Landlord

A landlord is the owner of property rented to a tenant under a lease. The landlord collects rent, pays the property's expenses and debt, and keeps whatever is left. That remainder, divided by the landlord's cash invested, is the cash on cash return.

Landlords carry duties that show up as costs: habitable repairs, security deposit handling, fair housing rules and local registration or inspection in some cities. Each one belongs in the expense lines. A return calculated without them overstates what the landlord actually keeps.

Whether the landlord self-manages or hires a manager is the biggest single choice in the expense stack. On the default deal the 8% management fee is about $4,742 a year. Doing it yourself raises cash on cash from 6.3% to about 9.5%, but the added return is payment for the landlord's own time.

Further reading: Landlord on Wikipedia.