True rental yield after management, maintenance, void, and insurance costs.

300,000 property with 18,000 gross rent (6% gross yield). Subtract 10% management (1,800), 1,500 maintenance, 5% void (900), 400 insurance: net rent 13,400, net yield 4.47%. The 1.53 percentage point difference looks small but is 25% of the gross yield — it matters enormously over decades.

How to use it

Enter property value, annual gross rent (12 months full occupancy), agent management fee percentage, annual maintenance estimate (0.5-2% of property value typical), and expected vacancy percentage.

What's still excluded

Tax, mortgage interest, and capital expenditure (new roof, boiler). These are individual-specific. For true return on equity, run the tool then subtract tax rate and add mortgage amortisation math.

Run it with sensible defaults

Using property value of 300,000, annual gross rent of 18,000, management fee of 10%, annual maintenance of 1,500, the calculation works out to 4.47%. Nudge the inputs toward your own situation and the output recalculates instantly. The defaults are meant as a starting point, not a recommendation.

The levers in this calculation

The inputs — Property Value, Annual Gross Rent, Management Fee %, Annual Maintenance, and Vacancy Rate — do not pull with equal force. Frequency and unit price pull the total in different directions. The biggest surprise for most people is how small recurring amounts compound into large annual figures — that's where this calculation earns its keep.

How the math works

Net rent equals gross rent minus: management fee (% of rent), maintenance, vacancy (% of rent), and insurance. Net yield is net rent divided by property value. Excludes tax and mortgage costs. The working is transparent — you can verify every step yourself in the formula section below. No black box, no opaque "proprietary model".

Where this fits in planning

This is a "what-if" tool, not a forecast. Use it to test ideas before committing: what happens if the rate is 2% lower than hoped, what happens if you add five more years. The value is in the scenarios you run, not the single answer you get from the defaults.

What this doesn't capture

Steady-rate math ignores real-world volatility. Actual returns are lumpy; sequence-of-returns risk matters most in drawdown; fees and taxes drag on compound growth; and behaviour changes in drawdowns can reduce outcomes below the projection. Treat the number as one scenario, not a forecast.