Rental yield: definition & calculation

Should you decide on a yield property for your real estate investment, the question quickly arises:

Is this property worthwhile as an investment?

After all, buying real estate does not only entail immense costs at the beginning. There are also ongoing operating costs to be paid later on during the rental period. So to make sure that this expense is worthwhile, there is the rental yield. In other words, the rental yield puts your investment in relation to the potential rental income.

Formula for gross rental yield: percentage

To calculate the rental yield, the cold rent (without operating costs) and the purchase price of the property must be put into relation. The complete formula is:

Annual net income / investment * 100 = rental yield

The result is then in percent. The higher the percentage, the better the return. And the better the return, the more you earn from the property. As a real estate investor, you should ideally build up wealth again directly so that you can then invest it in further real estate as a capital investment.

Yield & location: A, B & C location

The decisive factor for the rental yield is the location of your property. Is the property in an A, B or C location? What about the macro and micro location? And is it a yield or investment property? Depending on the location, the respective property types have different rental yields.

A-location: Frankfurt & Munich

Typical for A-locations are low yields and a steady increase in value. Over the long term, therefore, rental yields rise here just as the value of the property itself does. The best examples of this are top A locations such as Munich and Frankfurt:

• Munich Ø Yield ~ 3
• Frankfurt Ø Yield ~ 4

B-location: Dresden & Nuremberg

In principle, B locations also have good returns. In addition, there has also been a significant increase in value here. The ideal rental yield in B locations is between 5 and 6 percent:

• Dresden Ø Yield ~ 5
• Nuremberg Ø Yield ~ 6

C-location: Wuppertal, Chemnitz, Krefeld

Gross rental yields are highest in C locations. On the other hand, there is no increase in value and the risk of vacancy is higher. Here are some examples:

• Wuppertal Ø Yield ~ 7
• Chemnitz Ø Yield ~ 8
• Krefeld Ø Yield ~10

Conclusion: What is the minimum rental yield?

The amount of the rental yield is therefore calculated according to a fixed formula and varies depending on the location and type of property. In principle, the higher the yield, the more profit is made. And the better the location, the lower the yield. Thus, yield properties are worthwhile above all in B and C locations, while you should choose properties in A locations above all for investment properties.

Learn more about rental yield here:

• Rental yield: Return on real estate (external)

If you want to learn even more on the subject of buying a property, whether owner-occupied or capital investment, numerous articles, guides on the subject of rented vs unrented, as well as checklists, all free and 24 hours online available, with us!

Apartment, house, apartment building, everything for real estate beginners!

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• Buy property: learn – external

Creditworthiness: Who checks what here?

In modern business dealings, it is impossible to imagine business without the examination of creditworthiness – i.e. credit rating. The reliability in payment matters is already checked with each purchase with a credit card. Installment purchases in the electrical goods market, for example, only work for the customer if the creditworthiness is checked immediately. The classic institution for credit information of any kind is the Schufa. Since 1927, this credit agency, which is organized privately as a public limited company, has been early to assess the reliability of people in terms of their ability and dependability to pay.

Before someone else checks my own creditworthiness, I can always do it myself. Here too, the classic way is to enquire at the Schufa. The first (usually postal) inquiry with Schufa is free of charge. For each further one the Schufa charges a fee of 30,- €. The answer is then also sent by post. For both landlords and tenants, Schufa offers special service packages with which credit information is formally correct.

Of course, there are now also numerous ways to determine your creditworthiness online. The advantage: it is faster and I can look at my own data at any time. If an error is noted there, it can be corrected very quickly. No matter whether Schufa or one of the online providers: Without the use of an ID card, no one can access their credit ratings.

Credits: Current and long-term liabilities

In the first step, for example, information on current or terminated loans, credit cards or credit periods is recorded in the credit check.

Accounts: Bank, shares Depot & Co.

Furthermore, the auditors obtain information from the buyer about his own bank or current accounts, as well as overdraft facilities, mail order accounts or account terminations.

Contracts: Telephone, leasing, payment by installments.

Here, for example, information on the conclusion of contracts, contract cancellations and individual contracts is collected.

Debt: Debtor directories (like Schufa)

This step checks whether entries have already been made in debtor directories. However, such companies also store information on dunning notices, insolvency applications, foreclosures and also on affidavits.

Check Schufa and evaluate data correctly

By obtaining information from a credit investigation agency (Schufa) you create a foundation. But before you decide on a tenant, you should evaluate the data correctly, for which you need a lot of expertise and experience in “reading” the score values. If you make the wrong decision on this point, this circumstance can lead to high follow-up costs and much trouble.

In real estate transactions – and also in the case of letting – the commissioning of a real estate agent naturally also includes checking the creditworthiness of interested parties. This gives you the security to rent to a really solvent applicant. You yourself have no work with the inquiry at the Schufa, since this service belongs to the achievements of the assigned real estate agent.

Likewise, you can be sure that you will only receive recommendations for those applicants who are eligible based on their income and creditworthiness. The evaluation of creditworthiness is carried out according to your criteria as owner. Do you have a very specific idea of the income, or rather the income level of your new tenant? If so, this important basis for you will be taken into account in the search for tenants and included in the screening of potential applicants. The pre-selection sent to you will save you a lot of time and nerves. Your gain is a maximum of security that you have found the right tenant for your property.

