StretchLearn Course

Buy Rentals on Math, Not on Hope.

Cap rate, cash-on-cash, financing, and tenant screening: everything you need to analyze and buy your first income property with confidence.

Preview Curriculum Back to Catalog

Beginner9 hr 10 minSelf PacedRegistered

Course Overview

What this course is designed to develop

Most first-time investors buy on emotion and a gut feeling about appreciation, then discover the property loses money every month. This course teaches you to underwrite a rental the way experienced investors do, using cap rate, cash-on-cash return, DSCR, and a full operating-expense breakdown. By the end you can pull a listing, run a complete deal analysis in minutes, choose a financing path, and decide with confidence whether a property is a buy or a pass.

Learning Outcomes

What the learner should be able to understand, build, or execute.

Compare property types (single-family, small multifamily, condo) by cash flow, risk, and effort

Calculate cap rate, cash-on-cash return, and gross rent multiplier on any listing

Estimate true operating expenses using the 50% rule and a line-item budget

Compare financing paths: conventional, FHA house-hack, and DSCR loans

Screen and qualify tenants legally using income, credit, and the 3x rent standard

Run a full first-deal analysis and decide buy versus pass with documented numbers

Curriculum Preview

Inside the curriculum: a structured path from fundamentals to execution.

Preview the course structure, see how the modules build on one another, and understand the path this program is designed to take you through.

Module 1

Module 1: How Rental Real Estate Actually Makes Money

Before you analyze a single listing, understand the four ways a rental builds wealth and which property types fit a first-time investor. This module sets the mental model the rest of the course builds on.

3 lessons

The Four Profit Centers of a Rental PropertyContent · 45 min

Preview Enabled

Property Types: Single-Family, Multifamily, and CondosContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Markets and Neighborhoods: Where Cash Flow LivesContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 2

Module 2: Underwriting a Deal: The Numbers That Matter

The core skill of investing: turning a listing into a defensible return. This module teaches every formula you need, the operating-expense reality most beginners miss, and how to run a full analysis fast.

3 lessons

Gross Yield, the 1% Rule, and Gross Rent MultiplierContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Operating Expenses and the 50% RuleContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Cap Rate and Cash-on-Cash Return: A Worked DealContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Module 3

Module 3: Financing Your First Income Property

How beginners actually pay for a rental, from conventional loans to the house-hacking strategy that lets you buy with as little as 3.5 percent down, plus the DSCR loans investors scale with.

3 lessons

Conventional Investment Loans and the Down Payment RealityContent · 45 min

LMS Access

House Hacking: Buy a Rental With 3.5% DownContent · 45 min

LMS Access

DSCR Loans and Leverage DisciplineContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Module 4

Module 4: Tenants, Management, and Closing Your First Deal

A great purchase is ruined by a bad tenant or sloppy management. This module covers legal tenant screening, the lease and operations basics, and a step-by-step process to take a property from offer to keys.

3 lessons

Screening Tenants Legally and the 3x Rent RuleContent · 45 min

LMS Access

Leases, Rent Collection, and Self-Manage vs. HireContent · 45 min

LMS Access

From Offer to Keys: Due Diligence and ClosingContent · 50 min

LMS Access

Built for Application

A complete learning path, not a one-off inspiration hit.

This program is designed around progression: focused lessons, structured modules, applied resources, assessments, and a course rhythm that turns information into usable capability.

rental propertycap ratecash-on-cash returnreal estate financinghouse hackingtenant screeningrental yieldincome property