Math for Landlords
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BRRRR calculator

Buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat: how much of your cash the refinance returns, how much stays in the deal, and whether the rent still covers the new loan.

Buy and rehab

$
$
$
$

Hard money or a line of credit, paid off by the refinance. 0 if you pay cash.

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Refinance

$
%
%
$

Rent

$
%

Tax, insurance, repairs, reserves, management. Not the mortgage.

$

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Cash left in the deal after the refinance

$0

You put in $0; the refinance returns $0.

Cash flow after refinance$0per month
Cash-on-cash0 %on cash left in
All-in cost / ARV0 %many aim for 75 % or less
Equity after refinance$0ARV - new loan
All-in cost$0
New loan (ARV x LTV)$0
New payment (P&I, 30 years)$0

Lenders often require you to own the property for 6 to 12 months before a cash-out refinance at the full appraised value; until then some lend on what you paid. Ask before you buy.

How the numbers fit together

  1. All-in cost = price + rehab + closing costs + holding costs.
  2. New loan = after-repair value x cash-out LTV.
  3. Cash back = new loan - refinance costs - any short-term loan you pay off.
  4. Cash left in the deal = cash you put in - cash back.

If the cash left is zero or below, every dollar came back and the return on your remaining cash is technically infinite. What matters then is whether the cash flow is still positive with the larger loan.

Stress test before you buy

Lower the ARV by 10 % and add 20 % to the rehab budget. If the deal still leaves most of your cash out and the cash flow stays positive, it has room for the usual surprises. Check the lender's loan rules with the DSCR calculator; many BRRRR refinances are DSCR loans.

Questions

What is the BRRRR method?

Buy a property that needs work, Rehab it, Rent it out, Refinance at the new higher value to pull your cash back out, and Repeat with that cash. It works only when the after-repair value is well above everything you spent.

How much cash can I take out in the refinance?

Lenders usually lend 70 % to 80 % of the appraised value on a cash-out refinance of an investment property. Many also require you to have owned it for a while, often 6 to 12 months, before they use the new value instead of what you paid.

What is the 75 % rule in BRRRR?

A rule of thumb: keep the all-in cost (price, rehab, closing and holding costs) at or below 75 % of the after-repair value. Then a 75 % cash-out refinance returns about all your cash.

What can go wrong?

The rehab costs more or takes longer, the appraisal comes in low, rates rise before the refinance, or the rent does not cover the bigger loan. Run the numbers with a lower ARV and a higher rate to see how much room you have.

Next steps

Rental property calculatorCash flow, cap rate, cash-on-cash and DSCR for one property, in one place.
DSCR calculatorThe ratio DSCR lenders check, and the largest loan the rent supports.

Last updated November 5, 2026.