BRRRR Strategy Calculator

Calculate how much cash you get back in a BRRRR deal (buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat), plus the resulting monthly cash flow and cash-on-cash return on whatever money stays in the property. Designed for real-estate investors using the cash-out refinance model.

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What Is the BRRRR Strategy?

BRRRR stands for Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat. You buy a distressed property with cash or hard money, fix it up, place a tenant, then refinance at the new after-repair value — pulling most or all of your cash back out. If executed well, you end up with a cash-flowing rental and most of your capital freed to buy another property. The strategy was popularized by BiggerPockets and is widely used in the 1-4 unit rental market.

How the Refinance Cash-Out Works

Once the property is stabilized (typically 6 months of tenancy), a bank will refinance up to 70-75% of the new appraised value as an investor loan. If your new appraisal is $250,000 and the bank lends 75%, the new loan is $187,500. After paying off your acquisition/rehab loan or cash, the remainder returns to you. The less cash left in the deal, the higher your infinite-return potential.

What Is a Good BRRRR Outcome?

The textbook BRRRR pulls out 100% of your initial cash, but that requires buying at roughly 75% of ARV minus repairs — tighter than the 70% flip rule. In practice, many BRRRR investors accept leaving $5,000-$20,000 in the deal as a working outcome. Cash-on-cash returns on whatever cash stays invested often exceed 15-25% because the base is so small. If zero cash is left in, the cash-on-cash return is effectively infinite.

Risks and Realities

BRRRR assumes the refinance appraisal will hit your expected ARV. A 5% low appraisal can leave tens of thousands more cash in the deal. Interest rates at refinance time drive the new mortgage payment — a market rate spike can flip cash flow negative. And the transition from hard-money (or short-term bridge) to long-term financing must happen cleanly or carrying costs pile up. Conservative underwriting with a 5-10% ARV cushion protects against most surprises.