Purchase Price ($)

Rehab / Renovation Costs ($)

After Repair Value / ARV ($)

Refinance LTV (%)

Monthly Gross Rent ($)

Operating Expenses (% of Rent)

Monthly Mortgage Payment (post-refi) ($)

These calculators are for informational purposes only and do not constitute financial, legal, or tax advice.

These business and corporate finance calculations are for educational and informational purposes only. Results are estimates based on the inputs you provide and standard financial formulas. Actual returns, costs, and outcomes depend on market conditions, local regulations, lender policies, and individual circumstances. Rental property, BRRRR, LTV, and investment projections are not guarantees of future performance. This tool does not constitute financial, investment, real estate, legal, or tax advice. Consult a qualified professional before making financial decisions.

BRRRR Calculator (Buy-Rehab-Rent-Refinance-Repeat)

Estimate your cash left in the deal, monthly cash flow, and cash-on-cash return on a BRRRR rental property.

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Quick Answer

A BRRRR calculator estimates the financial outcome of a Buy-Rehab-Rent-Refinance-Repeat deal. Enter your purchase price, rehab costs, after-repair value (ARV), refinance LTV, rent, operating expenses, and post-refi mortgage payment, and it estimates your total cash invested, refinance loan amount, cash left in the deal, monthly cash flow, equity built, and cash-on-cash return – all in USD ($).

BRRRR investors use this calculator for one reason: to find out, before signing anything, whether a deal can realistically get most or all of their cash back out through a refinance – and what’s left behind if it doesn’t. The strategy depends on numbers lining up in a specific sequence, and a single overly optimistic assumption (usually the ARV) can turn a good-looking deal into one that ties up far more capital than planned.

This tool takes your purchase price, rehab budget, projected ARV, refinance terms, and rental numbers, and runs them through the same math investors use to evaluate real BRRRR deals.

What Is the BRRRR Strategy?

BRRRR stands for Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat – a real estate investing strategy where an investor buys a distressed property below market value, renovates it to increase its value, rents it out, then refinances based on the new, higher value to pull most or all of their original cash back out, freeing it up to repeat the process on another property.

• Buy – purchase a property, typically one needing work, below its potential market value.

• Rehab – renovate the property to bring it up to a condition and value that supports strong rents and a higher appraisal.

• Rent – place a tenant and establish rental income.

• Refinance – refinance the property based on its new after-repair value (ARV), ideally recovering most or all of the cash originally invested.

• Repeat – use the recovered cash to fund the next deal.

This differs from a traditional buy-and-hold purchase, where an investor typically buys a property already in rentable condition and leaves their down payment invested in that one property indefinitely. BRRRR is built around actively recycling capital rather than letting it sit.

What Is a BRRRR Calculator?

A BRRRR calculator helps an investor estimate whether a prospective deal can deliver on the strategy’s core promise – recycling most or all of the invested cash – by working through the purchase, rehab, refinance, and rental numbers together rather than in isolation.

Specifically, this calculator helps you evaluate:

• Total cash invested (purchase price plus rehab costs)

• The refinance loan amount, based on ARV and loan-to-value (LTV)

• How much cash is left in the deal after refinancing

• Equity created through the renovation (ARV minus the refinance loan)

• Monthly and annual rental cash flow after the refinance

• Cash-on-cash return and total return on your invested capital

How to Use the BRRRR Calculator

Input	Why It Matters
Purchase Price	The acquisition cost of the property. Include closing costs paid at purchase (earnest money, title, etc.) in this figure, since the calculator doesn’t have a separate field for them.
Rehab / Renovation Costs	All repair and renovation costs – materials, labor, permits – plus carrying costs during the rehab period, like insurance, utilities, and loan interest. Underestimating this is one of the most common BRRRR mistakes.
After Repair Value (ARV)	Your estimated market value once renovations are complete, based on comparable sales. This single number drives the entire refinance side of the deal.
Refinance LTV (%)	The loan-to-value percentage your lender will offer on the refinance. Most investment-property lenders cap this around 70-80% of ARV – check with your specific lender rather than assuming a number.
Monthly Gross Rent	Expected rent at full occupancy, based on comparable rental listings in the area – not a hoped-for number.
Operating Expenses (% of Rent)	An all-in estimate covering property management, vacancy, maintenance, taxes, and insurance as a percentage of rent. A commonly used range is 35-50%, depending on the property and market.
Monthly Mortgage Payment (post-refi)	Your estimated principal-and-interest payment on the new refinance loan. Calculate this separately (for example, with an amortization calculator) using your refi loan amount, rate, and term.

BRRRR Calculator Formulas

Total Cash Invested

Purchase price plus rehab costs (each including their related acquisition or holding costs, as noted above) makes up your total cash invested in the deal before refinancing.

After-Repair Value (ARV)

ARV is the property’s estimated market value once renovations are finished. It’s arguably the single most important number in a BRRRR deal, since it sets the ceiling on how much the refinance can return to you.

Maximum Refinance Loan

Refinance Loan = ARV × Refinance LTV

Example: a $200,000 ARV at a 75% refinance LTV gives a maximum refinance loan of $200,000 × 0.75 = $150,000.

