CapEx Calculator
Use Bellhaven's Capital Expenditures calculator to figure out exactly what to set aside each month for major replacements on any rental — single-family, small multifamily, or apartment-scale — and when you've saved enough to pause and pocket the cash flow. Enter your unit count, square footage, year built, and current reserves to instantly see your recommended monthly contribution, your reserve goal based on your two biggest replacement costs, an editable per-component breakdown of every major system (roof, HVAC, water heater, appliances, and more) you can tune to your property, and the next replacements coming due.
💾Save or share your CapEx plan
The link saves every override — recipients see your exact analysis.
🏠 The Property
Start with the basics. Defaults are sensible — refine each component below as needed.
Number of Units
one for SFH/condo, more for multifamily
Total Square Footage
all units combined
ft²
Year Built
41 years old
Reserve Savings
optional — projects how long you stay covered
$
📊 Your CapEx Plan
Monthly CapEx reserve
$116/mo
Per year
$1,388
$1,388/year
💰 Set aside $116/mo for CapEx
That's $1,388/yr. Long-term rate that funds every component on its replacement cycle.
Monthly Reserve
$116
Long-term steady-state rate
Annual Reserve
$1,388
What to save per year
Overdue Items
0
Nothing past lifespan
🎯 Reserve Goal
$0 / $13,000· 0%
💰 Building reserve — ~9.4 years to your goal
Save $116/mo until your reserve hits $13,000 (~$13,000/door). Then pause — let the steady contributions go to your cash flow until you need them.
Goal covers Roof + Flooring — the rule of thumb is a buffer for one or two of your most expensive replacements at once.
🗓️ Next replacements coming up
🚿
Water Heater
In 7 years
$1,476
estimated
🍳
Appliances
In 7 years
$3,444
estimated
🪵
Flooring
In 7 years
$7,379
estimated
🏠
Roof
In 9 years
$9,133
estimated
❄️
HVAC System
In 19 years
$9,644
estimated
💡 Park $116/mo in a separate high-yield savings account until your Reserve Goal is hit, then pause and pocket it. Tick the Component Breakdown to edit anything to match your property.
🔧 Component Breakdown
Edit any value to match your property. Defaults come from the year built — for older buildings we assume prior owners replaced items past their lifespan.
🚿Water Heater
7 yr left · future cost $1,476
$8/mo
Age
y
Life
y
Cost
$
🍳Appliances
7 yr left · future cost $3,444
$19/mo
Age
y
Life
y
Cost
$
🪵Flooring
7 yr left · future cost $7,379
$42/mo
Age
y
Life
y
Cost
$
🏠Roof
9 yr left · future cost $9,133
$23/mo
Age
y
Life
y
Cost
$
❄️HVAC System
19 yr left · future cost $9,644
$23/mo
Age
y
Life
y
Cost
$
🛁Bathroom Remodel
9 yr left · future cost $5,871
$15/mo
Age
y
Life
y
Cost
$
⚡Electrical Panel
9 yr left · future cost $3,262
$4/mo
Age
y
Life
y
Cost
$
🎨Interior Paint
9 yr left · future cost $2,936
$19/mo
Age
y
Life
y
Cost
$
🌳Landscaping
9 yr left · future cost $1,044
$7/mo
Age
y
Life
y
Cost
$
🍽️Kitchen Remodel
19 yr left · future cost $14,028
$22/mo
Age
y
Life
y
Cost
$
🚰Plumbing System
19 yr left · future cost $7,891
$6/mo
Age
y
Life
y
Cost
$
🚪Garage Door & Misc
19 yr left · future cost $2,104
$5/mo
Age
y
Life
y
Cost
$
🏚️Siding & Exterior
29 yr left · future cost $21,209
$21/mo
Age
y
Life
y
Cost
$
🛣️Driveway / Parking
29 yr left · future cost $9,426
$10/mo
Age
y
Life
y
Cost
$
🪟Windows
39 yr left · future cost $22,169
$15/mo
Age
y
Life
y
Cost
$
🧱Structure & Foundation
59 yr left · future cost $68,640
$10/mo
Age
y
Life
y
Cost
$
Totals (included items)
Replacement: $22,500
Future cost: $31,076
Steady: $116/mo
📚 CapEx 101 — How This Works
💸What is CapEx?
Capital Expenditures are the big-ticket replacements you know are coming — roof, HVAC, water heater, appliances, siding. Unlike day-to-day maintenance, they hit every 7–50 years and can wipe out years of cash flow in a single bill if you didn't budget for them.
📐How the monthly is calculated
For each included component: cost ÷ lifespan ÷ 12. Summed across components, that's the long-term monthly contribution that funds one replacement per cycle, forever.
Defaults include only the five most-reserved items (roof, HVAC, water heater, appliances, flooring). Toggle on Plumbing, Windows, etc. if you reserve for them too.
🔁Why we use a modulo cycle
A 50-year-old house doesn't have a 50-year-old roof — someone almost certainly replaced it. We default each component's age to (propertyAge mod lifespan), which lands on a sensible mid-cycle estimate. Always override with what you actually know.
📈Inflation matters
Today's $8,000 roof costs $10,751 in 10 years at 3% inflation. We bake that into the "future cost" column, but the steady-state monthly is computed in today's dollars — escalate it with rent over time.
🏘️Shared vs. per-unit
Every component shows a Quantity toggle when units > 1. Shared = one instance for the building (e.g., one central HVAC, one roof). Per unit = N instances (e.g., one HVAC per door). Defaults: HVAC, water heater, appliances, kitchen, bath start per-unit; roof, driveway, exterior, etc. start shared. Toggle anything to match your property.
🛠️CapEx ≠ Maintenance
Maintenance is the small ongoing stuff (leaky faucet, $200). CapEx is the lumpy stuff that requires saving up. Reserve for both separately — most landlords also budget 5–10% of rent for maintenance.
💡Where to park the money
Keep CapEx reserves in a separate high-yield savings account so it earns while it sits. Mixing it with the operating account is the #1 way investors accidentally spend their reserve fund.
🎯The Reserve Goal — fund and pause
Most landlords don't save CapEx forever — they fund a target and pause. Default goal here = sum of your two most expensive components (e.g. Roof + HVAC), which gives a cushion if one or two big things break at once. Once funded, stop saving and pocket the monthly as cash flow. When something breaks, resume saving until you're back to target. This is the standard 'watermark' approach from the BiggerPockets community.
🎯Tune for your situation
Built-in defaults are landlord-realistic national averages. High-cost market? Bump the multiplier in Advanced. Inherited deferred maintenance? Edit component ages so overdue items surface. Buying brand-new? Nothing's near-term and the cash buffer goes to zero.
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