Property Investment Analysis Skill

A rental looks good until you run the real numbers — vacancy, maintenance, management, and debt service decide whether it actually cash-flows. This skill structures the analysis with the metrics investors actually use (NOI, cap rate, cash-on-cash, cash flow), shows the formulas and a worked example, and gives a verdict against the investor's target — so a deal is judged on math, not optimism.

Note: this is an analysis aid, not financial, investment, tax, or legal advice, and it does not guarantee returns. It computes from the figures and assumptions you provide; verify numbers and decisions with a qualified professional. Use real figures where given; never fabricate income/expenses — mark placeholders.

Working from a brief

Given a price and rent, run the analysis anyway — structure it with the standard metrics and a worked example, using realistic placeholder assumptions for any missing operating cost (replace with your numbers) (vacancy %, maintenance, management, taxes, insurance). Show the formulas. Never present invented figures as real.

Required Inputs

Ask for these only if they aren't already provided (else use labelled placeholders):

• Purchase — price, closing costs, expected rehab, and the financing (down payment, rate, term) if leveraged.
• Income — monthly rent (and any other income), and a realistic vacancy assumption.
• Operating expenses — taxes, insurance, maintenance, management, HOA, utilities, capex reserve.
• Investor criteria — target cash-on-cash / cap rate / monthly cash flow, and the strategy (buy-and-hold, etc.).

Output Format

Investment Analysis: [property]

• How the numbers work — the formulas up front: NOI = annual income − operating expenses (excl. debt); Cap rate = NOI / price; Cash flow = NOI − debt service; Cash-on-cash = annual cash flow / cash invested.
• Income — gross rent, vacancy allowance, effective income.