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Investment Property Calculator: How to Analyze A Property In Minutes

by Brandon · 20 comments

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When pursuing my recent acquisition, I met with several lenders who were interested in funding my deal. To each lender I gave a “Investment Property Calculator” spreadsheet which included detailed information about the home. One of those lenders told me,

“Brandon, if more people put together an analysis like this – they would find themselves with more funding than they would know what to do with.”

This statement, besides being the inspiration for this post, was great confirmation that my obsessive nature of creating a high-quality Investment Property Calculator for my lenders was not a waste of time. Below, I’ll show you how you can get my exact property analysis to use on your own deal-making.

The Investment Property Calculator

Despite what the Guru’s say – attracting hard money is not “based on the property.” Hard money, while secured by the property being purchased, is not generally awarded because of the property. In reality, hard money is almost entirely based on YOU. No, not necessarily the contents of your bank account or the experience you’ve had but your personality and professionalism. There are a lot of good deals out there but very few good deal-makers. If you want to achieve success in attracting funding outside the confines of a banking institution, it is important that you brush up on your presentation skills.

Just as the condition of a property on the outside is a huge indicator of the condition on the inside, the presentation that you give a lender is a major indicator of how you will approach your business and care for their money. When I approach a lender with a loan request, I always include my Property Analysis Packet. If emailed, I will make a nice PDF document and email them the information. If given in-person, I will always purchase a professional binder (a nice one, the kind with the clear cover from an office supply store) filled with every aspect of the deal put plainly and neatly on paper.

    1. A one-page Project Summary, that details the “big picture” of what I’m planning on doing. This includes a photo of the front of the house and a brief outline of some of the features of the home. This page also includes a brief description of the current condition, repairs needed, how much funding I need, my timeline for completing repairs, and my multiple exit-strategies.
    2. A detailed financial Investment Property Calculator that shows, on one page, all the major pertinent numbers such as purchase price, closing costs, repair costs, holding costs, future sale price and my return-on-investment (at various price points). This shows the lender that I fully understand what makes this project a great deal. It is also easy to follow so the lender doesn’t get lost in the math.
      To do this, I have a calculator in Excel that I simply change a few key pieces of information and all the numbers are re-calculated for me. This took many, many hours to perfect over the past several years but now that I have it – it takes just a few seconds to compute all the numbers needed to decide if a deal is worth pursuing.
      It is imperative that your figures be conservative. No, not in the Glenn Beck style of conservativeness but in the “I don’t want to under-estimate anything” style. Your lender is going to have a pretty good idea of what it costs to repair and hold a property. By being conservative in your estimates you show the lender that you are experienced, reasonable, and not simply running on emotion.
    3. Detailed Repair List: This is where I explain the cost of every aspect of the remodel. Under-estimating prices is the biggest danger when flipping a property, so a detailed repair list is not only helpful for the lender but also necessary for your own survival. This list can not be “too detailed.” Include everything, including an amount set aside for overages.
    4. Comparable Sales: Print out three to five listings (check Zillow.com or ask your Real Estate Agent) of similar properties that have SOLD in the past six months. You probably know your market significantly better than your lender, so by including these numbers you can give confidence to your lender about the future value of your property.
    5. Personal Credit Report – While hard money lenders generally do not require a credit report, offering them a copy of your own is a great way to build confidence. By showing your report to them you are proving that you have nothing to hide or be ashamed of. This will put you miles ahead of other investors in the eyes of your lender. If you want to get your credit report for free – including your credit score – without signing up for one of those spammy sites you see on the commercials check out CreditKarma.com.

 

It probably goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyways) that you still need to ensure your prospective property is a killer deal. The best presentation in the world still probably won’t convince a hard money lender to fund you. However, if your deal is solid and you can create a professional presentation of your plan – your chance of successful funding and wealth creation will explode. This is no area to be skimpy on or be sloppy. Presentation is everything.

 

If you are interested in downloading my exact analysis that I use for every property I pursue, click the “Get It Now” button at the bottom.  It’s only $19.

No, you don’t need to buy it; I won’t be offended. 🙂 You already have everything you need to make it right on your own computer using Excel, OpenOffice, or Google Docs.

However, if you want to save the hassle and help fund the running of this website, download it here! 

Included in the download is:

  1. One Page Project Summary
  2. Investment Calculator
  3. Investment Calculator Tutorial

The repair list, comps, and personal credit report you will need to generate yourself. Then, get yourself a binder like this one and put it all together.

Again, if you want to download this stuff for $19, click the big cheesy “buy now” button below. The files are in a ZIP format, so you’ll need to “unzip” them in order to open the folder.


Get it Now!

Immediately after submitting payment, you’ll receive an email giving you the download link. If you have any issues or questions, just shoot me an email.

Thanks everyone!

About Brandon

has written 199 Awesome posts in this blog.

Brandon Turner (G+) is the BiggerPockets.com Senior Editor and Community Director and owner of RealEstateInYourTwenties.com. He is also an Active Real Estate Investor (Flips, Apartments, and Buy-and-Hold), Entrepreneur, World Traveler, Third-Person Speaker, and Husband. Come hang out with him on Twitter!

P.S. looking for hard money loans in California? Be sure to check out my friends over at northcoastfinancialinc.com. They have very competitive rates, can fund within a week and specialize in fix and flip loans and other hard money loans.

