PisoMetric user guide

What PisoMetric is

PisoMetric is a simulator for analyzing a property you are thinking of buying to rent out. It does not answer “is this a good investment?” but a more useful question:

With these numbers and these goals, under which conditions does the deal work, and where are its limits?

You enter the price, rent, financing and expenses; define what you need the deal to deliver; and instantly see the metrics, whether your goals are met, and what would have to change for them to be met.

Who it is for

• Individuals considering buying a property to rent out, with or without a mortgage, in any country.
• Anyone torn between two properties, two ways of financing the same one, or between long-term and short-term rental.
• Anyone who wants to know the most they can pay, or the rent they need, to meet their criteria.

It does not replace financial, tax or legal advice.

Country, currency and language

The property’s country, the analysis currency and the page language are independent: you can read PisoMetric in English and analyze an apartment in Portugal in euros, or one in the United States in dollars.

• When you choose a country, its usual currency is suggested only if you have not already chosen another one. Changing the language never changes the country or currency.
• There is no currency conversion: all amounts are in the currency you choose.
• If verified reference values for purchase taxes and costs exist for that location, you will see each item with its source and review date, and you can edit it. If not, you enter the total manually. PisoMetric never invents a tax.

How to use PisoMetric step by step

1. Property and currency. Enter the country (and the region if costs depend on it) and the analysis currency.
2. Purchase and rent. Enter the price, the purchase taxes and costs, and the monthly rent. That is already enough to see yields and cash flow.
3. Financing. If you are buying with a mortgage, turn on the option and enter the amount, nominal rate and term. The shortcuts (70%, 80%, 90%) calculate the amount on the price.
4. More detail. Expand upfront costs, occupancy and income, and recurring expenses. Each expense can be entered monthly or annually.
5. Goals. Turn on the ones that matter to you: minimum net yield, minimum monthly cash flow, minimum cash-on-cash or maximum upfront capital.
6. Read the results. Start with the goals summary and the main metrics. Then look at the breakdown from rent to cash flow.
7. Explore. Review the limits, stress tests and sensitivity map. Compare with another option or with a short-term rental.
8. Save or share. Print the report or save it as PDF, or generate a link with the scenario data.

Tip: every field and metric has an ⓘ icon with a short explanation, and metrics include “How is it calculated?” with the formula applied to your data.

The form fields

Only the price and rent are required. Everything else improves accuracy; if you leave it blank, it counts as 0 (or 12 months rented).

Purchase and rent

Purchase price

Purchase price of the property, excluding taxes and costs. It is the basis for the gross yield and the financed percentage (LTV). Use the price you expect to pay, not the asking price if you plan to negotiate.

Purchase taxes and costs

Transfer taxes, notary, land registry, administrative agency, legal fees… They depend on the country and region. They vary widely between countries and regions, and sometimes by buyer or property type. If PisoMetric has no verified reference values for your location, enter the total amount that applies to you.

Monthly rent

Monthly rent you expect to collect while the property is let. Compare it with actual rents in the area. Empty months are entered separately, under “Months rented per year”.

Financing

Buying with a mortgage

Turn this on if you will finance part of the purchase. Otherwise it is analyzed as a cash purchase.

Loan amount

What the bank lends you. It cannot exceed the total acquisition cost. The shortcuts (70%, 80%, 90%) are calculated on the purchase price. How much each bank finances depends on the country, the bank and your profile.

Nominal annual rate

Nominal interest rate of the loan. It is what sets the payment; do not use the APR. The APR includes fees and other costs and is useful for comparing offers, but the monthly payment is calculated with the nominal rate.

Term

Years to repay the loan. A longer term means a lower payment and more total interest.

Mortgage costs

Appraisal, origination fee, loan processing… They add to the capital you put in.

Mortgage when simulating other prices

Sets whether, when trying other prices, the loan keeps the financed percentage or the same amount. Only affects the maximum compatible price and the feasibility map. Your data does not change.

Additional upfront costs

Renovation

Work needed before renting. Added to the acquisition cost.

Furniture and equipment

Furniture, appliances and household items needed to rent the property.

Other upfront costs

Any other one-off setup cost, such as certificates, locksmith or cleaning.

Occupancy and income

Months rented per year

12 = rented all year. 11 = one empty month on average. Decimals allowed. Captures periods without a tenant between leases. It reduces income, but not the gross yield, which by convention is calculated over 12 months.

Other annual income

Additional income from the property, such as a storage room or parking space rented separately.

Recurring expenses

Property tax

Annual local tax on the property paid by the owner (for example, IBI in Spain).

HOA / building fees

Homeowners’ association dues or building fees. Usually monthly.

Insurance

Home insurance and, if you take it out, rent default insurance.

Maintenance

Annual reserve for repairs and replacements. Better to budget something even if the property is new.

Management

Agency or property manager fees if you outsource managing the rental.

