Guides to investing in property with your numbers in front of you: rental yield, cap rates, short-term rental profitability and lower-cost ways to start. Every guide includes worked examples, and calculators are added as we update each page.
Last reviewed: October 2026 · By the MortgageCompass Editorial Team · How we research A short-term rental makes money when the income from booked nights and cleaning fees covers four things: the cost of every guest changeover, the platform and management fees, the fixed costs of owning the property, and the mortgage. Most first-time hosts
Last reviewed: October 2026 · By the MortgageCompass Editorial Team · How we research Rental yield is the rent a property earns each year as a percentage of what it cost. There are three versions, and each tells you something different. Gross yield is the headline number on listings. Net yield takes off the running
Last reviewed: October 2026 · By the MortgageCompass Editorial Team · How we research You do not need a large deposit to start investing in real estate. You can buy shares in real estate investment trusts for the price of a single share, rent out a room in the home you already live in, or
Last reviewed: October 2026 · By the MortgageCompass Editorial Team · How we research Cap rate is one of the first numbers property investors learn, and one of the most misused. Instead of a lecture, this guide answers the questions new investors actually ask, in the order they usually ask them. Halfway through, you can
Report updated October 2026 · By the MortgageCompass Editorial Team · How we research The best cities for rental income are rarely the famous ones. Across the latest data from Zoopla in the UK, Cotality in Australia and ATTOM in the US, the highest gross rental yields are in lower-priced cities and counties such as