Month: May 2023

Investors. Start! Your! Engines!

This article provides a simplified breakdown of NOI vs. Cash Flow, using cars as an analogy to (hopefully) make these complex topics more relatable, no matter your level of investment experience.

Real estate investing can often feel like trying to solve a complex puzzle – you have different pieces in the form of financial metrics, each telling a part of the story about your investment.

NOI and Cash Flow are two of the most important pieces. They’re similar but offer completely different perspectives on the same investment. While both are integral to understanding your property’s financial health, they serve distinct purposes and provide unique insights

NOI: Is The Engine Powerful

Think of NOI as a measure of your real estate investment’s ‘engine performance.’ It’s a snapshot of the income generated by your ‘investment vehicle’ after accounting for operating expenses – the necessary costs that keep your engine running smoothly. These costs include property management, repairs, utilities, property taxes, and insurance. However, financing costs, capital expenditures, and income taxes are left out of this equation. This ‘engine check’ provides a clear view of your property’s operational performance and potential to generate income. It’s a vital cog in determining a property’s capitalization rate (cap rate) and estimating its value using the income approach.

Cash Flow: Is The Car Fuel Efficient

Cash Flow, on the other hand, could be likened to your investment’s ‘fuel efficiency.’ It’s the net amount of cash or fuel moving in and out of your ‘vehicle’ over a period. It considers rental income and deducts ALL expenses, including operating and non-operating expenses like mortgage payments, capital expenditures, and income taxes. Cash Flow tells you how much ‘fuel’ or money is left after all expenses, indicating the ‘mileage’ or profit you’re getting from your investment.

NOI vs. Cash Flow: Reading the Dashboard

Both NOI and Cash Flow are critical ‘dashboard indicators’ when steering the vehicle of real estate investment. The difference lies in the types of expenses each metric considers.

NOI is all about engine performance, focusing only on operating income and expenses. It’s like checking your RPM (Revolution Per Minute) gauge, giving you a sense of your engine’s power without considering how much fuel you’re burning. NOI allows for comparing different properties based purely on their operational performance, regardless of their financing or tax circumstances.

Cash Flow, however, is your fuel gauge. It tells you how much fuel you’re burning and how far you can go with what’s left. It accounts for all cash inflows and outflows, providing a more holistic view of your investment’s overall ‘journey’ and revealing your take-home profit or the ‘distance’ you’ve covered profitably.

In the journey of real estate investing, NOI and Cash Flow are super important to reaching your destination. Each offers a different perspective on your property’s financial performance. By understanding both, you equip yourself with the knowledge to steer investments toward success. You have arrived.

Happy Investing!

Nowadays, effective personal financial management has become more important than ever before. With rising interest rates and inflation higher than it has been in decades, achieving your financial goals may seem like a daunting task. However, by understanding the importance of financial management and taking the proper steps, you can create a plan that fits your lifestyle and helps you accomplish your objectives. This beginner’s guide will touch upon the power of setting financial goals and provide a simple roadmap to help you embark on your personal finance journey.

 

Set Financial Goals

Setting financial goals is a significant part of personal financial management. It provides a clear vision of what you want to achieve and acts as a roadmap to guide your financial decisions. Whether saving for a down payment on a house, planning for retirement, or aiming to pay off debt, having well-defined goals can help you stay focused and motivated.

 

Creating a Plan You Can Stick To

A successful personal financial plan should be realistic, flexible, and tailored to your unique lifestyle.

To create a plan you can stick to, consider the following steps:

 

Overcoming Obstacles Like Higher Interest Rates and Inflation

Higher interest rates and inflation can create challenges when accomplishing your financial goals. However, there are creative ways to overcome these obstacles:

 

You Are in Control of Your Financial Future

Smart, consistent, and creative personal financial management is essential for navigating today’s economic landscape. By understanding its importance, setting clear financial goals, and creating a plan tailored to your lifestyle, you can overcome any obstacle and achieve your desired financial success. Remember, the journey to financial wellness begins with a single step, and it’s never too late to take charge of your finances.

You can do this!

Happy Investing 🙂

One of the most crucial skills every real estate investor should master is calculating Net Operating Income (NOI). As I’ve emphasized in previous articles, real estate investing is fundamentally a numbers game. This is a universal truth that bears repeating. Developing a deep understanding of the financial aspects of property investments is vital for success. Allowing emotions to influence your decisions is a surefire path to disaster. So let’s dive in!

