Rental property expense checklist

Model: Model time without rent between tenants and any seasonal or market-specific vacancy risk.

Evidence: Current lease history, local vacancy evidence, property-manager input, and realistic turnover timing.

Model: Separate unpaid or delayed rent from physical vacancy when the tenant profile or operating history makes it relevant.

Evidence: Rent ledger, payment history, arrears, concessions, and actual collections rather than scheduled rent alone.

Model: Include move-in incentives, free weeks, renewal concessions, or other reductions needed to obtain the modeled rent.

Evidence: Executed lease, leasing advertisement, property-manager quote, or documented local practice.

Model: Treat parking, storage, laundry, pet rent, utility reimbursements, and similar income as separate assumptions.

Evidence: Lease clauses, operating statements, payment history, and evidence that the charge is legal and collectible.

Model: Use the expected bill after purchase, including possible reassessment, local assessments, and multiple taxing authorities.

Evidence: Current tax bill, assessor information, closing estimate, and jurisdiction-specific reassessment research.

Model: Price the actual intended use, deductible, liability limits, hazard exposure, and any flood, wind, earthquake, or umbrella coverage.

Evidence: Current written quote for the exact property and strategy, not the seller's old premium or a generic estimate.

Model: Include regular dues and separately investigate reserves, pending increases, rental restrictions, and special assessments.

Evidence: Current statement, budget, reserve study, meeting minutes, rules, declarations, and resale package.

Model: Account for water, sewer, trash, gas, electricity, internet, common-area power, or master-metered services paid by the owner.

Evidence: Twelve months of bills where available, lease allocation, utility-provider rates, and occupancy assumptions.

Model: Include landscaping, snow removal, pool service, pest control, security, private roads, septic, well, or storm-water obligations when applicable.

Evidence: Vendor quotes, service agreements, property history, inspection findings, and local requirements.

Model: Check rental registration, business licenses, local inspections, short-term-rental permits, and recurring compliance fees.

Evidence: Municipal rules, fee schedules, permit records, and confirmation that the intended rental strategy is allowed.

Model: Include recurring bookkeeping, tax preparation, entity, legal, payment-processing, and bank costs that belong to the property operation.

Evidence: Actual service pricing, current agreements, and a clear rule for which portfolio-level costs are allocated to this property.

Model: Capture any recurring line that does not fit elsewhere, then name it clearly instead of hiding it in a broad percentage.

Evidence: Invoice, contract, historical statement, or a written conservative assumption with an owner and review date.

Model: Include the fee structure, minimum charges, maintenance markups, and whether the percentage is applied to scheduled or collected rent.

Evidence: Written management proposal or current agreement for the property type and market.

Model: Model the cost of advertising, showings, screening, lease preparation, and placement each time a tenant turns over.

Evidence: Property-manager fee schedule and a realistic turnover frequency.

Model: Include recurring renewal, annual inspection, notice, coordination, or technology charges when the manager bills them separately.

Evidence: Full management fee schedule, not just the headline monthly percentage.

Model: Budget cleaning, paint touch-ups, locks, minor repairs, trash removal, utilities during vacancy, and lost days between tenants.

Evidence: Prior turns, local vendor pricing, unit condition, and lease deposit rules.

Model: Decide whether your normal maintenance reserve can absorb notices, legal fees, court costs, property damage, and extended nonpayment.

Evidence: Local attorney guidance, management process, landlord-law requirements, and an explicit contingency rather than an assumed zero.

Model: Model ordinary repairs and service calls that keep the property operating, such as plumbing, electrical, appliance, hardware, and minor exterior work.

Evidence: Property age and condition, inspection findings, maintenance history, and local labor pricing.

Model: Set aside for longer-life replacements such as roof, HVAC, water heater, exterior systems, appliances, paving, or major plumbing and electrical work.

Evidence: Remaining useful life, replacement scope, current quotes, warranties, and a component-level reserve schedule where practical.

Model: Keep pre-rent or post-close work separate from recurring maintenance so cash-to-close and stabilization timing remain visible.

Evidence: Written scope, contractor quotes, permits, contingency, holding period, and who is responsible for overruns.

Model: Decide how much cash must remain available after closing for deductibles, uninsured losses, vacancy, failed equipment, and timing gaps.

Evidence: Insurance deductibles, lender reserve requirements, property condition, household liquidity, and portfolio concentration.

Model: Identify work the seller postponed even when it is not yet a formal inspection defect or contractor line item.

Evidence: Inspection, seller disclosures, maintenance records, photos, service history, and specialist opinions when needed.

Model: Use the actual loan amount, rate, amortization, and payment structure. Separate interest-only periods, balloons, and adjustable-rate behavior.

Evidence: Current written lender terms tied to the expected closing date.

Model: Include origination, discount points, underwriting, processing, appraisal, legal, inspection, and other lender charges.

Evidence: Loan estimate, term sheet, lender fee schedule, and clarification of refundable versus nonrefundable items.

Model: Include title, escrow, recording, transfer charges, legal costs, prepaid taxes and insurance, and initial escrow funding.

Evidence: Current closing estimate and local transaction practice.

Model: Model required cash reserves, repair escrows, replacement reserves, debt-service coverage rules, and future reporting obligations.

Evidence: Final loan documents and written lender confirmation.

Model: Do not treat a future refinance, rate reduction, appraisal, or sale as guaranteed cash. Test whether the property survives if that event is delayed or unavailable.

Evidence: Current takeout criteria, conservative value and income assumptions, maturity date, extension terms, and alternative liquidity plan.

Model: Include platform fees, cleaning, linens, supplies, furnishing replacement, utilities, internet, local occupancy taxes, permits, and seasonal vacancy.

Evidence: Actual platform statements, local regulations, management quote, furnishing schedule, and market-specific seasonality.

Model: Include common-area utilities, turnover by unit, shared systems, fire and safety requirements, trash, grounds, and unit-specific leasing costs.

Evidence: Rent roll, leases, utility allocation, code records, inspection, and trailing operating statements.

Model: Keep commissions, transfer charges, legal or title costs, repairs, concessions, and taxes visible in any future exit analysis.

Evidence: Local transaction costs, tax advice, expected hold period, and a conservative sale scenario.

Model: A first-year model is not a full hold-period forecast. Consider how taxes, insurance, labor, utilities, rent, financing, and major replacements may change over time.

Evidence: Historical bills, policy renewal behavior, actual market data, lease terms, and scenario ranges rather than one precise forecast.