Rental Property Investor · Harleysville, PA · Member since 2017 · 10 posts · 3 votes
3mo
Hi. For 20-50 units, the BP calculator works for a quick first look but it's built for smaller properties. Here are three options: Michael Blank's Syndicated Deal Analyzer (~$250, spreadsheet-based), Rob Beardsley's free model at lscre.com, or DealCheck (free tier, paid plans from $14/mo).
The key things to make sure whatever you use handles: current vs pro forma scenarios side by side, DSCR at today's rates (not just cap rate), expense ratio validation (should be 40-50% at that unit count), and max offer price reverse-calculated from your target returns. A lot of the free spreadsheets skip those.
Rental Property Investor · Harleysville, PA · Member since 2017 · 10 posts · 3 votes
3mo
Hi. For 20-50 units, the BP calculator works for a quick first look but it's built for smaller properties. Here are three options: Michael Blank's Syndicated Deal Analyzer (~$250, spreadsheet-based), Rob Beardsley's free model at lscre.com, or DealCheck (free tier, paid plans from $14/mo).
The key things to make sure whatever you use handles: current vs pro forma scenarios side by side, DSCR at today's rates (not just cap rate), expense ratio validation (should be 40-50% at that unit count), and max offer price reverse-calculated from your target returns. A lot of the free spreadsheets skip those.
Investor · VA · Member since 2015 · 21k+ posts · 19k+ votes
3w
while using someone else's calculator to do some initial due diligence is great, i never recommend anyone use another party's calculator because there could be formulas or sensitivities that you did not even know existed within it. my recommendation is that each person should be building their own calculator so they understand how to build it as well as the sensitivity analysis (such as an impact on time or cost and how that impacts your overall numbers). the biggest mistake i see on multi-family especially value-add is on the absorption rate and people overestimating how quickly it takes to get a property leased up.
Hinton, WV · Member since 2026 · 131 posts · 40 votes
1d
you really don't need a fancy calculator starting out for multifamily deals; the basic math is pretty straightforward once you get the hang of it.
for a quick look, i'd just pull the actual income and expenses from the seller's schedule e or a recent rent roll.
then, divide the net operating income (noi) by the purchase price to get your cap rate. this helps you compare deals quickly, and a simple spreadsheet or even a notebook will work just fine for that.
have you tried just running the numbers on a potential deal using a simple excel sheet yet?