Once you own more than one rental property, a new set of questions emerges that individual property analysis cannot answer. What is my total equity position across everything I own? Is my overall portfolio cash flow positive or am I net negative when you add it all up? For a refresher on the individual property metrics that feed into the portfolio view, see How to Analyze a Rental Property in Canada. What does my portfolio DSCR look like, and am I exposed if rates rise further? And critically: if I add this next deal, what actually happens to my numbers?
The Portfolio tab in Rental Analyst is built to answer these questions. It aggregates all your properties into a single view, lets you toggle properties in and out, and lets you model a prospective acquisition against your existing portfolio before you make an offer. This tutorial walks through every section using a three-property case study.
The Portfolio: Three Properties Across Ontario
Our investor owns three properties. Here is what each one looks like today:
| Property | Value | Balance | Equity | Monthly CF | DSCR | Cap Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton semi (owned 4 yrs) | $695,000 | $448,000 | $247,000 | +$185/mo | 1.18 | 4.2% |
| Kitchener duplex (owned 2 yrs) | $710,000 | $548,000 | $162,000 | -$240/mo | 0.94 | 3.9% |
| Barrie condo (owned 6 yrs) | $420,000 | $198,000 | $222,000 | +$510/mo | 1.62 | 5.1% |
Two properties are cash flow positive, one is negative. The Kitchener duplex DSCR is below 1.0, which a lender would flag. But does the portfolio as a whole hold together? And if a fourth property comes up in Guelph, does adding it help or hurt? Those are the questions the Portfolio tab surfaces immediately.
Section 1: Portfolio Summary Tiles
The top section of the Portfolio tab shows nine aggregate metrics across all properties currently toggled on. For our three-property portfolio the numbers look like this:
| Total Value | $1,825,000 | Sum of all current estimated values |
| Total Equity | $631,000 | Total value minus total mortgage balances |
| Monthly Cash Flow | +$455/mo | Net cash flow across all three properties combined |
| Portfolio LTV | 65.2% | Total balance divided by total value — weighted across the portfolio |
| Avg Cap Rate | 4.4% | Value-weighted average cap rate across all properties |
| Portfolio DSCR | 1.21 | Total NOI divided by total annual debt service — portfolio-level coverage |
| Total Cash Deployed | $446,000 | Sum of all down payments and closing costs across all three purchases |
| Cash-on-Cash | 1.22% | Total annual net cash flow divided by total cash deployed |
| Total Mortgage Balance | $1,194,000 | Combined outstanding mortgage balances |
A few things stand out. The portfolio DSCR of 1.21 is slightly below the 1.25 threshold most lenders want to see. For a full breakdown of what DSCR thresholds mean and how lenders use them, see What Is a Good DSCR for a Canadian Rental Property. The Cash-on-Cash of 1.22% is thin for the amount of capital deployed, reflecting the two above-water properties being partially offset by the negative-carry Kitchener asset.
These are things you cannot see by looking at each property individually. The portfolio view surfaces the aggregated exposure in one place.
Section 2: The All-Properties Table
Below the summary tiles, the all-properties table shows every property side by side with its individual metrics. The columns shown for each property are:
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Toggle | Switch a property in or out of the active portfolio. Turning a property off removes it from all summary tiles instantly. |
| Property | Address, city, and property type. Click the row to jump to that property's full dashboard. |
| Value | Current estimated value from your property inputs. |
| Equity | Value minus mortgage balance. The raw ownership stake. |
| Mo. CF | Monthly net cash flow after all expenses and mortgage payments. Green if positive, red if negative. |
| DSCR | Debt service coverage ratio. Below 1.0 is flagged — the property is not covering its debt from rental income. |
| Cap Rate | Net operating income divided by current value. Value-weighted in the portfolio average. |
| CoC | Cash-on-cash return on the capital you deployed in this specific property. |
| LTV | Loan-to-value ratio. Higher LTV means more leverage and less equity cushion. |
| Renewal | The upcoming mortgage maturity date. Surfaced here so you can see which properties have renewals approaching across the whole portfolio. |
| Breakeven occ. | The occupancy rate needed to cover all costs. Above 100% means the property cannot break even at full occupancy at the current rate. |
One underrated column is the Renewal date. When you have three properties with different mortgage terms, it is easy to lose track of which renewal is coming first. The Portfolio tab puts every maturity date in one row so you can see at a glance: the Kitchener duplex renews in 14 months, the Hamilton semi in 26 months, the Barrie condo in 38 months. That sequencing matters for cash flow planning. The Kitchener renewal at a higher rate will worsen the portfolio DSCR further before the Hamilton renewal gives you an opportunity to shop for a better deal.
Section 3: Modelling a Prospective Acquisition
The most powerful feature of the Portfolio tab is the prospective property toggle. Here is how it works.
Say a duplex in Guelph comes up for $750,000. You would put 20% down ($150,000), take a $600,000 mortgage at 5.1%, and expect $3,600/month in rent with $1,200/month in expenses. Before making an offer, you want to know: what does adding this property do to the portfolio?
- Add the Guelph duplex as a new property in Rental Analyst and set its status to Prospective. It will appear in the all-properties table with a distinct visual indicator.
