Quick answer
BRRRR — buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat — aims to recover most or all of your cash at the refinance step while keeping the property. Buy at $180,000, spend $60,000 on rehab, achieve a $320,000 valuation, and a 75% refinance returns a $240,000 loan: after $248,000 of total costs and $5,000 of refinance fees, only $13,000 of your cash is left in the deal, and the property rents with about $53 a month of cash flow.
How the BRRRR Strategy Analyzer works, step by step
Enter the purchase price, rehab cost and holding and buying costs to get your all-in basis. Then enter the after-repair value and the refinance terms — loan-to-value, rate and closing costs. The calculator works out the new loan, the cash recovered, and the cash left in the deal, which is the number the whole strategy turns on.
Next it tests whether the property works as a rental under the new, larger loan: rent minus the new 30-year mortgage payment and the running expenses you enter (tax, insurance, vacancy, management). A refinance that returns your cash but leaves negative monthly cash flow has not finished the job — it has converted a flip into a subsidised liability.
The binding constraint is the appraisal at refinance. Lenders lend on the appraised value, not your estimate, and many require a seasoning period of ownership before they will lend on the improved value rather than your purchase price. Model the refinance at a lower LTV and a value 10% below your ARV as the stress case before committing.
Watch the cash-on-cash figure the calculator reports alongside the cash left in. A small amount left in the deal can still produce a weak return if the cash flow is thin: in the example, $53 a month on $13,000 left in is only about 4.9% a year. The strategy's real payoff is the $80,000 of equity retained and the freed capital funding the next deal, not the monthly rent cheque.
If the appraisal disappoints, the numbers move in two directions at once. At a $288,000 valuation the 75% loan falls to $216,000, leaving $37,000 of cash trapped — but the smaller loan also cuts the mortgage payment, so cash flow rises to about $213 a month. A failed refinance is not always a failed investment; it is a different one, with more capital tied up and better monthly income.
The formula
Cash left in deal = (purchase + rehab + holding and buying costs + refinance costs) − refinance loan. Refinance loan = LTV × appraised value. Cash flow after refinance = rent − new 30-year mortgage payment − monthly operating expenses. Equity after refinance = appraised value − refinance loan.
Worked example — try it on the calculator above
Worked example: $180,000 buy to $320,000 value
All-in basis: $180,000 purchase + $60,000 rehab + $8,000 holding and buying costs = $248,000. Refinance at 75% of the $320,000 ARV gives a $240,000 loan; refinance closing costs are $5,000. Cash left in the deal: $248,000 + $5,000 − $240,000 = $13,000. Equity retained: $80,000. The new payment at 7% over 30 years is $1,596.73. Rent of $2,250 minus that payment and $600 of monthly expenses leaves cash flow of about $53 a month — positive, but with no room for a major repair in year one.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 'cash left in the deal' need to be for BRRRR to work?
Ideally zero or negative — all your money back, which makes the return on the remaining cash effectively infinite and funds the 'repeat' step. In practice, leaving 5% to 10% of the all-in cost is a workable outcome. Leaving 30% in means the refinance failed and you own an ordinary leveraged rental — not a disaster, but not the strategy.
What is the seasoning requirement for a refinance?
Many lenders require you to own the property for a period of months before they will lend against the appraised (post-rehab) value; before that, they lend against your purchase price. The exact period varies by lender and loan type, and some portfolio lenders and DSCR loan products are more flexible, at higher rates. Price the seasoning period into the deal from the start — it is holding-cost time.
What is a DSCR loan and why do BRRRR investors use it?
A debt-service-coverage-ratio loan is underwritten on the property's rent versus its payment rather than the borrower's personal income, and it can lend to LLCs. It solves the income-documentation problem for investors with many properties, at higher rates than conventional loans. The lender still wants the rent to cover the payment with room to spare — a thin cash flow fails this test too.
What is the biggest risk in BRRRR?
The appraisal gap: if the refinance valuation comes in at $288,000 instead of $320,000 in the example, the 75% loan is $216,000 and $37,000 of cash stays trapped in the deal. Second is rate risk between purchase and refinance — the strategy is underwritten twice, once by you and once by the market, months apart.
Estimates, not advice. This calculator provides educational estimates based on the inputs you enter and the assumptions shown on this page. It is not financial, tax or investment advice, and it cannot see your full situation. Verify important figures against official sources, and consider a qualified professional for decisions about your own money. See our Disclaimer and Methodology.