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Ken Lam Realty · Tools

Rents below market: how long to catch up?

Enter the rent roll and today's market rent. See the loss-to-lease, the legal max raise each year, and how many years until the rents catch up.

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Rent roll
#Current rent /moMarket rent /mo

Up to 8 units. Market rent = what a vacant unit like it rents for today (check comps or HUD FMR in T51).

More options
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%

Default cap rate: Santa Clara County 2–4 units 4.25%, Alameda County 5.0% (mid of typical ranges, estimate). Change the city and it resets.

Years until rents catch up
0
Loss-to-leaseMarket rent − current rent, all units$0
Per month$0
Max legal raise, next increase0%
That raise in dollarsAll units together, capped at market$0
Value lost to loss-to-lease$0
Rent you give up until caught upSum of the yearly gap, while the same tenants stay$0

Year by year

Each unit

A unit resets to market when the tenant moves out voluntarily (Costa-Hawkins vacancy decontrol). This tool assumes the same tenants stay, one raise a year at the legal max.
Future years assume today's cap repeats and market rent grows at the rate you set. Real CPI caps change every year. Estimate only.
Ask Ken Watch 15-sec video

Email this rent roll check to yourself

Ken will reply and can pull real rent comps for the building. No spam.

Or text: 408-666-2825

Next step

  1. Ready to send a raise? Get the exact max, the earliest date and the notice days in T55.
  2. Put today's rent roll, not the pro forma, into the cash flow math: T146.
  3. Ask the seller for every lease, the last increase date per unit and the city rent registry printout before you remove contingencies.
  4. See what the depreciation does to your tax on this building: T265.

Many people get this wrong: "Rents are $600 under market, so I'll raise them after closing." Under San Jose ARO that's 5% a year. If market rent grows 3% a year, you close the gap by about 2% a year. A 25% gap can take more than 10 years. Pay for the rent roll you get, not the one you hope for.