Property Preservation Break-Even Analysis: About $53K/Month

Fixed costs $7.7K Base overhead

Contribution margin 81% After variable costs

Break-even revenue $9.4K Monthly target

Break-even timing Month 29 Model break-even

Break-even calculator

Test monthly revenue, variable costs, and fixed costs to see when a property-preservation service breaks even.

Lean Base Full

Monthly revenue This is the sales base that has to cover variable costs and the rest of the monthly overhead. $ Low sales High sales Variable expenses These are direct costs tied to jobs, field work, and usage that rise with revenue. $ Low costs High costs

Money available to cover fixed costs $48,600 $60,000 revenue - $11,400 variable expenses

Margin ratio

81%

Covers fixed costs

Yes

Fixed monthly costs This is the monthly cost base break-even has to absorb before profit starts. $ Small base Big base

Break-even chart Revenue Total costs

Which property preservation expenses stay fixed, and which move with assignment volume?

Cost classification

Break-even gets unreliable when fixed overhead and job-driven spend are blended. Keep monthly overhead separate from contractor payouts, usage fees, and staffing step-ups so Month 29 break-even is tied to real operating behavior.

Expense	Cost	Break-Even Treatment	Common Mistake
Office Rent	Fixed	Include $2,500 per month in fixed overhead before calculating required contribution.	Spreading rent across jobs and making break-even look easier at low volume.
Business Insurance	Fixed	Include $1,000 per month as recurring overhead for the full planning period.	Treating insurance like a per-assignment charge instead of a monthly obligation.
Legal & Compliance Fees	Fixed	Include $750 per month as baseline overhead needed to serve lender clients.	Moving compliance overhead into variable spend and understating fixed burn.
Core Technology Platform Subscriptions	Fixed	Include $1,500 per month in fixed overhead because it runs from Month 1 through Month 60.	Modeling the core platform as usage-based when the assumption is a flat monthly subscription.
Professional Services Accounting and HR	Fixed	Include $1,200 per month as recurring support overhead in the break-even base.	Dropping back-office support below the line and overstating operating profit.
Contractor Payouts	Variable	Apply 17.0% of revenue in the first year, stepping down to 15.0% by the fifth year.	Using a flat dollar amount per month instead of linking payouts to assignment revenue.
Usage-Based Technology & Data Storage	Variable	Apply 2.0% of revenue in the first year, declining to 1.5% by the fifth year.	Classifying all technology as fixed and missing the usage drag as volume grows.
Field Service Coordinator and Administrative Assistant Staffing	Semi-fixed	Add salary in steps as capacity rises; coordinator staffing grows from 1.0 to 4.0 FTE by the fifth year.	Treating payroll like a per-job expense instead of a hiring step-up tied to volume.

How does break-even change from lean launch to full scale in property preservation?

Scenario table

Break-even rises because fixed payroll, marketing, and admin costs grow faster than the variable rate improves. The model flips at Month 29, with EBITDA moving from -$452k in Year 1 to $240k in Year 3 and $1.274M in Year 5.

Planning figures only. They are modeled assumptions, not guarantees, and actual results will move with vacancy mix and route density.

Scenario	Monthly Revenue	Variable Costs	Fixed Costs	CM Ratio	Operating Profit	Break-Even Signal
Lean launch case	$529k	$101k	$429k	81.0%	$0	Still risky; Year 1 EBITDA is -$452k, so this case needs more volume before overhead is covered.
Base scale case	$851k	$151k	$699k	82.2%	$0	Month 29 is the first clear break-even signal, and Year 3 EBITDA reaches $240k.
Full scale case	$1,202k	$198k	$1,004k	83.5%	$0	Best cushion, but the bigger staff base still needs dense routing to hold the margin.

What breaks the break-even plan for this property preservation business?

Stress test

Break-even gets tight fast if lender assignments slow or field costs run hot. The model only clears when revenue stays near $529,000, and cash bottoms at $20,000 in Month 28, so there’s little room for delays or margin slip.

Stress Case	Changed Assumption	Break-Even Revenue	Revenue Gap	Risk Signal
Current plan	No change.	$529,000	$0 cushion	No cushion, so any delay matters.
Revenue shortfall	Lender assignments run 15% below plan.	$529,000	$79,350 gap	Slow lender onboarding pushes revenue under the line.
Fixed-cost pressure	Overhead rises 10% before revenue catches up.	$581,900	$52,900 gap	Higher overhead lifts the break-even load fast.
Margin pressure	Contractor payouts rise to 20% and tech usage rises to 3%.	$556,481	$27,481 gap	Less spread means more revenue just to stand still.
Combined pressure	Assignments run 15% below plan, overhead rises 10%, and margin slips to 77%.	$612,130	$162,480 gap	Low volume plus higher cost can drain cash by Month 28.

What should you verify before hiring, buying vehicles, or adding counties?

Founder checklist

Don’t add payroll, vehicles, or new counties until you’ve got one repeat servicer path and a real pipeline. This model carries about $40.8K a month in fixed load and doesn’t hit break-even until Month 29, so timing matters.

1Launch Pipeline≈50 accounts

Verify one lender or mortgage servicer onboarding path before payroll, because a $25K Year 1 marketing budget at a $500 CAC only supports about 50 new accounts if conversion is clean.

2Fixed Load$40.8K/mo

Map your core route coverage before adding counties, because Year 1 fixed operating cost is about $40.8K a month and thin territory spreads make that load harder to cover.

3Unit Margin81% CM

Price every job against Year 1 variable costs, since contractor payouts are 17% and usage tech adds 2%, which leaves about 81% contribution margin before fixed costs.

4Staff RampYr 1 -$452K

Confirm subcontractor coverage before you accept recurring work, because Year 1 EBITDA is -$452K and Year 2 is still -$218K, so staffing has to follow real volume.

5Cash CushionMonth 28

Keep working capital untouched through Month 28, because minimum cash is $20K then and break-even lands in Month 29, so payment lag can bite before profit shows up.

6Launch Capex$40K capex

Set the $10K field equipment spend and the $30K vehicle down payments aside from operating break-even, because one-time setup cash is not the same as monthly survival.