Cash Recovered and Cash Left in the Deal

The refinance loan proceeds are what get compared against your original cash invested:

Cash Left in Deal = Total Cash Invested − Cash Recovered

The exact result in a real transaction also depends on refinance closing costs, payoff of any existing loan, and other transaction expenses, which can reduce net proceeds below the simple refinance loan amount.

Monthly Cash Flow

Monthly cash flow is rental income after vacancy and operating expenses, minus the mortgage payment:

Monthly Cash Flow = [Rent × (1 − Operating Expenses %)] − Mortgage Payment

Cash-on-Cash Return

Cash-on-cash return measures annual cash flow against the cash still tied up in the deal:

Cash-on-Cash Return = (Annual Cash Flow ÷ Cash Left in Deal) × 100

When a BRRRR deal pulls out 100% of the invested cash (cash left in the deal is $0), this ratio is undefined in a strict mathematical sense – often described informally as “infinite” return, since there’s no remaining cash base to divide by. This reflects a favorable outcome, not a literal guarantee of unlimited returns.

BRRRR Example

Hypothetical example only – not an investment recommendation. Actual results depend on your specific property, market, financing, and lender.

Consider a hypothetical property: $150,000 purchase price, $35,000 in rehab costs, a $220,000 projected ARV, a 75% refinance LTV, $2,000/month rent, 38% operating expenses, and a $1,150/month post-refi mortgage payment.

Metric	Amount
Total Cash Invested ($150,000 + $35,000)	$185,000
Refinance Loan ($220,000 × 75%)	$165,000
Cash Recovered	$165,000
Cash Left in the Deal	$20,000
Equity at Refinance ($220,000 − $165,000)	$55,000
Effective Rental Income ($2,000 × 62%)	$1,240/mo
Monthly Mortgage Payment	$1,150/mo
Monthly Cash Flow	$90/mo
Annual Cash Flow ($90 × 12)	$1,080
Cash-on-Cash Return ($1,080 ÷ $20,000)	5.4%
Total ROI (Cash Flow + Equity / Total Invested)	30.31%

In this hypothetical case, the investor recovers $165,000 of their $185,000 invested, leaving $20,000 in the deal while also building $55,000 in equity and modest monthly cash flow. This is one illustrative scenario, not a prediction of what any specific property will do.

Run Your Own BRRRR Numbers

Enter your purchase price, rehab budget, ARV, and rental numbers above to see how a deal might play out.

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What Makes a Good BRRRR Deal?

Investors generally look for a combination of these characteristics, rather than any single factor:

• Buying meaningfully below the property’s potential post-repair market value

• A rehab budget that’s realistic, with room for unexpected costs

• Strong, comp-supported ARV potential – not a hopeful guess

• Sufficient rental demand in the area to support the projected rent

• Cash flow that’s positive, or at least acceptable, after the refinance

• Conservative refinance assumptions rather than best-case LTV and rate guesses

• Enough equity remaining after rehab to satisfy lender requirements

• Reasonable, accurately estimated financing costs on both loans

• A margin of safety in case rehab costs run over or the appraisal comes in lower than expected

Buying the right property at the right price is often more important than finding the highest possible rent – a property bought too expensively, or with an unrealistic rehab budget, can undermine even strong rental income.

The 70% Rule and BRRRR

Some investors use a rule of thumb called the 70% rule to screen potential deals:

Maximum Purchase Price ≈ (ARV × 70%) − Estimated Repairs

This is a rough screening heuristic, not a universal lending standard or a guarantee of profitability. The appropriate percentage – whether 70%, 75%, or something else entirely – can vary based on the local market, financing costs, the scope of the rehab, closing and holding costs, the investor’s specific objectives, the property’s condition, and individual risk tolerance.

Treat the 70% rule as a quick first filter to decide whether a deal is worth deeper analysis – not as a substitute for running the full numbers through a calculator like this one.

BRRRR Refinance and the Importance of ARV

ARV drives the entire refinance side of a BRRRR deal, since the maximum refinance loan is calculated directly from it (ARV x LTV). A higher appraisal means more refinance proceeds, more cash recovered, less cash left in the deal, and a better chance of fully repeating the strategy on the next property. A lower-than-expected appraisal does the opposite on every one of those fronts.

This is why appraisal risk deserves real attention. Lenders use licensed appraisers who may value a property more conservatively than an investor’s own comp-based estimate, especially in markets with limited recent comparable sales or after a renovation that’s unusual for the neighborhood. Relying on an overly optimistic ARV is one of the most common ways a BRRRR deal falls short of plan – investors should verify their ARV estimate against solid, recent comparable sales before committing capital.

BRRRR Cash Flow

Gross rent is not the same as actual cash flow. A full cash flow picture after refinancing should account for:

• Gross rent collected

• Vacancy (time the unit sits empty between tenants)

• Property taxes

• Insurance

• Maintenance and repairs

• Property management fees, if applicable

• HOA fees, where applicable

• Utilities paid by the owner rather than the tenant

• Mortgage principal and interest on the refinanced loan

• Any other recurring operating costs

This calculator consolidates most of these into a single Operating Expenses percentage for simplicity – when entering your own numbers, make sure that percentage genuinely reflects all of these categories for your specific property and market, not just the most obvious ones.

