August 25, 2025 | 2 Minute Read
One of our core real estate strategies is balancing long-term rentals with short-term rentals. This mix diversifies our portfolio and has significantly increased our monthly net profits over the past several years.
But I don’t stop there—I’m always exploring new ways to boost cash flow. Recently, I started looking into the idea of using tiny homes as short-term rentals. My research began with YouTube videos, just to see if the strategy is viable before committing to anything.
The Reality of Tiny Homes
Here’s what I found: tiny homes ain’t cheap. Beyond the house itself, you need to buy the land, customization/design of the home, and have high-end amenities to attract paying guests who want that unique experience. Altogether, you’re likely looking at $100,000–$150,000 per unit.
Most videos on the topic focus on the type of tiny home, location, projected nightly rates, and occupancy targets. Then they hit you with the big hook—cash-on-cash return (COC). Many claim 25%–50% COC, which sounds incredible but is often misleading.
Understanding Cash-on-Cash Return
Here’s how COC is calculated:
Purchase price: $100,000
Down payment + closing costs: $25,000 invested cash
Annual net cash flow: $12,000
Formula:
$12,000 / $25,000 x 100 = 48% COC
A 48% ROI looks amazing on paper, and it’s easy to see why some investors would get excited. But the calculation often overlooks the real costs of operating a short-term rental.
The Real Expenses of Short-Term Rentals
Beyond your monthly PITI (principal, interest, taxes, insurance), STRs come with significant additional costs which you must cover:
Utilities (gas, electric, water)
Internet and cable
Furniture, décor, and amenities (initial cost spread across the first year)
Property management fees
Booking and pricing software, channel manager fees
Cleaning and housekeeping
Supplies (toiletries, paper goods, cleaning products)
Lawn care and garbage service
Routine and unexpected maintenance
For example, this month one of my STR properties needed:
$3,000 septic repair
$1,500 plumbing repair
$1,000 tree removal
That $5,500 bill will take me two months of bookings to recoup.
Across our STR portfolio, these operating costs average about 60% of gross income, leaving a 40% net margin. Still profitable, but far less glamorous than the inflated COC numbers often advertised.
A More Grounded Metric: Cap Rate
Instead of chasing COC hype, I prefer to evaluate deals with the cap rate formula:
Net income / Current Property Value
Example:
Gross monthly income: $2,500
Expenses: 60%
Net monthly income: $1,000 ($12,000 annually)
Current value: $100,000
$12,000 net / $100,000 = 12% cap rate
Now, if the property appreciates in two years to $110,000 and you increase your NOI to $15,000:
$15,000 net / $110,000 = 13.6% cap rate
Cash-on-cash return looks sexy and can be useful, but it’s often presented in a way that oversimplifies the reality of calculating returns on rental properties.
Cap rate provides a clearer, more realistic picture of long-term profitability.
In the end, you need to decide for yourself which ROI approach works best for you.