Months Until Cash Flow Positive

Number of months before the property generates positive monthly cash flow.

Example Result

Sample Data

85 months

Based on a sample $385,000 property with $2,850/month rent, 20% down, 7% interest rate.

See Your Own Properties

With the Rental Property Calculator, you can run this calculation against your own rental properties using your real numbers.

View Pricing Sign In

Monthly Cash Flow Over Time

Subscribe to see exactly when your property transitions to positive cash flow.

View Pricing

Months Until Cash Flow Positive Formula

Min M where: Rent(M) × (1 − Vacancy%) + Other(M) − Expenses(M) − Mortgage ≥ $0

Min M where: Rent(M) × (1 − Vacancy%) + $0(M) − Expenses(M) − Mortgage ≥ $0

85 months

What This Means

A sample property priced at $385,000 with $2,850/month rent has a months until cash flow positive of 85 months. If a property is cash flow negative at purchase, knowing when it turns positive helps you plan reserves. A property that turns positive in 6 months may be worth the short-term subsidy; one that takes 5 years might not be.

How We Calculate Months Until Cash Flow Positive

This metric uses an iterative month-by-month simulation. Starting at month 1, we project what rent, expenses, and the mortgage look like each month — then find the first month where monthly income exceeds all monthly costs.

The Monthly Check (repeated for M = 1, 2, 3 … up to 480)

Monthly Rent(M) = Monthly Rent × (1 + Rent Rate)^M/12

Monthly Income(M) = Monthly Rent(M) × (1 − Vacancy%) + Other Income(M)

Monthly Expenses(M) = Taxes(M) + Insurance(M) + HOA(M)

+ Utilities(M) + Maintenance(M) + Management(M)

+ CapEx(M) + Other Expenses(M)

Monthly Mortgage = fixed (same every month)

Cash Flow(M) = Monthly Income(M) − Monthly Expenses(M) − Monthly Mortgage

Return M when Cash Flow(M) ≥ $0 (first month it's non-negative)

How Each Component Grows Each Month

Component	Growth Rate Applied	Direction
Monthly Rent	Rent Appreciation Rate	↑ Helps (raises income)
Property Taxes & Insurance	Property Appreciation Rate (value-indexed)	↓ Hurts (raises expenses)
HOA Fees	HOA Appreciation Rate	↓ Hurts
Utilities	Utilities Appreciation Rate	↓ Hurts
Maintenance & Management	% of rent — grows with rent	↓ Hurts (but at rent rate)
CapEx Reserve	CapEx Appreciation Rate	↓ Hurts
Monthly Mortgage	Fixed — does not change	→ Constant

Why it eventually turns positive: The fixed mortgage payment is the key. Rent typically grows faster than operating expenses because the mortgage never increases. Over time, the growing rent income overtakes the slowly-rising expenses plus the constant mortgage — that's the month this metric identifies.

What This Number Tells You

Already Positive (Month 0)

The property covers all costs from day one. You're in a strong position — cash flow cushion absorbs vacancies and surprises without dipping into your pocket.

1–24 Months

A short-term subsidy. Plan cash reserves to cover the monthly shortfall. Once rent grows past the break-even point the property self-funds for the rest of the hold period.

3+ Years or Never

Re-examine the deal. A larger down payment lowers the mortgage, raising rents or reducing vacancy can help, or the deal may not pencil out for cash flow — evaluate whether appreciation alone justifies the carry cost.

Where This Value Comes From

Months Until Cash Flow Positive is not entered directly — it is calculated from Cash Flow Before Tax. See the formula breakdown above and the detailed inputs below.

Inputs That Determine Months Until Cash Flow Positive

Cash Flow Before Tax

Cash remaining after operating expenses and debt service.

-$4,023

Platform Distribution

Unlock Platform Benchmarks

See the average, median, and where your property ranks among other investors on the platform.

Unlock Rental Property Calculator

Why It Matters

If a property is cash flow negative at purchase, knowing when it turns positive helps you plan reserves. A property that turns positive in 6 months may be worth the short-term subsidy; one that takes 5 years might not be.

Detailed Explanation

For properties that start with negative cash flow, this metric calculates how many months of rent growth are needed before monthly income exceeds monthly expenses. Returns 0 if already cash flow positive.