Grade a buy-to-let before you buy it

Price, rent, levies, rates, the managing agent's cut, the weeks it stands empty. A rental property lives or dies on those numbers, and the listing shows you exactly one of them.

Type in the rest and this grades the deal the way an investor reads it: monthly cashflow, the 1% rule, gross yield, net yield, cash-on-cash return and the expense ratio, six checks with a pass or fail on each and an overall read of Good, Average or Weak. The targets are South African rather than borrowed from American property blogs. Gross yield is graded against roughly 11%, the national average the Global Property Guide reports for 2026, and you can move every target under Adjust grading targets if your suburb runs differently. Johannesburg tends higher, Cape Town lower.

Purchase costs are worked out, not guessed. On Auto the tool applies the SARS transfer duty table and estimates the transfer attorney and bond registration fees. Duty is zero up to R1,210,000 on the current table, which is why so much SA stock is priced just below that line, and it climbs in steps above it. Switch to Manual once you hold firm quotes.

Bring:

  • the purchase price, your deposit, the bond rate and term
  • the market value, if you are buying below it
  • the rent you expect, and the months a year it may stand empty
  • levies, rates, repairs, the agent's commission, and any once-off setup like paint or a stove

Here is the thing the charts surface early, and it surprises first-time landlords: a bonded buy-to-let in South Africa is usually cashflow-negative for the first few years. The tenant buys the asset slowly while you cover the gap. The cashflow chart escalates the rent each year against a fixed bond and marks the year the deal crosses into the black, so the gap has a size and an end date instead of being a nasty surprise in month three.

Save an analysis and you can click between properties to compare them.

Money Cat is an information tool, not financial advice. Confirm any figure that matters with your bank, lender or a registered professional.