How Much Cash Flow Should Your Rentals Make?

January 30, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

🎙️ The Voices & The Context

The Format: Solo monologue in an educational podcast episode, structured like a masterclass with examples, breaks for ads, and clear calls to action.
The Key Players: Dave Meyer, Chief Investment Officer at BiggerPockets and seasoned real estate investor who's analyzed thousands of deals. No guests—just Dave sharing his expertise directly.
The Vibe: Educational and motivational, blending practical advice with optimism for 2026 real estate investing. Intense focus on numbers but delivered conversationally to empower beginners and pros.

🗝️ Key Themes & Topics

Dave breaks down cash flow myths, metrics, and strategies for rentals in today's market, emphasizing realistic expectations over hype. Key discussions revolve around proper analysis to build long-term wealth.

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What you'll learn

1 (00:00) **Introduction to Cash Flow Evaluation**
2 (01:25) **Defining Real Cash Flow**
3 (02:38) **Cash-on-Cash Return vs. Absolute Dollars**
4 (08:07) **Stabilized Cash Flow Target: 7%**
5 (10:37) **Why 7% Cash-on-Cash?**
6 (17:05) **Cash Flow vs. Appreciation Trade-Off**
7 (19:46) **Personalizing Targets and Conservative Underwriting**

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Show Notes

Every new real estate investor asks one question: How much cash flow should my rental property make?

For years, you’d hear things like “$200 per month per door” or “it has to hit the 1% rule”. But with so many of these rules outdated, we need a 2026 refresh on real estate cash flow. In today’s housing market, what is good cash flow for a rental property?

This is how much your rental properties should cash flow each month to help you reach financial freedom.

We’ll show you exactly how to calculate cash flow, the cash flow goal Dave personally sets for his portfolio, and when a property doesn’t need to cash flow based on other crucial factors. Plus, how to create your “worst case scenario” when analyzing a rental property, so even if everything goes wrong all at once, you’ll still be able to pay your mortgage, keep your rental going, and not lose sleep.

Is the cash flow you’re making enough, or are you falling behind? We’re sharing it all in this episode.

In This Episode We Cover

How much cash flow should you be making on a rental property (in 2026)?

How to calculate cash flow, cash-on-cash return, and other crucial money metrics

Why Dave doesn’t care (too much) about year one (or day one) cash flow

Breaking even on your rental? Why this isn’t a bad thing if you’re in a specific situation

The cash-on-cash return a rental property has to hit for Dave to move forward on it

And So Much More!

Check out more resources from this show on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BiggerPockets.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