Free CapEx Calculator for Rental Properties

Buyers

Renters

Sellers

Investors

Resources

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

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

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

Life

Cost

Appliances

7 yr left · future cost $3,444

$19/mo

Age

Life

Cost

Flooring

7 yr left · future cost $7,379

$42/mo

Age

Life

Cost

Roof

9 yr left · future cost $9,133

$23/mo

Age

Life

Cost

HVAC System

19 yr left · future cost $9,644

$23/mo

Age

Life

Cost

Bathroom Remodel

9 yr left · future cost $5,871

$15/mo

Age

Life

Cost

Electrical Panel

9 yr left · future cost $3,262

$4/mo

Age

Life

Cost

Interior Paint

9 yr left · future cost $2,936

$19/mo

Age

Life

Cost

Landscaping

9 yr left · future cost $1,044

$7/mo

Age

Life

Cost

Kitchen Remodel

19 yr left · future cost $14,028

$22/mo

Age

Life

Cost

Plumbing System

19 yr left · future cost $7,891

$6/mo

Age

Life

Cost

Garage Door & Misc

19 yr left · future cost $2,104

$5/mo

Age

Life

Cost

Siding & Exterior

29 yr left · future cost $21,209

$21/mo

Age

Life

Cost

Driveway / Parking

29 yr left · future cost $9,426

$10/mo

Age

Life

Cost

Windows

39 yr left · future cost $22,169

$15/mo

Age

Life

Cost

Structure & Foundation

59 yr left · future cost $68,640

$10/mo

Age

Life

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.