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Updated almost 6 years ago,
25% down smarter for a rental property?
I've been getting the advice that putting 20% down, when available, is a smarter choice than putting 25% down, all in the context of rental property purchases. The reasoning seems to be that a) 20% down keeps more cash free for additional investments, and b) it takes longer to cover the initial investment with cash flow.
However, when the lower interest rate with the 25% downpayment is taken into account, my numbers keep showing that Cash on Cash return is better in the 25% scenario and in fact the initial investment is paid off earlier. If an investor is paying off principal with the cash flow, they will sooner arrive in the place where no debt service is required, and that extra/earlier cashflow in the 25% scenario seems to far outweigh the advantage of being able to buy more property with the additional leverage in the 20% scenario.
What am I missing? Thanks in advance for your financial genius...
Example numbers (commentable Google spreadsheet here):
Scenario | 20% Down | 25% down |
Purchase Price | $100,000 | $100,000 |
Monthly Rent | $1,000 | $1,000 |
Monthly Expenses and Vacancy | $400 | $400 |
Net Operating Income and Cap Rate | ||
Total Annual Operating Income | $12,000 | $12,000 |
Total Annual Operating Expense | $4,800 | $4,800 |
Annual Net Operating Income | $7,200 | $7,200 |
Capitalization Rate | 7.20% | 7.20% |
Loan Information | ||
Down Payment | $20,000 | $25,000 |
Loan Amount | $80,000 | $75,000 |
Lender & Title Fees | $2,000 | $2,000 |
Length of Mortgage (years) | 30 | 30 |
Annual Interest Rate | 5.5% | 5.0% |
Initial Investment | $22,000 | $27,000 |
Monthly Mortgage Payment (P&I) | $454 | $403 |
Total Annual Debt Service | $5,451 | $4,831 |
Cash Flow and ROI | ||
Years to repay initial investment | 12.6 | 11.4 |
Total Monthly Cash Flow (before taxes) | $146 | $197 |
Total Annual Cash Flow (before taxes) | $1,749 | $2,369 |
Cash on Cash Return (ROI) | 7.95% | 8.77% |