Underwrite a Florida rental before you offer.
Cap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCR, the 1% rule and monthly cash flow, the numbers investors actually buy on. Pick a county and every input is pre-filled with real local home value, market rent, insurance and property tax. Change anything and the math updates live.
Typical value and rent are Zillow ZHVI and ZORI for the county; insurance prefills to the county average Citizens premium (the state insurer of last resort). Property tax uses verified FY2025-26 county millage at the non-homestead rate, the same engine as our True Cost and Save Our Homes tools. Maintenance, vacancy and management are percentages of rent. Investment-loan rates usually run above the headline 30-year average, so nudge the rate up for a realistic quote. This is an estimate, not financing or investment advice. See the county's full housing scorecard or the highest cap-rate counties.
What is a good cap rate for a Florida rental?
Cap rate is net operating income divided by price, and it varies by market and risk. In much of Florida, cap rates on single-family rentals sit in the 4 to 7 percent range; higher is better for the buyer, but a very high cap rate often signals a riskier area or heavier expenses. This tool prefills each county's typical value and rent so you can see where it lands before you offer.
What is the difference between cap rate, cash-on-cash and DSCR?
Cap rate measures the property's return ignoring financing (NOI / price). Cash-on-cash measures your return on the actual cash you put in (annual pre-tax cash flow / cash invested), so it reflects your down payment and loan. DSCR (debt-service coverage ratio) is NOI / annual loan payments; lenders on investment loans usually want 1.2 or higher, and a DSCR loan is approved on the property's income rather than your personal income.
What is the 1% rule?
A quick screen: monthly rent should be at least 1 percent of the purchase price. A $300,000 home would need $3,000/month rent to pass. Very few Florida markets clear 1% today, so treat it as a flag, not a hard cutoff, and rely on the full cap-rate and cash-flow math below it.
Where does the data come from?
Typical home value and market rent are Zillow's ZHVI and ZORI for the county. Insurance prefills to the county's average Citizens premium. Property tax uses verified FY2025-26 county millage at the non-homestead rate (investment property gets no homestead exemption). The mortgage rate is the current Freddie Mac 30-year average; investment loans typically price above it, so adjust the rate field up for a realistic quote.