In this article, we will define NOI, explain how it is calculated, provide a high-level example calculation, discuss the importance of NOI in determining cap rate and ultimately property value using the income approach, and compare NOI to EBITDA. As always, we’re providing a FREE downloadable Excel spreadsheet to help you grasp the concept and apply it to your own investments.

What is Net Operating Income (NOI)?

Net Operating Income, or NOI, is the income generated by a property after accounting for operating expenses but before considering financing costs, taxes, and non-cash expenses like depreciation and amortization. NOI is a critical metric for real estate investors because it reflects the property’s ability to generate cash flow from its core operations, helping investors make informed decisions when evaluating potential investments.

How to Calculate Net Operating Income

NOI = Net Effective Income – Operating Expenses

Net Effective Income is the actual income that a property generates after accounting for potential gross income, miscellaneous income, and vacancy expenses. Operating expenses include costs such as property management fees, insurance, utilities, repairs and maintenance, and property taxes. There are various perspectives on whether to include certain expenses, such as capital expenditure reserves, in the NOI calculation. However, for the purpose of this article, we will focus on a straightforward example.

Example Net Operating Income Calculation

Let’s assume you own a 10-unit apartment building with the following annual financials:

• Market rental rate per unit: $12,000
• Miscellaneous income (parking fees): $15,000
• Vacancy expense: 5% of potential gross income (PGI)
• Property management fees: $9,000
• Insurance: $3,000
• Repairs and maintenance: $5,000

To calculate the NOI, follow these steps:

1. Determine the potential gross income: $12,000 (market rental rate) * 10 (# of units) = $120,000
2. Solve for net effective income: $120,000 (potential gross income) + $15,000 (miscellaneous income) – $6,000 (vacancy expense * PGI) = $129,000
3. Add up the annual operating expenses: $9,000 (property management) + $3,000 (insurance) + $5,000 (repairs and maintenance) = $17,000
4. Solve for NOI by subtracting the operating expenses from the net effective income: $129,000 – $17,000 = $112,000

In this example, the property’s annual NOI is $112,000.

Here’s the same example calculation as above, but in Excel to help you visualize it all:

NOI’s Role in Cap Rate and Property Valuation

NOI plays a crucial role in determining a property’s capitalization rate (cap rate) and estimating its value using the income approach. While the income approach may be a new term for some, rest assured that we will address the various types of valuation techniques, including the income approach, in a subsequent article.

As a refresher, a cap rate is calculated by dividing the annual NOI by the property’s purchase price or current market value. Alternatively, you can also back into a property’s value by dividing the annual NOI by your desired cap rate:

Property Value = Annual NOI / Cap Rate

By accurately calculating NOI, real estate investors can make informed decisions regarding a property’s value and assess its potential return on investment.

NOI and EBITDA: A Comparison

You may be asking yourself, “Self, what is EBITDA?” Good question. EBITDA, which stands for Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortization, is a financial metric commonly used to evaluate a company’s operating performance. It provides a snapshot of a company’s profitability by measuring earnings before accounting for certain non-operating expenses and non-cash items. EBITDA is often used by investors and analysts to compare the financial health of different companies within the same industry. It can also be used to track a company’s performance over time.

While EBITDA focuses on a company’s operations, it shares some similarities with NOI in the context of real estate investing. Both NOI and EBITDA provide a snapshot of an investment’s profitability before accounting for financing costs, taxes, and non-cash expenses like depreciation and amortization. By focusing on the earning potential of an investment’s core operations, investors can more accurately assess the viability and profitability of the opportunity.

FREE Excel Spreadsheet for NOI Calculation

To help you master the NOI calculation and apply it to your own property investments, we’ve created a FREE Excel spreadsheet for you to download. The spreadsheet includes a step-by-step guide, an example calculation, and a customizable template for your own property analysis. Click the link below to get your copy now!

Download the FREE Net Operating Income Excel Spreadsheet

Key Takeaways

Net Operating Income (NOI) is a critical financial metric for real estate investors for myriad reasons. By accurately calculating NOI, investors can make informed decisions when comparing potential investments, estimating property values, and determining cap rates.

Use our free Excel spreadsheet to practice your NOI calculations and enhance your real estate investing skills. With a solid understanding of NOI and its implications, you’ll be better equipped to make smart investment decisions and maximize your returns.

Happy investing!