Letting with brokers? All advantages at a glance

Whoever thinks of renting out as a real estate owner does not always have an estate agent in mind at first. After all, the use of an estate agent costs money: Since June 1, 2015, the buyer principle has been in force in Germany for the procurement of living space: If you appoint an estate agent, you pay him. If the landlord appoints a broker to act as an agent, he must also pay him. If the broker finds a prospective tenant, the future tenant does not have to pay the broker anything.

What the broker costs when renting out

The amount of the commission is in principle freely negotiable for landlords. Usually it is between 1.5 and 2 net cold rents plus VAT. For tenants, the amount of commission is clearly limited by law: It may not exceed two net cold rents plus value added tax.

But: A real estate agent…

• Saves time and effort
  A good real estate agent takes over the time-consuming search for tenants on site.
• Offers more security!
  A good real estate agent checks the creditworthiness of potential tenants.
• Top rental agreement!
  A good real estate agent ensures a good tenancy agreement.
• Brings tax advantages!

Brokerage costs are tax deductible for the landlord.

Submarket at a glance: Subdivision of the real estate market into subareas

• Division into: Residential, Commercial, Industrial, and Specialty Real Estate.
• Further breakdown of submarkets
• It is not unusual for submarkets to overlap

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Here you come back to the main page: Calculator

Repayment calculator: credit, loan, installments

In most cases, construction financing includes a loan. This can be a bank loan, a subsidised loan or a low-interest loan from a building society. Regardless of the credit institution with which you have applied for financing and the interest rate you pay, the loan instalment consists of two elements. Interest and repayment are combined into one amount. The interest payment is retained by the bank, while the repayment is credited to your loan account. You can use a repayment calculator to determine the portion of the installments that will reduce your debt. Since the loan rate usually remains constant over the entire financing period, the ratio of interest to repayment shifts each month. The reason for this is that the interest is always recalculated based on the outstanding loan amount.

Change in redemption

Since the loan amount decreases with each repayment, the repayment grows continuously compared to the interest payments. This means that at the beginning of your financing you have a high interest burden and a low repayment. As you keep servicing the same loan payments, this ratio shifts. Eventually, the ratio has reversed and you are paying a high amortization with a low interest rate. When you take out a real estate loan, the interest and repayment are already calculated for the entire term. You can see in your loan agreement what amount you are actually paying off each month. With a repayment calculator you can determine this amount exactly.

Use repayment calculator effectively

The repayment calculator determines the amount by which you actually pay off your real estate debts each month. The interest payments are not taken into account. You can use the repayment calculator in different ways. If you have already taken out a real estate loan, you can determine which repayment rate applies to your current payments. However, the repayment calculator is also a very good tool when choosing a construction financing, with which you can make an effective planning.

With a construction loan, the bank sets the interest rate. You can only influence this by choosing a cheaper financing. The situation is different when it comes to repayment. You determine the repayment rate. At the beginning, the repayment rate is one percent due to the high interest burden after taking out a new real estate loan. It can increase dynamically or be fixed. With the repayment calculator, you can determine which repayment rate can be realized based on your individual financial possibilities. In principle, you pay off the loan faster with a higher repayment rate. However, you must be able to afford the costs. In the repayment calculator, you have the option of trying out different calculations to determine the ideal financing for your individual needs.

Calculator at a glance

Calculator – Exact planning of the construction financing

Calculators are necessary in relation to construction financing in order to accurately determine the cost of purchasing or renovating a property. A calculator is also used to determine the cost of the loan. The credit costs are composed of the interest and the repayment portion for the current loan amount. The interest plays an important role. Since the term of a real estate loan is usually ten years, the interest payment is spread over a long period. If an offer from a bank is only half a percentage point cheaper in their interest, you can already save several hundred euros a year. This is also due to the high loan amounts, which for most construction financing a six-digit amount. Before taking out a loan, an individual consultation is important. Often the construction financing consists of several pillars and not just a single loan. A building savings contract, equity capital and development loans come before taking out the classic bank loan. The reason for this is that these financings are significantly cheaper than the bank loan in terms of their costs. The calculator helps you to divide the financing into different elements and thus determine the costs with certainty.

• . Learn more about the calculator.

Interest calculator – Construction financing

The interest rates are a very large item in a construction financing. It is recommended that you compare the various offers and conditions well in advance. In this way, you will find out which construction financing is particularly favorable. Since the interest is a very large part of the monthly loan payment, especially in the first years of real estate financing, it is important that you try to save costs.

• Learn more about the interest calculator.

Budget Calculator – Equity & Income

Before the purchase of a house, a comprehensive renovation or a new building can be planned, it is very important to determine the available budget. Construction financing is planned over a period of many years. Financing between ten and 25 years is possible. It is important that the financing is planned from the beginning on a secure foundation. The basis for the budget that is available to you for the conclusion of a construction financing is your income.

• Learn more about the budget calculator.

Offer comparison calculator – advice & options

The offer comparison calculator is an important tool when it comes to choosing a partner for taking out construction financing. Many builders are dependent on taking out a classic loan at a bank or savings bank, because the funds from the equity, a building savings contract and a subsidized loan are not enough. Although the comparison possibilities of the indication by the Internet are very simple and transparent, many owners trust only in the offer of their house bank.

• Learn more about the quote comparison calculator.