P.S. Looking for more real estate investing knowledge? If you are interested in a top-notch course to help you understand the nuts and bolts of creative real estate investing, I would like to recommend Ben Leybovich's Cash Flow Freedom University. Ben is a close friend and has been my trusted adviser for years. He's a smart guy and CFFU is pretty awesome. The course is waitlisted, but while you wait for an opening Ben will send you tons of FREE content. Seriously. Click here to check it out.

(yes, that's an affiliate link!)

{ 19 comments… read them below or add one }

Tiffany July 9, 2012 at 8:19 pm

Brandon, Happy Birthday! Please have a S’mores for me!

What a great compliment from your lender!

http://www.InADayDevelopment.com is putting ideas for an app together that will be similar to an analysis spreadsheet so go you on creating your own geek tool!

Picking up two properties to hold this week so far! Working on putting my rent up and acquisitions tasks in checklists for myself.

Reply

Brandon July 11, 2012 at 4:24 am

Thanks Tiffany! I think I ate enough S’mores for the entire nation last night. Well worth it!

And congrats on the two properties this week! Very very awesome!

Reply

Bryan July 27, 2012 at 1:30 pm

$5 sounds like a great value!!!

One question… Is the spreadsheet “locked” for editing? Would I be able to add line items or change formulas if I want?

Reply

Brandon July 27, 2012 at 3:02 pm

Hey Bryan, thanks! I did lock the formulas so they don’t get changed by accident, but email me for the password if you want to change some of the stuff. Almost everything is editable, from the price, hard money options, interest rates, and more. Hope you enjoy it! I know it comes in handy for me on a daily basis!

Reply

Jason August 3, 2012 at 7:03 pm

Hi Brandon,

I know you use it to analyze your flip deals, and do you use it to analyze your multi-family holds?

Jason

Reply

Brandon August 4, 2012 at 6:24 am

Hey Jason,
Yeah, I use the same document for both. The spreadsheet is divided into four sections:

  • -one for basic information about the property
  • -one for a flip
  • -one for “buy and hold”
  • -and the fourth for a hybrid of the two.


It also includes a spot for the number of units and average rent for those units -so you could essentially use this for a single family home as well as a thousand-unit apartment. The math never lies!

Thanks Jason for the question!

Reply

Alex September 16, 2012 at 11:24 am

Just bought the whole package and after a quick review playing with the numbers, I must tell you that these are the most worth it $19 that I have ever invested. Two lattes in Starbucks are certainly a huge waste of money when you compare it with what you get in return.
I also have a question regarding flips; what is the IRS Tax impact on those short term flips?
Alex,

Reply

Brandon September 20, 2012 at 4:32 am

Hey Alex, That’s a super nice comment, thanks! I figured I will never sell something that I wouldn’t have gladly paid for when I started.

As for your question – there is a pretty big consequence. Obviously this is a CPA question and I am not one, but I know that when you flip a property you pay short-term capital gains tax instead of long-term (which could be a big deal depending on your tax bracket). Also, you may be forced to pay self-employment tax as well, and maybe even L&I (labor and Industry Insurance in Washington State… not sure what it’s called elsewhere) and maybe even have to have a contractor’s license (that’s the law in Washington State now!). So, there are clear benefits to buy-and-hold. That said, if the numbers work on a flip- great!

Reply

Blair September 25, 2012 at 1:10 pm

Just want to say your article is as astounding. The clearness in your post is just spectacular and
i can assume you’re an expert on this subject. Well with your permission allow me to grab your RSS feed to keep up to date with forthcoming post. Thanks a million and please continue the enjoyable work.

Reply

Affordable residential properties Gurgaon November 20, 2012 at 7:15 am

Very well written post.

Reply

David April 19, 2013 at 5:45 am

Just made my second step into REI by buying your product and I’m very impressed! I’m sure it will save me lots of time and money. Happy to support your blog and BP.

Reply

Brandon April 24, 2013 at 5:14 pm

Thanks so much, David! That’s awesome!

Reply

jeff August 2, 2014 at 10:30 am

Brandon,

On the calculator, I noticed that it does not account for payments on a fix/flip scenario. Some HML require monthly % payments. Any thoughts on how to adjust for this?

Thanks in advance,
Jeff

Reply

Brandon November 5, 2014 at 9:28 pm

Brandon,

First off, you’re the man! I’m a big fan. Anyway, I assume this is the same spreadsheet you used in your blog post:

http://www.biggerpockets.com/renewsblog/2013/04/09/how-to-buy-a-small-multifamily-property/

If so… that would be awesome. I was about to make one just like yours, but for $19, I cant beat that. I noticed you added a 5th section. Will that be included if I purchase the calculator?

Reply

Jeff January 13, 2015 at 3:19 am

Your above link for the Property Analysis Spreadsheet does not work. It takes me to this page over and over again. How can I view your Spreadsheet?

Reply

Mike August 5, 2015 at 3:20 am

Sounded like a great product, so I went to purchase it for $19, but it tried scamming my paypal account for pre-authorization for future payments. What’s that all about?

Reply

Brandon August 5, 2015 at 5:55 am

Hey Mike, that’s weird. can you provide me a screenshot and send it to my email.

Reply

Brian January 19, 2016 at 3:10 am

Hey Brandon its not letting me even attempt to buy the calculator when i click on the green button

Reply

Nelc January 19, 2016 at 8:53 pm

Hey Brandon,

I just purchased the Investment Property Calculator. I noticed that the spreadsheet is protected and does not allow me to make edits. Is there a way that I can have access to edit my copy?

Reply

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