A Rate of Return (ROR) is the gain or loss of an investment over a certain period of time. In other words, the rate of return is the gain (or loss) compared to the cost of an initial investment, typically expressed in the form of a percentage. When the ROR is positive, it is considered a gain and when the ROR is negative, Here's an example of a rental property purchased with cash: You paid $100,000 in cash for the rental property. The closing costs were $1,000 and remodeling costs totaled $9,000, bringing your total investment to $110,000 for the property. You collected $1,000 in rent every month. The rate of interest on an investment is also known as the yield. So if a bank tells you that its savings account pays 2 percent interest, the bank may also say that it is yielding 2 percent. Banks usually quote interest rates or yields on an annual basis.