If you're still screening rental properties with the 1% rule, you're leaving deals on the table — or worse, passing on great ones.

The 1% rule says your monthly rent should be at least 1% of the purchase price. Buy for $200K, rent for $2K. Simple. But in most markets right now? That's a fantasy.

Here's what I actually use:

Cash-on-cash return. This tells you the real return on the money YOU put in — not the bank's money. If you put $40K down and net $4,800/year after all expenses, that's 12% cash-on-cash. That beats the S&P most years.

The 50% rule for quick screening. Assume 50% of gross rent goes to expenses (not including your mortgage). It's not perfect, but it kills bad deals fast. If a property rents for $1,800/mo, assume $900 goes to expenses. Can the remaining $900 cover your mortgage and still cash flow? If not, move on.

Debt service coverage ratio (DSCR). Lenders use this — you should too. Net operating income divided by your annual debt payments. You want 1.25x or higher. Below 1.0 means you're losing money every month.

Cap rate for comparing markets, not individual deals. A 6% cap rate in Austin means something completely different than a 6% cap rate in Memphis. Use it to compare neighborhoods and markets, not to decide if a deal is "good."

The real skill isn't finding a deal that passes one test. It's stacking these metrics together and knowing which ones matter most for YOUR strategy — whether that's cash flow, appreciation, or a hybrid play.

Inside Property Playbook, I break down real deals every week using these exact frameworks. No theory — just numbers from actual properties.