Comparing Rental Analysis Tools

How do you run the numbers on a property? Do you use pencil and paper? A spreadsheet? Some other online method? I personally have analyzed deals in two different ways and I’d like to share the pros and cons about each.

The two ways I analyze deals are on Google Sheets or by using the BiggerPockets Rental Property Calculator. Both give me accurate results but they do so in very different ways.

Google Sheet

I started out analyzing deals on a spreadsheet that I had created. Google Sheets is completely free to use and you can analyze an unlimited amount of deals using this method. You do have to have the knowledge on how to create one but it is really not that difficult once you get the hang of the formulas. It honestly is just simple multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction.

I read Brandon Turner’s Rental Property Investing in high school and immediately took the knowledge from that book to create my own spreadsheet. I had some inspiration from a guy I followed on Instagram and created a similarly-looking spreadsheet with the data that I wanted on it. This took some work but it was pretty rewarding at the time to create something like this. If you want a copy of my spreadsheet, check out the Analysis Tools section on my site.

I really like my spreadsheet but at the end of the day, it is just a spreadsheet. My version does not create any fancy graphs or charts. This could be added but mine does not have it at this time.

BiggerPockets Rental Property Calculator

I am a big fan of the BiggerPockets tool to analyze deals. It is simple to use and has a great interface. It even gives you an estimate of what the market rent would be for the property. (Just an FYI, I have found it to be on the lower end for my market). This tool creates a phenomenal finished product with charts and graphs that are easy to understand. I feel that this would be excellent to have if you were pitching a deal to a private money investor. It just has that professional look.

The downside to this tool is that with a free BiggerPockets account, you only have 5 free uses for the calculator. After that, you are out of luck or have to upgrade accounts. This costs money and if you are just starting out, you might not want to have this expense. I have analyzed over a hundred deals using BiggerPockets through the company I work for and can say that it is a great tool!

To conclude, I’d like to say that these are both great options. If you are just starting out I would advise you to create your own spreadsheet because it is not only free but it also forces you to gain an understanding of all of the formulas used when analyzing a deal. BiggerPockets does have the more professional look and there are a lot of pros that come a long with that. Give both a try and analyze some deals!