and here are the datas about the house and financing: Purchase Info Purchase Price $ 153'000 - First Mortgage $-100'000 - Second Mortgage $-0 = Downpayment $ 53'000 + Buying Costs $ 3'060 + Initial Improvements $0 = Initial Cash Invested $ 56'060 Square Feet 1'458 Cost per Square Foot $ 105 Monthly Rent per Square Foot $ 1.06 Mortgages First Second Loan-To-Cost Ratio 65.36 % 0 % Loan-To-Value Ratio 65.36 % 0 % Loan Amount $ 100'000 $ 0 Loan Type Amortizing Term 30 Years Interest Rate 6.75 % Payment $ 648.60 $ 0.00 Financial Metrics (Year 1) Annual Gross Rent Multiplier 8.3 Operating Expense Ratio 39.5 % Debt Coverage Ratio 1.33 Cap Rate (Purchase Price) 6.7 % Cash on Cash Return 4.5 % Assumptions Appreciation Rate 6.0 % Vacancy Rate 8.0 % Income Inflation Rate 4.0 % Expense Inflation Rate 3.0 % LTV for Refinance 70.0 % Selling Costs $ 10'710 

You figure you're buying power by taking your cash on hand and multiplying by 4 since commercial lenders generally will finance 75%.  

I think the assessors try to keep up with the market values, but they also have the other variable of the multiplier they use to play with to get the amount of money they need to try for without causing an uproar. 

Then multiply by x properties!

I'm wondering what is the "gross rent multiplier"? 

I tend to use a Gross Rent Multiplier, the "2% rule" everybody uses here is a 50 multiplier (50x rent). 

While they made your money multiply in ways you've never imagined. 

In my market, renovated homes typically sell for 40-60% more than the assessed value, so it can actually be a very useful screening tool when looking at properties - I know that I can look up the assessed value, multiply it times 1.4 or 1.6, and get an very rough estimate of the ARV.

I live in Eau Claire too and wouldn't mind sitting with you sometime.As far as your questions go...1) I'm not familiar with the 50% rule but ttypically the first calculation I do when looking at a property is the GRM (gross rent multiplier).  

Edit Report Other actions $1,300.00MONTHLY INCOME$1,636.01MONTHLY EXPENSES-$336.01MONTHLY CASHFLOW3.65%PRO FORMA CAP$10,140.00NOI$59,500.00TOTAL CASH NEEDED-6.78%CASH ON CASH ROI3.69%PURCHASE CAP RATEExpensesIncome50% RuleTotal operating expenses:Mortgage expenses:Vacancy:$65.00Repairs:$65.00CapEx:$26.00Management:$143.00P&I:$1,181.01Property Taxes:$156.00 $275,000PURCHASE PRICEPurchase Closing Costs$2,500.00Estimated Repairs$2,000.00Total Project Cost$279,500.00After Repair Value$278,000.00 Down Payment$55,000.00Loan Amount$220,000.00Loan Points$0.00Amortized Over30 yearsLoan Interest Rate5.000%Monthly P&I$1,181.01Total Cash Needed$59,500.00 Financial Info0.47%2% RULE $58,000.00TOTAL INITIAL EQUITY 17.63GROSS RENT MULTIPLIER 0.72DEBT COVERAGE RATIOAnalysis Over Time1% /yearEXPENSE INCREASE 2% /yearINCOME INCREASE 3% /yearPROPERTY VALUE INCREASEYear 1Year 2Year 5Year 10Year 15Year 20Year 30Total Annual Income$15,600.00$15,912.00$16,885.94$18,643.44$20,583.87$22,726.25$27,703.18Total Annual ExpensesOperating ExpensesMortgage Payment$19,632.09$5,460.00$14,172.09$19,686.69$5,514.60$14,172.09$19,853.79$5,681.70$14,172.09$20,143.61$5,971.52$14,172.09$20,448.22$6,276.13$14,172.09$20,768.37$6,596.27$14,172.09$21,458.48$7,286.39$14,172.09Total Annual Cashflow-$4,032.09-$3,774.69-$2,967.85-$1,500.17$135.65$1,957.89$6,244.70Cash on Cash ROI-6.78%-6.34%-4.99%-2.52%0.23%3.29%10.50%Property Value$286,340.00$294,930.20$322,278.19$373,608.75$433,114.94$502,098.92$674,778.97Equity$69,585.80$81,587.87$120,254.98$194,656.21$283,770.34$390,751.93$674,778.97Loan Balance$216,754.20$213,342.33$202,023.21$178,952.54$149,344.60$111,346.99—Total Profit if Sold *-$19,716.89-$12,262.63$14,221.03$73,502.48$154,596.89$261,436.42$572,322.66Annualized Total Return-33.14%-10.90%4.38%8.38%8.91%8.79%8.19%* Property value minus net cash expenditures and sales costs