What does this rental actually return?
Gross yield flatters every buy-to-let. Put in the price, the rent and your real costs and see net yield, annual cash flow after the mortgage, and the return on the cash you actually put in. Free, no sign-up.
A guide, not financial or tax advice. It doesn't model income tax, the Section 24 mortgage-interest restriction, or capital growth — net yield here is a property-level measure before tax. Talk to an accountant before buying. Nothing you type here leaves your browser.
Gross flatters. Net and cash flow tell the truth.
Gross yield is annual rent divided by the property price. It's the headline number agents quote, and it ignores every cost — so it always looks better than reality.
Net yield takes the rent, knocks off the weeks you've allowed for voids and your yearly running costs, then divides by the price. It's still before mortgage and tax, but it's a far fairer comparison between properties because it reflects what each actually costs to run.
Annual cash flow is the money left in your pocket after costs, voids and the mortgage. A property can show a healthy yield and still be cash-flow negative once a mortgage is on it — which is exactly the trap this is here to catch.
Cash-on-cash return divides that cash flow by the money you actually put in (deposit, stamp duty, fees, refurb). For a leveraged purchase it's often the number that matters most, because it tells you what your real cash is earning.
One thing it deliberately leaves out: tax. The Section 24 restriction on deducting mortgage interest, your income tax band, and capital gains all change the picture — that's an accountant's job, and a future Stead Tool of its own.
Run the numbers, then keep them.
Stead's landlord tools log rent and expenses against each property, build a tax-year P&L, and track the compliance that protects the yield — gas, EICR, EPC, deposits and notices, all in one place.