Work out gross yield, net yield and monthly cash flow for any UK rental property, in seconds.
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Create free accountRental yield expresses the annual rent from a property as a percentage of what the property is worth. It exists so you can compare properties of different values on the same basis, which is why it is the number most investors reach for first when screening a purchase.
It is a useful shorthand, and it is also frequently misread. Yield is a snapshot of income against value. It is not a measure of profit, and it is not a verdict on whether something is a good investment.
Gross yield uses the rent and nothing else. It is quick, which is why listings quote it, and it consistently flatters a property.
Net yield subtracts what it costs to run the property: letting or management fees, insurance, maintenance and repairs, service charge and ground rent on a leasehold, safety certificates, and an allowance for void periods when nobody is paying rent.
The gap between the two is where most of the surprises live. A property advertised on a strong gross yield can look ordinary once a service charge and a realistic void allowance go in, and that gap is usually widest on leasehold flats.
Yield is most useful as a comparison tool rather than a target. Comparing the net yield of your own properties against each other tells you which are pulling their weight and which are quietly being carried, and that is a far more actionable question than whether a number clears some national average.
It also pays to recalculate. Rents move, costs move, and valuations move. A yield worked out on the day you bought is a historical figure, not a current one.
This calculator gives you a figure for one property, right now. Seeing how that property sits within everything else you own, how the number moves as costs change, and what it means for where you are heading, is what PROXERA is for.
You may also want the buy-to-let calculator for cash flow and ROI on a purchase, the deal analyser to model BTL, HMO and BRRR strategies side by side, or the guidance written for landlords and for portfolio investors.
There is no single figure, because it depends on the property, the area and how much of the purchase you borrowed. A flat in a high value area can show a modest gross yield and still perform well through capital growth, while a cheaper property elsewhere can show a high gross yield and leave very little once costs are taken out. The useful comparison is your own net yield across your own properties, side by side.
Gross yield uses the rent alone. Net yield subtracts the costs of actually running the property, such as management, insurance, maintenance, service charges and void periods. Gross yield is a quick screening number. Net yield is closer to what you keep.
Net yield is normally calculated before mortgage interest, so that you can compare properties independently of how each one is financed. To see what a property puts in your pocket each month after the mortgage, look at cash flow rather than yield.
Not on its own. Yield measures income against value at a point in time. It says nothing about capital growth, your tax position, how much equity you hold, or how the property fits your wider plan. It is one input among several.
Any time the rent changes, the running costs change, or the property is revalued. Yields drift quietly, and a figure worked out at purchase can be badly out of date within a couple of years.
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