 + 15 when cap rate is 8% or more, capped 0 to 100 | One number that blends coverage, return, and yield |
| Rank | One plus the count of properties with a higher score | Automatic ordering across the row range |
A rent roll and a deal comparison are different documents that get confused because both are tables of properties. A rent roll lists what exists today: units, tenants, lease dates, rent, and deposits, one row per unit. A deal comparison ranks what you might buy: price, financing, cash flow, and returns, one row per candidate.
The two connect through rent. The rent roll's current numbers are the most defensible starting point for the comparison, and the lease schedule in the tenant lease tracker tells you when that rent can change. Use them together before you rely on either.
Comparison sheets fail quietly. These are the assumptions that most often skew a ranking.
- Comparing properties with different loan terms as if financing were the same on each
- Using one vacancy assumption for a lease-up and a stabilized building
- Ranking on cash flow alone when DSCR is what the lender underwrites
- Leaving closing costs and rehab out of the cash invested column
- Modeling stale rent because the rent roll was never updated after a renewal
- Letting the score decide for you instead of understanding its three inputs
