BRRRR Calculator — Rental Property ROI, Cash-Out Refinance & Cash-on-Cash

How to Use the BRRRR Calculator

1. Enter your purchase price and purchase closing costs (title, escrow, inspection, etc.).
2. Input your rehab cost (total renovation budget) and estimated holding costs during the renovation period (taxes, insurance, utilities, any bridge loan interest).
3. Enter the projected After-Repair Value (ARV) — this is the appraised value once all work is complete, and it drives your refinance loan amount.
4. Fill in monthly rent, your monthly operating expenses (or use the % toggle), and vacancy rate.
5. Set your cash-out refinance terms: LTV percentage, interest rate, loan term, and refi closing costs.
6. Results update instantly — review cash left in deal, cash-on-cash return, monthly cash flow, NOI, Cap Rate, and DSCR.
7. If cash left in deal is zero or negative, you've achieved an infinite return — all your capital has been recycled for the next deal.
8. Click Export CSV to download the BRRRR breakdown for your records or lender presentation.

What Is the BRRRR Strategy?

BRRRR stands for Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat — a real estate investment strategy popularized as a way to recycle capital efficiently and build a rental portfolio faster than traditional buy-and-hold methods. Rather than putting 20–25% down on a turnkey rental and having that capital permanently locked in, BRRRR investors seek distressed properties, add value through renovation, then pull their equity back out via a cash-out refinance.

The core insight of BRRRR is this: if you buy below market value and/or create value through renovation, the property's appraised value after repair (the ARV) may be high enough to support a refinance loan that equals or exceeds your total cash invested. When that happens, you've effectively recycled 100% of your invested capital — leaving you with a rent-producing property, a mortgage, but none of your own money still tied up in the deal. That recycled capital then funds the next acquisition.

After-Repair Value (ARV) is the single most critical number in any BRRRR analysis. It is the property's estimated market value after all renovations are complete, typically determined by a licensed appraiser using comparable sales (comps) in the neighborhood. Your ARV determines how large a refinance loan you can obtain, which determines how much of your initial capital you can pull back out. Conservative ARV estimates are essential — overestimating ARV is the most common BRRRR mistake.

Cash-Out Refinance is the mechanism that makes BRRRR work. After the property is renovated and stabilized with a tenant, you refinance it based on the new appraised value (ARV). Conventional lenders typically allow 70–75% LTV on cash-out refinances of investment properties. The refinance loan pays off any existing acquisition loan (or is a new first mortgage if you bought all-cash) and the remaining proceeds come back to you — those are your "recycled" funds for the next deal.

Cash-on-Cash Return measures your annual pre-tax cash flow as a percentage of the actual cash you have remaining in the deal after the refinance. If you pulled out 100% of your capital (or more), and the property still generates positive monthly cash flow, your cash-on-cash return is technically infinite — you earn income on zero invested dollars. This is the headline metric of the BRRRR strategy and why it appeals to investors seeking capital efficiency.

Infinite Return occurs when cash left in deal is zero or negative (meaning you received back all your capital plus extra). At that point, any positive cash flow represents an unlimited percentage return on a zero investment base. This is mathematically valid but requires real discipline: you must still have a property that cash-flows positively after the mortgage, and the mortgage itself represents real financial risk if the market turns or tenants leave.

DSCR (Debt Service Coverage Ratio) is critical for lenders and for your own risk assessment. DSCR = NOI / Annual Debt Service. Most investment property lenders require a minimum 1.20–1.25 DSCR, meaning your NOI must exceed annual mortgage payments by 20–25%. A DSCR below 1.0 means the property cannot pay its own mortgage from operating income alone — you'd need to inject cash each month from other income sources.

Rent-to-Value Ratio (RTV), also called the 1% Rule, is a quick screening heuristic: if monthly rent is at least 1% of the purchase price (or ARV), the property is more likely to cash flow. This calculator shows your RTV relative to ARV — the relevant metric post-BRRRR since the refi is based on ARV, not purchase price. Note that the 1% rule is a rough screen, not a substitute for full underwriting.

