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.
Compare every Florida county on your settings
Each county at its typical home value, typical rent and average Citizens premium, run through the down payment, rate, term, vacancy, maintenance and management you set above, with non-homestead property tax. HOA, other costs and closing are left out because they are property-specific.
| County | Typical value | Rent | Cap rate | Cash flow/mo | DSCR |
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* Rent estimated from the county's home value (no Zillow rent index for that county). Typical values are county-wide figures, not the value of any specific property. Tap a county to load it into the calculator. Comparison added October 28, 2026. Large-investor rules for 2027: read what the ban on big investors buying homes means for Florida.
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. Run on each county's typical home value and rent with this tool's default expenses, estimated Florida cap rates mostly fall between about 3 and 5 percent in late 2026; a home bought below the county's typical value or rented above it can run higher. Higher is better for the buyer, but a very high cap rate often signals heavier expenses or more risk. The county comparison below the calculator ranks every county on your own settings.
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.
Why do so few Florida rentals cash-flow with a mortgage right now?
Because the typical county cap rate sits below the mortgage rate. When net operating income as a share of price is lower than the interest rate on the loan, each borrowed dollar costs more than it earns, so more leverage means weaker cash flow. The county comparison shows this on your own settings: raise the down payment or lower the rate and watch how many counties turn positive. The break-even line tells you the down payment or rate at which the property in the calculator reaches zero monthly cash flow.
Does the 2027 ban on large investors buying homes affect me?
Not if you are an individual or a small landlord. Starting January 7, 2027, the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act generally bars a large institutional investor, defined as an entity with investment control over at least 350 single-family homes, from buying more single-family homes, with exceptions that include build-to-rent and qualifying renovate-to-rent purchases. Treasury proposed its first implementing rules on October 22, 2026, and they could change before they are final. Investors below the 350-home threshold are not covered. This is general information, not legal advice.