Property Investment Analyzer

The agreed price of the property itself, before any of the extra one-time costs of buying it.

What to enter: Just the price, in your chosen currency. Fees, taxes and renovation have their own fields below.

Where to find it: The listing, the agent's offer, or the sale contract. If you are still negotiating, enter the price you expect to agree.

Watch out: Entering the total of price plus fees. That double-counts the fees, which are entered separately below.

The currency every amount in this analysis is entered and displayed in.

What to enter: The currency all of your other figures are in.

Where to find it: The currency the property is priced in locally — normally the same one the rent is quoted in.

Watch out: Mixing currencies between fields. There is no exchange-rate conversion anywhere in the app.

How much you assume the property's value changes each year, as a percentage.

What to enter: The yearly percentage change in the property's value you want to assume. Enter 3 for 3%. A negative number models a falling market.

If you're unsure: Nobody knows what property will do. Rather than searching for the right number, run the analysis at a low, a middle and a high value and see whether your conclusion survives all three. If it flips, the decision rests on a forecast rather than on the property.

Tools that help: Scenarios · Sensitivity · Maximum price

Watch out: Treating a number you entered as a forecast the app has verified. Nobody knows this figure; it is worth testing across a range rather than trusting one value.

How many years the analysis runs for. Every result is measured at the end of this period.

What to enter: How many whole years to run the analysis for. The property is treated as sold at the end of it.

If you're unsure: If you are unsure how long you would stay, that uncertainty is itself worth analysing: run a short and a long horizon and compare. In the Buy to Rent mode the Exit strategy tool does this for several holding periods at once.

Tools that help: Exit strategy · Scenarios

Watch out: Setting the horizon to the loan term out of habit. They are independent — you can sell long before the mortgage ends.

One-time official costs of legally transferring the property into your name.

What to enter: The total one-time transfer and registration cost, as an amount of money. Enter only the share you pay.

Where to find it: The land registry's published rates for your country, or your lawyer or agent, who will normally quote this before completion.

One-time cost of the lawyer or conveyancer handling the purchase.

What to enter: The one-time cost of your lawyer or conveyancer, as an amount of money.

Where to find it: A quote from the firm handling the purchase. Most will give a fixed price before you instruct them.

One-time money spent on the property after buying it, before it is ready to live in or let.

What to enter: What you expect to spend on work before moving in or letting. Enter 0 if none is planned.

If you're not sure: Get a builder's quote for the specific work if you can. Where that is not possible yet, list the rooms and items you would actually change, price them individually, and add them up — a single round guess for the whole property tends to be far too low. Then re-run with a higher figure to see how much a cost overrun would matter.

One-time cost of furnishing and equipping the property.

What to enter: What you expect to spend furnishing and equipping the property. Enter 0 if it comes furnished or you need nothing.

If you're not sure: Price the specific items the property actually needs — appliances, beds, seating — rather than guessing a total.

One-time fees charged for arranging the loan, such as arrangement or origination fees.

What to enter: Enter the total as a single amount, or 0 for a cash purchase or where the lender charges nothing.

Where to find it: The lender's fee schedule or the key facts sheet accompanying the loan offer.

Any remaining one-time cost of buying that the other fields do not already cover.

What to enter: Any other one-time cost of buying — surveys, inspections, buyer's agent fees — as a single total.

Where to find it: Quotes for the specific services you intend to use. Your lawyer or agent can usually list what is customary locally.

Watch out: Repeating a cost already entered in another field. Entering it twice quietly overstates what buying costs you.

The recurring charge paid to the building or estate for shared maintenance and services.

What to enter: The building or estate fee PER MONTH. If yours is billed yearly, divide by twelve.

Where to find it: The building's management office or committee, the seller's recent bills, or the listing — it is usually disclosed.

Watch out: Entering a yearly figure in this monthly field, which multiplies the real cost by twelve.

The recurring tax charged on owning the property.

What to enter: The recurring property tax PER YEAR.

Where to find it: The local tax authority's rates, or the seller's most recent tax bill.

Watch out: Entering a monthly figure in this yearly field.

The recurring cost of insuring the property.

What to enter: The cost of insuring the property PER YEAR.

Where to find it: A quote from an insurer for this property. Quotes are quick to obtain and do not commit you to anything.

Watch out: Entering a monthly premium in this yearly field.

The recurring cost of keeping the property in working order — repairs, servicing and replacements.

What to enter: What you expect repairs and upkeep to cost PER YEAR, on average.

If you're not sure: Real maintenance is lumpy — quiet years, then a large single repair — so an average yearly figure is the practical way to enter it. Base it on the property's age and condition and on the systems that will eventually need replacing, then re-run with a higher figure to see how much it would change your conclusion.

Watch out: Leaving this at zero. No property costs nothing to keep, and a zero here makes every result look better than it is.

Any remaining recurring cost of owning the property that the other fields do not cover.

What to enter: Any other recurring ownership cost PER MONTH — utilities you pay rather than the tenant, standing contracts, and similar.

Where to find it: The seller's recent bills, or quotes for the specific services you would take on.

Watch out: Entering a yearly total in this monthly field.

What it would cost you per month to RENT a property like the one you are considering buying.

What to enter: What you would PAY per month to rent a similar property in the same area. This is the alternative buying is compared against.

What to look at: Current rental listings for properties of a similar size, condition and location — ideally in the same building or street. Use asking rents you can actually see, not what you feel a place should cost.

Watch out: Entering what this property could be let out for. That is a different question, answered by the Buy to Rent mode.

How much you assume rent rises each year, as a percentage.

What to enter: The yearly percentage increase you want to assume for the rent you would pay. Enter 3 for 3%.

If you're unsure: Future rents cannot be looked up. Test a low, a middle and a high growth rate and see whether the verdict changes; rent growth matters more the longer your horizon.

Tools that help: Scenarios · Sensitivity

Watch out: Assuming rent must rise at the same rate as property values. They are separate assumptions here, and often behave differently.

The annual return you assume the renter earns on the money they did not spend on buying.

What to enter: The yearly return you assume on money invested instead of buying, BEFORE fees. Enter 7 for 7%.

If you're unsure: This is a forecast, not a fact, and it is one of the two assumptions that most often decides the verdict. Run a cautious and an optimistic value and see whether buying still wins in both — if it does not, the answer depends on a market nobody can predict.

Tools that help: Scenarios · Sensitivity

Watch out: Entering a return net of fees and then also entering fee drag, which subtracts them a second time.

The yearly percentage lost to fund and platform fees, subtracted from the investment return.

What to enter: Enter 0.5 for 0.5% — the fee as a yearly percentage, not as an amount of money. Enter 0 only if the investing side genuinely costs nothing.

Where to find it: The ongoing charge or expense ratio published for the funds you would use, plus any platform or account fee.

The agent's fee when you sell, as a percentage of the sale price.

What to enter: The agent's selling fee as a percentage of the eventual sale price. Enter 3 for 3%, or 0 if you would sell without an agent.

Where to find it: Local agents' published or customary commission rates. It is worth asking now, since it is charged on the future sale price and grows with it.

Any remaining one-time cost of selling that the commission does not cover.

What to enter: Any other one-time cost of selling, as an AMOUNT of money rather than a percentage.

Where to find it: Legal fees for a sale and any transfer or mortgage discharge fees — your lawyer can quote these.