Breaking Down The 1% Rule In Real Estate (2024)

When it comes to real estate investing, the 1% rule isn’t the only method to determine the best opportunities to buy a rental house. Other popular methods include the gross rent multiplier, the 70% rule and the 2% rule.

Gross Rent Multiplier

The gross rent multiplier (GRM) gauges the amount of time it takes to pay off an investment. It’s a property’s purchase price divided by its gross annual rent. The result is the total number of years it’ll take to pay off the investment only with rental income. The lower the GRM, the more lucrative the property may be.

Purchase price ∕ Gross annual rent = Years to pay off investment

Let’s say you purchase a $200,000 investment property. You charge $2,500 in monthly rent, and your annual gross rental income is $30,000 (2,500 12).

$200,000 ∕ $30,000 = 6.67 years

The property’s GRM is 6.67. So, it should take about 6 years and 7 months to pay off the property with rental income. Of course, you’ll need to consider other expenses when determining a property’s profit potential, including repair, operating and maintenance costs and vacancy rate.

You can use GRM to compare investment properties, too. If one property has a GRM of 6.67 while another has a GRM of 8.33, the property with the lower GRM (6.67) may be the better option because you should be able to pay off the investment faster. When comparing properties, make sure they’re in similar markets with similar operating, maintenance and other costs.

70% Rule

The 70% rule is for house flippers. It recommends that an investor pay no more than 70% of a home’s after-repair value (ARV) minus repair costs.

To calculate the 70% rule, multiply the home’s estimated ARV by 0.7 (70%). Take the result and subtract any estimated repair costs. The final result will be the amount you should pay for the property. Let’s look at an example.

Let’s say you’re interested in a property you estimate will have an ARV of $150,000. You also estimate you’ll need to spend about $30,000 on repairs to flip the home.

$150,000 ✕ 0.7 = $105,000 – $30,000 = $75,000

Based on the 70% rule, you shouldn’t pay more than $75,000 for the property.

2% Rule

The 2% rule works the same as the 1% rule. The 2% rule says an investment property’s monthly rent should equal at least 2% of the purchase price.

Purchase price + Repair costs ✕ 0.02 = Monthly rent

Here’s how to apply the 2% rule on a property selling for $150,000:

$150,000 ✕ 0.02 = $3,000

According to the 2% rule, your monthly mortgage payment shouldn’t exceed $3,000, and you should charge $3,000 in monthly rent.

The 2% rule is more extreme than the 1% rule – basically doubling the monthly rent amount. But it can work in certain markets and provide a financial safety net if an investor struggles to fill vacancies or needs a major, costly repair on the property.

No matter which rule you choose, you can run the numbers on a potential property to help ensure you’re making an affordable investment.

Breaking Down The 1% Rule In Real Estate (2024)

FAQs

Breaking Down The 1% Rule In Real Estate? ›

The 1% rule states that a rental property's income should be at least 1% of the purchase price. For example, if a rental property is purchased for $200,000, the monthly rental income should be at least $2,000.

How realistic is the 1% rule in real estate? ›

The 1% rule isn't foolproof, but it can be a good tool to help you whether a rental property is a good investment. As a general rule of thumb, it should be used as an initial prescreening tool to help you narrow down your list of options.

How to calculate the 1% rule in real estate? ›

How the One Percent Rule Works. This simple calculation multiplies the purchase price of the property plus any necessary repairs by 1%. The result is a base level of monthly rent. It's also compared to the potential monthly mortgage payment to give the owner a better understanding of the property's monthly cash flow.

What is an example of the 1% rule? ›

Examples Of The 1% Rule

Let's say you need to make about $10,000 in repairs before renting the home. Add the cost of repairs to the home's purchase price for a total of $160,000. Then multiply the total by 1%. You'll get a $1,600 minimum monthly rental rate.

Is the 1% rule outdated? ›

The 1% rent-to-price (RTP) ratio rule, once a go-to method for estimating rental property cash flow, may no longer hold its ground in today's real estate landscape. Recent evidence suggests that this rule is losing its effectiveness due to inflated home prices and shifts in the rental market.

What is the golden rule in real estate? ›

Corcoran's Golden Rule of real estate investing consists of two main parts. The first is being able to purchase property with at least 20% down, ideally in a location that has started seeing an increase in demand. The second is to have tenants living on that property paying the mortgage.

What is the golden formula in real estate? ›

In case you haven't heard of the so-called Golden Rule in house flipping, the 70% Rule states that your offer on a property should be no greater than 70% of the After Repair Value (ARV) minus the estimated repairs.

What is the Brrrr method? ›

What is BRRRR, and what does it stand for? Letter by letter, BRRRR stands for “Buy, rehab, rent, refinance and repeat.” It's like flipping, but instead of selling the property after renovation, you rent it out with an eye on long-term appreciation.

What are some quotes from the 1% rule? ›

"If you can get 1% better each day for one year, you'll end up 37 times better by the time you're done."

What are two examples of rule? ›

Examples of rule in a Sentence

The new rule allows employees to dress casually on Fridays. Under the new rules, casual dress is now allowed. the company's rules and regulations It's important to learn the rules of the road before taking your driving test. It's against the rules to eat during class.

What is an example of rule by one? ›

Autocracy is the form of government where one person rules. Dictatorships and absolute monarchies are two forms of autocratic government. Ancient Egypt was an example of a society with an absolute monarchy. Nazi Germany was an example of a dictatorship.

What is the 2% rule in real estate? ›

Applied to real estate, the 2% rule advises that for an investment property to have a positive cash flow, the monthly rent should be equal to or greater than two percent of the purchase price.

What is the 1% rule for no properties meet? ›

Ultimately, real estate's 1% rule states that the gross monthly rent should equal or exceed 1% of the purchase price of a property. If this condition is met, you can expect that the property is likely to yield a positive cash flow.

What is the 50% rule in real estate? ›

The 50% rule or 50 rule in real estate says that half of the gross income generated by a rental property should be allocated to operating expenses when determining profitability. The rule is designed to help investors avoid the mistake of underestimating expenses and overestimating profits.

Is the 2% rule in real estate realistic? ›

While the 2% rule can be a good starting point, it's really just the tip of the iceberg in determining whether a rental property is a good investment. It's also important to look at how much money you'll invest upfront and on an ongoing basis in order to get a better sense of how much profit you're likely to realize.

What is the 80% rule in real estate? ›

When it comes to insuring your home, the 80% rule is an important guideline to keep in mind. This rule suggests you should insure your home for at least 80% of its total replacement cost to avoid penalties for being underinsured.

Why is there a 70% rule in real estate? ›

The 70% rule helps home flippers determine the maximum price they should pay for an investment property. Basically, they should spend no more than 70% of the home's after-repair value minus the costs of renovating the property.

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