Utilities you pay

Only those you pay as the owner (water, electricity, internet…), not the tenant’s.

Other expenses

Any other recurring property expense.

Goals

Minimum net yield

The deal meets this goal if its net yield is equal to or above this percentage.

Minimum monthly cash flow

Met if, after expenses and mortgage payments, you keep at least this amount each month.

Minimum cash-on-cash

Met if the return on the money you put in reaches this percentage.

Maximum upfront capital

Met if the money you need to put in does not exceed this amount.

What each metric means

The exact formulas are in the methodology. Here is what each figure means and how to read it.

Gross yield

One year of rent divided by the purchase price. The figure listings quote: it ignores expenses and vacancy. See formula

NOI

Net operating income: what the property generates per year after its expenses, before mortgage and taxes. See formula

Net yield

NOI divided by the total acquisition cost. Measures the property itself, regardless of how you finance it. See formula

Cash flow

Money left over (or that you need to put in) each month after expenses and mortgage payments. Before personal taxes. See formula

Cash-on-cash

Return on the capital you put in out of pocket, after accounting for financing. See formula

Upfront capital

Money you need to close the deal: total cost plus mortgage costs, minus the loan.

Total acquisition cost

Price plus purchase taxes and costs, renovation, furnishing and other upfront costs.

Mortgage payment

Fixed monthly payment (amortizing loan) calculated from the nominal rate, the term and the loan amount. See formula

LTV

Percentage of the purchase price financed by the bank. See formula

LTC

Percentage of the total acquisition cost that is financed. See formula

DSCR

How many times the property’s net income covers the mortgage payments. Below 1, it does not cover them. See formula

Simple payback

Years to recover the upfront capital from current cash flow. An approximation that ignores inflation and appreciation. See formula

How your goals are interpreted

Each active goal gets one of three statuses, always shown with text and an icon as well as color:

• ✓ Met: the metric reaches your goal.
• ✕ Not met: the metric falls short.
• ? Cannot be evaluated: the metric does not exist with that data (for example, cash-on-cash when you put in no capital).

There is no overall score: three out of four goals is not “75%”. The comparison uses the exact value: 4.996% does not meet a 5% goal, and in that case PisoMetric shows “4.996%” instead of “5.0%” so there is no contradiction.

What would need to change

With active goals, PisoMetric calculates for each variable the value beyond which they are no longer all met. Only one variable changes at a time; everything else stays the same:

• Maximum compatible price: the highest price that still meets your goals.
• Minimum required rent: the lowest rent that still meets your goals.
• Maximum tolerable vacancy: how many months per year the property can sit empty.
• Maximum operating expenses: how much annual expenses can rise.
• Maximum compatible nominal rate: the highest interest rate the deal can withstand (mortgage only).

If all goals are met today, you will see the break points. If not, the required conditions. If there is no solution, it says “Not reachable within the analyzed range”.

The sensitivity map

A grid of price (rows) and rent (columns) combinations around your scenario, which is outlined. Each cell is a full analysis. With goals: ✓ meets all, ~ meets some, ✕ meets none. Without goals: the value of the metric you choose.

Selecting a cell opens a temporary scenario: your data does not change until you click “Use this price and rent”.

Stress tests

Downside simulations applied to your scenario: rent −10%, one extra vacant month, expenses +15%, nominal rate +1 point (mortgage only) and all at once. For each one, you will see the net yield, cash flow, cash-on-cash and which goals still hold. They are not predictions: they show how much headroom the deal has.

A/B comparison

Click “Compare with another option” to create option B as a copy of the current one, change whatever you want, and compare both against the same goals. PisoMetric does not declare a winner.

Short-term rental

With “Short-term rental”, the same property is analyzed using the average daily rate (ADR), available nights, occupancy and average stay instead of a monthly rent. Costs include the platform fee, management, taxes or fees you pay, cleaning and laundry per stay, supplies per night and fixed annual costs.

You will see the break-even occupancy and rate (at which cash flow would be 0), dedicated stress tests, an ADR × occupancy map and a comparison with long-term rental. PisoMetric assesses economic viability: short-term rental regulations depend on the jurisdiction and any applicable permits.

Free and Pro

The free version calculates the complete deal: yields, cash flow, upfront capital, LTV, country, currency, reference purchase taxes and a share link. PisoMetric Pro adds advanced metrics, goals, limits, stress tests, sensitivity, A/B comparison, short-term rental, strategy comparison and the Pro report. Until payment is available, all features are free.

How your privacy is protected

• All calculations run in your browser. There is no server receiving your financial data.
• There is no sign-up, and we do not ask for your name, email, phone number or address.
• Your latest scenario is saved only in your browser; you can delete it at any time.
• Shared links carry the data after the # symbol, which is not sent to the server.

More details in the privacy policy.

Frequently asked questions

Looking for a specific term? See the glossary or the methodology.