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!
About the Author
Jesse Prince, a combat veteran, CEO of HappyNest, and a seasoned commercial real estate entrepreneur, is passionate about making real estate investing accessible to everyone. With the innovative HappyNest investment app, Jesse empowers investors of all budgets to grow their nest eggs through quality real estate investments. Jesse’s expertise spans various aspects of real estate, including acquisitions, asset and property management, valuation, credit analysis, and real estate securities evaluation.