Frequently Asked Questions

• What LTV can I get on a cash-out refinance investment property?
  Most conventional lenders (Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac conforming guidelines) allow a maximum of 75% LTV on a single-family investment property cash-out refinance, and 70% LTV on 2–4 unit properties. Some portfolio lenders and DSCR loan programs may offer slightly higher LTVs for borrowers with strong credit and cash reserves. Always confirm your lender's current guidelines, as LTV limits can change with market conditions. This calculator defaults to 75% LTV, which is the most common ceiling for SFR investors.
• How is "cash left in deal" calculated?
  Total Cash Invested = Purchase Price + Rehab Cost + Purchase Closing Costs + Holding Costs. Refi Loan = ARV × Refi LTV%. Cash Pulled Out = Refi Loan − Refi Closing Costs. Cash Left in Deal = Total Cash Invested − Cash Pulled Out. If this number is zero or negative, you have recycled all your capital (and possibly received a cash bonus above what you spent). If it is positive, you have that much equity "trapped" in the property that will take time to earn back through cash flow.
• What does "infinite return" mean on a BRRRR deal?
  Infinite return occurs when you have zero (or less) of your own money remaining in a deal after the refinance, yet the property still generates positive annual cash flow. Cash-on-Cash = Annual Cash Flow / Cash Left in Deal. When the denominator is zero, the percentage is undefined (infinite). In practice this means: you recycled all your capital AND the property still pays you monthly income. This is the best-case BRRRR outcome — your capital is free for the next deal, and this property generates income from the bank's money, not yours.
• What should I include in "holding costs"?
  Holding costs are all expenses you pay during the renovation period before a tenant moves in. These typically include: property taxes (prorated for the rehab duration), homeowner's / landlord's insurance, utilities you pay (electric, water, gas), and — if you used a hard money loan or bridge loan to purchase — the monthly interest on that loan. A typical rehab period of 3–6 months with a $150,000 property might have $1,500–$4,000 in holding costs. Don't underestimate these; they add up quickly on longer projects.
• Can I use BRRRR with FHA or VA loans?
  FHA and VA loans are for owner-occupied properties only (with limited exceptions for small multifamily if you live in one unit). Pure BRRRR on investment properties typically requires conventional financing, hard money / private lending for the acquisition and rehab phase, and then a conventional investment property refinance. Some investors use FHA/VA to "house-hack" (live in one unit of a small multifamily) and later convert to a pure rental — a related but distinct strategy. This calculator is designed for the standard investor BRRRR scenario with conventional or DSCR-based refinancing.
• What is a good ARV-to-total-cost ratio for a BRRRR deal?
  The golden rule most BRRRR investors use is the 70% Rule: Total Cost In (purchase + rehab + all closing costs) should be no more than 70% of ARV. Why 70%? Because with a 75% LTV refi, you'll get back 75% of ARV. If you invested only 70% of ARV, the 75% LTV refi returns 75/70 = 107% of your invested capital. That means you pull out all your money plus a small bonus. The closer your total cost creeps to 75% of ARV, the less capital you recover. Above 75% of ARV, you leave money in the deal permanently (unless the LTV is higher or you force more appreciation).
• Does BRRRR make sense in today's interest rate environment?
  Higher rates compress cash flow on the back end (the refinanced property must carry a larger mortgage payment) but don't kill the strategy if the fundamentals are right. The capital recycling aspect of BRRRR works regardless of rates — if you recover your invested capital, you can deploy it into the next deal. However, with 7%+ refinance rates, you need either (1) higher rent relative to expenses to maintain positive cash flow, (2) a larger ARV-to-cost spread to keep the numbers green, or (3) to accept tighter margins while building equity and waiting for a future rate-and-term refi when rates improve. Model each deal conservatively with current rates, not optimistic future rates.