Calculators
BRRRR calculator
Buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat. The number that decides whether the strategy works on a given deal is how much of your own cash the refinance actually gives back — not the after-repair value itself.
Run the numbers
Refinance LTV, rate and closing costs are assumptions — set them to the lender you're comparing.
Assumes the acquisition loan (if any) is still outstanding at its original balance when the refinance closes and is paid off from the refinance proceeds. Actual appraisal at refinance, seasoning requirements and a specific lender's DSCR floor all vary — this is the arithmetic, not a commitment.
What this measures and how it's computed
Total cash invested is purchase price plus rehab plus purchase closing costs, minus any acquisition loan that covered part of the purchase. The refinance loan amount is the after-repair value times the refinance lender's LTV. Cash out at refinance is that loan amount minus the acquisition loan payoff minus refinance closing costs. What's left in the deal is cash invested minus cash out — zero or negative means the refinance returned all, or more than all, of the original cash.
How it's used in an underwriting decision
Two separate underwriting events happen in a BRRRR: the acquisition/rehab loan (typically hard money, underwritten on the deal and the exit) and the refinance (typically a DSCR loan, underwritten on the after-repair value and the post-rehab rent). The refinance lender doesn't care what you originally paid — it lends against the appraised ARV and checks that the rent clears its DSCR floor at the new payment, which is what the post- refinance DSCR figure above is checking. A refinance that returns 100% of your cash but produces a DSCR below the lender's floor doesn't close as structured; you'd need to bring the ratio up (lower leverage, a rate buydown) before the cash-out number above is real.
What this doesn't capture
- Whether the appraisal supports the ARV. This tool takes the ARV you enter as given. The actual refinance appraisal, done after rehab and often after a seasoning period, is the real test — and appraisers are frequently more conservative than a rehab budget assumes.
- Seasoning requirements. Many refinance lenders require the property to be owned for a minimum period, or use the purchase price rather than the ARV, before a certain number of months has passed. That timing constraint isn't modeled here.
- Carrying costs during the rehab. Interest on the acquisition loan, utilities and insurance during the rehab period aren't included in cash invested above unless you fold them into the rehab budget field yourself.
- Ongoing cash flow after the refinance. This tool stops at the refinance. Run the resulting rent and payment through the cash flow calculator to see what the property nets monthly once it's a long-term hold.
The BRRRR strategy itself — including how the acquisition and refinance loans typically fit together — is covered on the BRRRR with DSCR financing strategy page. For the after-repair-value concept specifically, see the ARV glossary entry.