The numbers every passive investor should know.

Real-estate operators quote numbers constantly and explain them rarely. The effect is the same either way: a single impressive figure, stripped of context, can make a mediocre deal look great. The antidote is simple — understand what each number measures, and always read them together.

What the property pays you now

Cash-on-cash return is the income you receive each year against what you put in — the checks that actually show up. Cash-on-cash vs. IRR →

The whole story, including time

IRR folds in the eventual sale and accounts for when each dollar arrives; the equity multiple tells you plainly how many times your money came back. A high IRR with a low multiple can just mean a quick, small win — which is why we never read one alone.

What a property is worth

The cap rate is the yield you would earn buying in cash — and a high one is not automatically a bargain. Cap rate in plain English →

Whether it survives a bad year

Two safety numbers matter as much as any return: debt-service coverage and break-even occupancy. They measure how much can go wrong before an investment is in trouble. DSCR → · Break-even occupancy →

Read them as a set

No single figure captures an investment. When we share targets with qualified investors, we show the income, the total return, the multiple, and the coverage together — always as targets, not guarantees. The goal is never to chase the biggest number on a page; it is to understand exactly what you are being shown.