Methodology

How Prudentia builds a rental-property screen

Prudentia keeps four layers distinct: your inputs, provider-supplied rental evidence, deterministic financial calculations, and AI-assisted interpretation. Here is what each layer can and cannot tell you.

01

Your inputs and assumptions

The screen begins with a property address and purchase price. You can adjust the assumptions used in the financial model, and the signed-in analysis shows the exact values applied to that result.

IncomeEstimated rent and vacancy
OperationsOperating-expense ratio
FinancingDown payment, rate, and loan term

Prudentia's starting values are editable inputs, not local market facts, financing quotes, or recommendations. That is why this public page explains the categories without publishing a supposedly universal set of defaults.

02

Provider-supplied rental evidence

Prudentia receives the subject property's estimated long-term rent, estimate range, available property attributes, and comparable rental listings from a specialized property-data provider.

A result can show up to five comps and available context such as listing status, distance, age, and similarity. Coverage and fields vary by property. Treat the estimate and comps as evidence to investigate, not as a guarantee of achievable rent.

What “source-backed” means hereYou can inspect the supplied estimate and comparable listings behind the screen. It does not mean Prudentia independently verified every listing or promises that a future lease will match the estimate.
03

Financial calculations

These metrics are calculated from the displayed price, rent, and assumptions by versioned application code. They are not generated or altered by AI.

MetricDefinition
Annual scheduled rentMonthly estimated rent × 12
Effective gross incomeAnnual scheduled rent × (1 − vacancy rate)
Operating expensesEffective gross income × operating-expense ratio
Net operating income (NOI)Effective gross income − operating expenses
Cap rateNOI ÷ purchase price
Debt serviceAmortizing loan payment from price, down payment, interest rate, and term
Annual cash flowNOI − annual debt service
Simplified cash-on-cash returnAnnual cash flow ÷ down payment (closing costs, initial rehab, and reserves excluded)
Gross rent multiplier (GRM)Purchase price ÷ annual scheduled rent
Debt-service coverage ratio (DSCR)NOI ÷ annual debt service
Breakeven vacancyVacancy rate at which modeled NOI equals annual debt service
A simplified first-pass modelThe current model covers leveraged scenarios with 1–99% down. Taxes, insurance, repairs, and capital expenditures are not separate inputs; they are captured only to the extent the operating-expense ratio represents them. Closing costs, initial rehab, reserves, taxes on income, appreciation, depreciation, and sale proceeds are excluded. The displayed cash-on-cash return therefore uses down payment, not total cash invested, as its denominator.
04

AI-assisted interpretation

AI helps summarize the supplied property data, calculated metrics, and assumptions. It does not assign the displayed financial metrics or a decision-grade investment score. In the deal-list workflow, it also helps extract structured property details for you to review before analysis.

The application validates the shape of a new AI response and pins numeric rent to the provider-supplied input. An AI summary can still be wrong or overstate what the evidence supports, so check it against the underlying figures and evidence before acting.

Worked example

Follow one set of assumptions through the model

Fictional example

This is a teaching example generated with the same calculation code used by Prudentia. It is not a property, customer result, market forecast, or financing offer.

Purchase and rent$250,000 · $2,500/mo
Operations7% vacancy · 38% expenses
Financing25% down · 6.75% · 30 years
Effective gross income$27,900

$30,000 × (1 − 7%)

NOI$17,298

$27,900$10,602

Annual debt service$14,593

$1,216 monthly payment × 12

Annual cash flow$2,705

NOI − annual debt service

Cap rate · CoC return6.92% · 4.33%
GRM · DSCR8.33 · 1.19

Two simple stress cases

CaseAnnual cash flowCoC returnDSCR
Base assumptions$2,7054.33%1.19
Rent falls to $2,250/month$9751.56%1.07
Expense ratio rises to 45%$7521.20%1.05

Neither stress case adds separately verified taxes, insurance, repairs, capital work, closing costs, initial rehab, or reserves. Those costs still need quotes, records, inspections, and deal-specific review.

Definitions and review basis

Built to be inspectable, not treated as a black box

Prudentia's separation of property operations, NOI, financing, debt service, cap rate, and DSCR follows established underwriting definitions. For orientation, see the OCC Commercial Real Estate Lending handbook. Rental evidence should be checked against leases and comparable-rent support; see Fannie Mae's rental-income guidance. Expense categories vary by deal; IRS Publication 527 is one useful inventory, not a substitute for tax advice.

Those sources inform terminology and diligence discipline; they do not certify this model, set universal investor thresholds, or make a residential first-pass screen equivalent to a lender appraisal or full underwriting.

Use the screen to decide what to investigate next.

A promising first pass is a reason to continue diligence. It is not proof that a property will perform.

Read the underwriting guide