What this calculator does
BRRRR stands for Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat: a strategy where an investor buys a property below market value, renovates it, rents it out, then refinances based on the new, higher value to pull cash back out, ideally leaving little or none of the original investment still tied up in the deal.
The number that makes or breaks the strategy is how much cash is left in the deal after the refinance. If the new loan covers all, or nearly all, of what was spent on purchase and rehab, the investor keeps an income-producing property with very little of their own money still invested in it, which is what makes cash-on-cash return look unusually high or even undefined.
The formula
Add purchase price and rehab cost together, then subtract the refinance loan amount to find cash left in the deal. Divide the property's annual cash flow after refinancing by that remaining cash figure, and express it as a percentage.
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Cash left in deal | (Purchase price + rehab cost) − refinance loan amount. |
| Refinance loan amount | The new loan amount received when refinancing the property after renovation, based on its post-rehab appraised value. |
| Cash-on-cash return | Annual cash flow after refinancing, divided by cash left in the deal, as a percentage. |
The inputs explained
| Field | What to enter |
|---|---|
| Purchase price ($) | The price paid to acquire the property. |
| Rehab cost ($) | The total cost of renovation. |
| Refinance loan amount ($) | The new loan amount from the post-rehab refinance, typically based on a percentage of the appraised value. |
| Annual cash flow after refinance ($) | The property's expected annual cash flow (rent minus expenses and the new loan payment) after the refinance. |
When to use it
Evaluating a BRRRR deal before committing
Estimating purchase price, rehab cost and a realistic refinance loan amount before starting shows roughly how much cash is likely to remain tied up, and what return that remaining cash needs to earn.
Deciding whether a refinance appraisal is good enough
A higher post-rehab appraisal supports a larger refinance loan, directly reducing the cash left in the deal; comparing appraisal scenarios shows how sensitive the outcome is to that single number.
Comparing a BRRRR deal against a straightforward rental purchase
A property bought, held and financed conventionally from the outset can be compared against the same property run through a BRRRR strategy, to see which leaves more or less cash permanently invested.
Worked examples
Every figure in the tables below is produced by this page’s own calculator at build time, so the numbers and the tool always agree. Select any row to load that scenario.
How cash left in the deal changes with the refinance loan amount
A fixed purchase price and rehab cost, against a range of refinance loan amounts.
| Refinance loan amount | Cash left in deal |
|---|---|
| $120,000 | $65,000.00 |
| $140,000 | $45,000.00 |
| $160,000 | $25,000.00 |
| $175,000 | $10,000.00 |
| $185,000 | $0.00 |
| $200,000 | −$15,000.00 |
How cash-on-cash return changes with annual cash flow
A fixed $25,000 remaining in the deal after refinance, against a range of annual cash flow figures.
| Annual cash flow | Cash-on-cash return |
|---|---|
| $1,000 | 4.00% |
| $2,000 | 8.00% |
| $3,000 | 12.0% |
| $4,200 | 16.8% |
| $5,000 | 20.0% |
| $6,000 | 24.0% |
Questions
What does it mean if cash left in the deal is zero or negative?
Zero means the refinance returned exactly what was spent on purchase and rehab, so a cash-on-cash return is not a meaningful figure since there is no remaining cash base to measure it against. Negative means the refinance actually returned more cash than was originally invested.
Why is cash-on-cash return so sensitive in a BRRRR deal?
Because the denominator, cash left in the deal, is often a small number by design, small changes in the refinance appraisal or rehab budget can swing the calculated return dramatically, even when the property itself performs consistently.
What loan-to-value do refinance lenders typically use?
It varies by lender and loan type, commonly somewhere in the 70-80% range of the appraised post-rehab value, though this should be confirmed with the specific lender rather than assumed.
What is the biggest risk in this strategy?
An appraisal that comes in lower than expected after the rehab is the most common way a BRRRR deal leaves more cash tied up than planned, since the refinance loan amount depends directly on that appraised value.
For the version of this project where the property is sold rather than refinanced and kept, see the house flip ROI calculator. For the loan-sizing check behind the refinance itself, see the loan-to-value calculator.