- By default, prospective properties start toggled off — they do not affect the portfolio summary. Toggle it on using the switch in its row.
- The portfolio summary tiles update instantly. The scenario impact panel on the right shows a side-by-side comparison: baseline (your three owned properties) versus the current scenario (all four including the prospective Guelph deal).
For our three-property portfolio, adding the Guelph duplex changes the numbers like this:
| Metric | Baseline (3 properties) | With Guelph duplex | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly CF | +$455 | +$135 | -$320/mo |
| Total Equity | $631,000 | $781,000 | +$150,000 |
| Portfolio LTV | 65.2% | 68.1% | +2.9% |
| Avg Cap Rate | 4.4% | 4.5% | +0.1% |
| Portfolio DSCR | 1.21 | 1.18 | -0.03 |
| Cash Deployed | $446,000 | $608,000 | +$162,000 |
The verdict the tool generates is: "This scenario increases monthly cash burden by $320 and raises portfolio LTV by 2.9%." That is the automated plain-English summary of what the acquisition does to the portfolio.
This is the analysis most investors are not running before they make an offer. They model the new deal in isolation and decide it works on its own numbers. But the Guelph duplex, even if it cash flows slightly negative in year one, pushes the portfolio DSCR below 1.2 and takes the combined monthly shortfall from +$455 to +$135 — one vacancy away from net negative. Knowing that before you firm up is the difference between a deliberate decision and an unpleasant surprise.
Section 4: The Scenario Impact Panel
The scenario impact panel sits alongside the portfolio summary tiles and activates only when a prospective property is toggled on. It shows five rows:
- Monthly CF — baseline versus scenario, with a coloured change arrow
- Total Equity — how much equity the new acquisition adds to the portfolio immediately
- Portfolio LTV — whether leverage is rising or falling with this deal
- Avg Cap Rate — whether the new property is above or below the portfolio average, and how it moves the weighted cap rate
- Cash Deployed — the additional capital required, shown neutrally since deploying capital is neither good nor bad on its own
Below the table, the verdict sentence summarises the scenario in plain English. For acquisitions that are clearly additive across all metrics, it reads positively. For deals that worsen cash flow or leverage while adding equity, it names both effects. There is no hiding from the math.
How Renewal Rate Modelling Feeds into the Portfolio
If you have modelled a renewal rate on the Renewal tab, the Portfolio tab automatically reflects those modelled rates in all portfolio metrics. No extra toggle is needed — as soon as a modelled term exists for any property, a banner appears at the top of the all-properties table reading "Portfolio metrics reflect modeled renewal rates from the 30-Year View," confirming what the numbers are based on.
Go to the Renewal tab, select the Kitchener duplex, and model a renewal at 4.8% — a realistic scenario for 14 months from now. Open the Portfolio tab. Portfolio DSCR drops from 1.21 to 1.14 under that renewal. Monthly CF goes from +$455 to roughly +$215. The portfolio is still net positive, but the buffer is thinner. For a full walkthrough of how to model renewal scenarios, see What Happens to Your Cash Flow at Renewal. You can see this before the letter arrives and decide whether to build a cash reserve, pay down the Kitchener balance, or accelerate the Barrie condo payoff before that renewal hits.
The core use case
Most multi-property investors manage each property in a separate spreadsheet and never see the aggregate picture until they are sitting in front of a lender. The Portfolio tab gives you that aggregate view in real time, updated whenever you change any input on any property. To see how the 30-Year View projects wealth across a single property's full hold period, see How to Use the 30-Year View.
A Practical Monthly Workflow
Here is how to use the Portfolio tab as an ongoing management tool, not just a one-time analysis:
- Keep mortgage terms current. When you add a property, check the Renewal tab and confirm the mortgage terms shown match your actual agreement — rate, term length, start date, and balance. Once those inputs are accurate, the Portfolio tab calculates everything automatically. If your estimated property value changes materially, update it in the property editor so equity and LTV figures stay meaningful.
- Check the renewal column monthly. When any property is within 90 days of its maturity date, open the Renewal tab for that property and run the rate scenario table. Model the renewal and apply it so the Portfolio tab reflects the post-renewal cash flow.
- Add prospective deals before you make an offer. Any time you are evaluating a potential acquisition, add it as a prospective property first. Toggle it on in the Portfolio tab and read the scenario impact panel. Make your offer with the full portfolio picture in view.
- Watch the portfolio DSCR over time. As rates renew and values shift, the portfolio DSCR will move. Below 1.2 is worth paying attention to. Below 1.0 means the portfolio as a whole is not covering its debt from rental income — a lender red flag and a personal cash flow warning.
See your full portfolio in one view
Track all your rentals in Rental Analyst
Add all your properties once. The Portfolio tab aggregates metrics, surfaces renewal dates, and lets you model a prospective deal against your existing numbers before you commit.
Related tools
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, mortgage, or investment advice. All figures are estimates based on user-provided inputs. Portfolio metrics are aggregated from individual property calculations and carry the same assumptions and limitations. Always consult qualified professionals before making investment decisions.