BRRRR Risks to Consider

• Rehab costs exceeding estimates – one of the most common BRRRR pitfalls

• Construction delays that extend holding costs and delay rental income

• Lower-than-expected ARV or a weak/failed appraisal

• Interest-rate changes between purchase and refinance

• Higher refinance rates than originally projected

• Lender underwriting restrictions, including “seasoning” periods some lenders require before refinancing

• Insufficient rental demand or longer-than-expected vacancy

• Unexpected maintenance after the property is rented

• Property tax and insurance increases after purchase or renovation

• Overestimating achievable rent

• Excessive leverage across multiple properties

• Market value declines between purchase and refinance

• Liquidity problems if cash intended to be recycled stays tied up longer than planned

Because BRRRR relies on leverage at both the purchase and refinance stages, it can magnify gains when things go to plan – but it can just as easily magnify losses or tie up capital longer than expected when assumptions don’t hold.

BRRRR vs. Traditional Buy-and-Hold

Factor	BRRRR	Traditional Buy-and-Hold
Initial Capital Requirement	Often higher upfront (purchase + full rehab), potentially recovered via refinance	Typically a standard down payment, no rehab-stage capital needed
Renovation Involvement	Significant – rehab is central to the strategy	Usually minimal or none at purchase
Financing Complexity	Higher – involves both an acquisition/rehab loan and a later refinance	Simpler – typically one long-term loan
Cash Flow	Depends on post-refinance loan terms and rehab success	Depends on initial purchase price and loan terms
Equity Creation	Can be accelerated through forced appreciation via renovation	Primarily gradual, through market appreciation and loan paydown
Refinance Dependency	Central to the strategy – a weak refinance changes the entire outcome	Not required for the investment to function as planned
Risk	Generally higher – rehab, appraisal, and refinance risk all stack together	Generally lower – fewer moving parts
Scalability	Potentially faster, if capital is successfully recycled each cycle	Typically slower, limited by new capital available for each purchase

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a BRRRR calculator?

A BRRRR calculator estimates the financial outcome of a Buy-Rehab-Rent-Refinance-Repeat deal, including total cash invested, refinance loan proceeds, cash left in the deal, monthly cash flow, and cash-on-cash return.

How does the BRRRR strategy work?

An investor buys a distressed property below market value, renovates it, rents it to a tenant, then refinances based on the new after-repair value to recover most or all of the original cash invested – which can then be used to repeat the process on another property.

How do you calculate a BRRRR deal?

Add purchase price and rehab costs for total cash invested, multiply ARV by the refinance LTV for the refinance loan, subtract that loan from total cash invested for cash left in the deal, and calculate monthly cash flow as rental income after expenses minus the new mortgage payment.

What is ARV in BRRRR investing?

ARV stands for After-Repair Value – the estimated market value of a property once renovations are complete, based on comparable sales. It’s central to BRRRR because it determines the maximum refinance loan amount.

How much cash do I need for a BRRRR?

It varies significantly by property and market, but investors typically need enough cash (or short-term financing) to cover the full purchase price and rehab costs upfront, since a refinance loan generally isn’t available until after renovations are complete and the property is rented.

What is the 70% rule in BRRRR?

A rule of thumb suggesting a maximum purchase price of about 70% of ARV minus estimated repair costs. It’s a quick screening tool, not a guaranteed formula for profitability, and the appropriate percentage varies by market and deal.

How does BRRRR refinancing work?

After the rehab and rental phases, the investor refinances the property based on its new appraised value (ARV), typically through a cash-out refinance, allowing them to pay off any existing loan and recover a portion of their invested cash as loan proceeds, subject to the lender’s LTV limits and underwriting requirements.

Can a BRRRR property have zero cash left in the deal?

Yes – this is often called a “full pull” or “infinite return” BRRRR, where the refinance loan equals or exceeds the total cash invested. It represents a favorable outcome but depends heavily on ARV, LTV, and total project costs lining up well, and is not guaranteed on any given deal.

Is BRRRR investing risky?

Yes, relative to simpler buy-and-hold investing. BRRRR combines rehab risk, appraisal risk, financing risk, and rental market risk, all amplified by leverage at both the purchase and refinance stages. It can work well when assumptions hold, but it can also tie up more capital than planned or produce weaker returns if they don’t.

What makes a good BRRRR property?

A good BRRRR property is typically bought below its potential post-repair value, has a realistic and well-scoped rehab budget, supports a well-researched ARV, is located where rental demand is solid, and still produces acceptable cash flow after a conservative refinance.

Disclaimer: This calculator and content are for educational and illustrative purposes only and do not constitute investment, financial, or legal advice. We are not licensed real estate professionals, lenders, or financial advisors. Actual financing terms, appraisal values, rental income, taxes, insurance, closing costs, lender requirements, and refinance terms vary by property, market, and lender, and are not guaranteed by any figure shown here. Consult licensed real estate, lending, and financial professionals for guidance specific to your situation.

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