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BRRRR Calculator
Buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat. Enter your purchase, rehab budget, and after repair value to see how much of your capital the refinance actually gives back — and what the property earns once it does.
Educational calculators — always consult a licensed professional before making financial decisions.
What you pay for the distressed property.
Total cost of the renovation work.
What the property appraises for once the work is done.
Lenders typically cash-out refinance at 70–75% of ARV.
Gross rent once the property is stabilized.
Interest, tax, insurance, and utilities while the property sits empty.
Legal, title, inspection, and lender fees on the purchase.
Tax, insurance, maintenance, management, repairs. Exclude the mortgage.
Share of the year empty. ~5% is a common baseline.
Investment cash-out refinance rates run above owner-occupied rates.
30-year terms are typical in this market.
Post-Refi Cash-on-Cash Return
∞
Capital fully recycled — no cash left in the deal
Cash Left In The Deal
After The Refinance
Pre-tax figure. Assumes the appraisal supports your ARV and that you clear the lender's seasoning period before the cash-out refinance. Excludes income tax, appreciation, and principal paydown. Estimate only; consult a licensed professional.
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How the BRRRR method actually works
BRRRR stands for buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat. You buy a property below market value, renovate it to raise what it's worth, place a tenant, then take a cash-out refinance against the new after repair value (ARV). The refinance proceeds pull your capital back out so you can put it into the next deal. Every step exists to serve that last R — the whole point is recycling the same money instead of tying it up one property at a time.
The number that matters is cash left in the deal. It's (purchase + rehab + holding costs + closing costs) − refinance loan amount, where the refinance loan is ARV × the lender's LTV. Lenders typically cash-out refinance an investment property at 70–75% of ARV, and that cap is the entire constraint: if your total project cost lands above roughly 75% of ARV, some of your cash stays trapped no matter how well the renovation went. It's the same logic behind the 70% rule flippers use — maximum offer = ARV × 0.70 − rehab — which exists to build in exactly that margin.
Why the return goes infinite. Cash-on-cash return divides annual cash flow by the cash you have invested. When the refinance returns every dollar you put in, that denominator hits zero — the property still throws off cash flow, but none of your own money is in it, so the return is mathematically infinite. That's the BRRRR selling point. A deal that leaves cash in isn't a failure, though: 8–12% cash-on-cash on the remainder is still the band most investors consider a solid residential rental.
Two things break BRRRR deals. The first is seasoning. Lenders typically require a holding period — commonly in the 6–12 month range, though it varies by lender and product — before they'll refinance against the appraised value rather than your purchase price. You carry interest, tax, insurance, and utilities for that whole window with no capital back, which is why holding costs belong in the project total above. The second, and the bigger one, is the ARV coming in below expectation. Every dollar the appraisal misses costs you the LTV share of it: at 75%, an ARV that lands $20,000 light leaves an extra $15,000 of your cash stuck in the deal. Base your ARV on recent sold comparables for renovated properties nearby — never on asking prices or on what you feel the work is worth.
Before you commit, check the refinance actually qualifies. Lenders generally want a DSCR of 1.20–1.25 on an investment loan, and a fully leveraged refinance can fail that test even when the ARV supports the loan amount. It's also worth sanity-checking the stabilized property on cap rate — if the finished asset is a mediocre rental, recovering your capital just means you own a mediocre rental for free.
How it works
Enter the buy and rehab
Purchase price, rehab budget, holding costs, and closing costs going in.
Estimate the ARV and refi
After-repair value and your refinance LTV — typically 70–75% — plus the refi rate and term.
See the cash left in
Total project cost minus the refi loan. If it's zero or less, you've recycled all your capital.
How refinance LTV drives the cash left in the deal
| ARV | Refi at 70% | Refi at 75% | Project cost | Cash left in at 75% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $200,000 | $140,000 | $150,000 | $150,000 | $0 — fully recycled |
| $220,000 | $154,000 | $165,000 | $150,000 | −$15,000 — cash out |
| $190,000 | $133,000 | $142,500 | $150,000 | $7,500 left in |
| $170,000 | $119,000 | $127,500 | $150,000 | $22,500 left in |
Illustrative arithmetic on a $150,000 all-in project (purchase + rehab + holding + closing). The whole strategy hinges on the ARV — a valuation coming in low is what leaves capital trapped. Lenders typically require a seasoning period before a cash-out refinance; confirm with your lender.
Frequently asked questions
What does BRRRR stand for?+
Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat. You buy a property below market value, renovate it to raise its value, place a tenant, then take a cash-out refinance against the new after repair value (ARV) to pull your capital back out. Whatever cash you recover funds the next deal — the 'repeat' step. The strategy lives or dies on the gap between what you spend and what the property is worth once the work is done.
How do you calculate cash left in a BRRRR deal?+
Cash left in the deal = (purchase price + rehab + holding costs + closing costs) − refinance loan amount, where the refinance loan is the after repair value multiplied by the lender's LTV. If the refinance loan covers your whole project cost, the cash left in is zero or negative and you have recovered all of your capital. That number, not the purchase price, is what your post-refi return is measured against.
Why is a BRRRR return sometimes called infinite?+
Cash-on-cash return divides annual cash flow by the cash you have invested. If the refinance returns every dollar you put in, the denominator is zero and the return is mathematically infinite — the property still produces cash flow, but none of your own money is in it. That is the outcome the strategy is designed to reach. It depends entirely on the appraisal supporting your ARV, so treat it as a target rather than a forecast.
What LTV will a lender refinance at?+
70–75% of the after repair value is the standard assumption for an investment cash-out refinance, and it is the ceiling on how much of your capital can come back out. That cap is why BRRRR requires buying well below market: if your total project cost exceeds roughly 75% of ARV, some of your cash is stuck in the deal regardless of how good the renovation was. Confirm the actual figure with your lender before you commit.
What is the seasoning period on a cash-out refinance?+
Seasoning is how long you must own the property before a lender will refinance against the new appraised value rather than what you paid. Lenders typically require somewhere in the range of 6–12 months, though it varies by lender and loan product. It matters because you carry the holding costs — interest, tax, insurance, utilities — for that entire window before any capital comes back. Ask your lender for their seasoning rule before you buy, not after the rehab is finished.
What is the biggest risk in a BRRRR deal?+
The ARV coming in below expectation at the appraisal. Every dollar the appraisal misses costs you the LTV share of that dollar in refinance proceeds — at 75% LTV, an ARV that lands $20,000 low leaves an extra $15,000 of your cash trapped in the deal. Base your ARV on recent sold comparables for renovated properties nearby, not on asking prices or on what you hope the work is worth. Rehab overruns are the close second.
Got the capital back out? Run the next deal.
Back to the calculator ↑Cost ranges and rates here are checked against contractor quotes and published industry data. If a number still looks off, email Support@RealCostIQ.com and we'll review and fix it.