5 Free Microsoft Excel Property Analyzers to Make Investing in Real Estate Easier
I learned very quickly that real estate investing is all about the numbers.
Since I loved excel, and knew how to use it, creating spreadsheets to help me analyze properties faster, quicker, better, has helped me make better decisions about the real estate investments I purchase.
People always ask me for my spreadsheets, but having spent hundreds of hours creating them, perfecting them, making sure all the formulas work, learning new formulas, designing them, I would tell people "NO WAY".
But, that was the old me.
The new me wants more people to invest in real estate, AND I want them to make sure you buy good real estate investments.
Now you might be thinking, it's just simple math when it comes to analyzing a property to invest in.
And yes, I am a firm believer in Keeping It Simple Stupid (KISS).
Unfortunately I learned from experience that when it comes to investing real estate, it isn’t that simple.
There are many variables you need to consider, with the most important one being you need to analyze a property based on the strategy you are using.
And that means...
Never using a catch all type property analyzer!
This is because there are different calculations you need to consider.
So whether you are purchasing an investment property to buy and hold, fix and flip, or buy, renovate, rent, and refinance (BRRR)....
You need different spreadsheets for each.
To help those of you looking for a way to avoid making your own spreadsheets, I’ve put together a detailed list of the Excel spreadsheets you need, to simplify analyzing investment properties.
These will have you analyzing properties like a PRO in no time.
Know what's even better? You can download this full collection of Excel templates in one fell swoop.
Free Excel Spreadsheet Analyzers that Make Investing in Real Estate Easier
1. Buy & Hold
Once you can understand how to analyze a property to purchase and hold for the long-term, you have put yourself on the path to better understanding how to analyze a property.
This spreadsheet will help you to calculate whether a property will generate an income for you which will help you determine if the investment will put money in your pocket.
That's because generating positive cash flow is key when investing in real estate, as buying a property that loses money, after paying all your expenses and mortgage, is not a wise investment decision.
By inputting the necessary numbers, this spreadsheet will help you identify if the property is worth investing in, as well as the return the property will generate based on your investment.
2. BRRR
Many variables come into play when analyzing a property where you will be using the BRRR strategy.
No way should you just wing it, using a napkin, inputting the price you’re going to pay, adding in the renovation costs, and hoping for the best.
You need to factor in the amount of money that will still be tied up, if any, in the property, after you refinance the property.
You need to analyze your ROI.
You need to analyze the cash flow after you refinanced the property, making sure that with the higher mortgage, the property still generates an income.
This spreadsheet factors in all of these variables, allowing you to easily input the necessary numbers to confirm if it will be a good investment.
3. Fix & Flip
One of the more easiest strategies to analyze when investing in real estate, however, with this strategy being the riskiest, as a result of the capital that is required, you want to make sure you don’t miss anything.
This spreadsheet helps you to identify all the costs that you will incur when fix and flipping a property, that is, all the holding costs that you will incur while you are renovating the property.
As well, factoring in the time it takes to complete the renovations and then sell the property, since the longer you own the property until it sells, the more costs you will incur, which affects the bottom line; the profit you project to make.
4. BHIIR
A hybrid of the buy and hold and fix and flip strategy, the buy, hold, improve, increase rents (BHIIR) strategy when investing in multi-family properties helps you to identify the wealth you can build by increasing the income a property generates.
By taking into account the cap rate that the property could sell at, as well as also looking at the cash on cash return the property generates, you can determine the future value of the property, based on the income it makes, and projecting the potential profit you can make in a certain time period.
This is my go to spreadsheet when purchasing properties that aren’t performing well, due to the property usually generating below market rents, or are generating high expenses, which affect the bottom line of the property.
Which when investing in multi-unit properties, affects the value of the property, as investors look to the properties return as a gauge of the value.
5. NPV
Once you get the hang of analyzing properties, you are going to want to take your skills to the next level, and using the Net Present Value (NPV) calculation to help you analyze a property is crucial to building your skills as a real estate investor.
A bit confusing at first, but I’ve created a training video, which you can access here, that will guide you through how to use this spreadsheet, so that you can use this calculation when analyzing properties.
Knowing how to calculate a properties NPV will help you determine if its worth the investment.
Many investors before investing in a property have a return they are looking to achieve, and when calculating a properties NPV, or a renovation’s NPV, the result will tell you if the investment meets the return, and if it doesn’t, then you know right away it’s not worth the investment.
Want more real estate investing tools, check out these trainings, spreadsheets, and documents.
