Tools · BRRRR
BRRRR Calculator
Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat — modeled end to end in 30 seconds. Free forever. Powered by SaintSal AI.
The number that matters is how much capital stays trapped after the refinance. Every assumption is visible and editable, including bridge cost and carry — the two line items most BRRRR spreadsheets quietly omit.
Inputs
Live calculationOptional. Used to label your result and prefill the full Deal Analyzer.
01 · Buy & Rehab
The single riskiest input — support it with comps.
$288,000 of $360,000 project cost
Taxes, insurance, utilities, security — excludes bridge interest.
02 · Refinance
$348,750 new loan
03 · Rent & Operate
$39,600 gross annual
04 · Exit assumptions (IRR only)
Result updates live as you type — the button just jumps to it
You put $102,010 in and the refinance returns $52,031, leaving $49,979 of capital in the deal — 13.9% of total project cost. The stabilized property then produces −$4,025 per year at 0.86 coverage.
Annual cash flow of −$4,025 against $49,979 of remaining capital.
Assumes 3.0% annual appreciation, 7.0% selling costs and a $172,609 net exit in year 5. Change any assumption and this number moves substantially.
Capital stack — into the deal
Refinance event
Stabilized operations
Sensitivity
ARV and refinance LTV drive capital recovery more than anything else in this model. Move them first.
Education
Where BRRRR actually breaks
The strategy is arithmetic, not magic. Three inputs decide whether capital comes back out, and two of them are usually wrong on the first pass.
What BRRRR is
Buy below value, rehab to force appraised value up, rent to stabilize income, refinance into long-term debt sized off the new value, and recycle the returned capital into the next deal. Success is measured by how little capital stays behind — not by the purchase discount.
The three failure points
- ARV comes in under the estimate. A 5% appraisal miss at 75% LTV removes about 3.75% of ARV from your cash-out — often the entire margin.
- Rehab runs over budget and over schedule. Overruns hit twice: once as spend, once as extra bridge interest and carry.
- The refinance does not size. Coverage below the program floor cuts leverage even when value supports it, so capital stays trapped.
How to protect the model
- Underwrite ARV to closed comps only, and haircut it 5% before you commit.
- Add a 10–15% rehab contingency as a line item, not as optimism.
- Confirm seasoning requirements before you buy — many cash-out programs require 3–6 months of ownership at the new value.
- Check the refinance DSCR at a rate 50–100 bps above today's quote.
- Model the deal as a long-term hold that must stand on coverage even if the cash-out disappoints.
Methodology
Every formula, stated
Deterministic arithmetic computed client-side. No provider data is called and nothing is inferred.
Formulas used
- Total Project Cost = Purchase Price + Rehab Cost
- Excludes closing costs and financing cost, which are tracked separately.
- Acquisition Loan = Total Project Cost × LTC %
- Bridge and hard money lenders commonly size to loan-to-cost rather than purchase price.
- Bridge Interest = Acquisition Loan × Rate × (Months ÷ 12)
- Interest-only, assuming the full loan is drawn on day one. Deals with rehab draws pay less.
- Cash In At Start = Purchase + Rehab + Closing + Points + Bridge Interest + Carry − Acquisition Loan
- All capital required before the refinance closes.
- Refinance Loan = ARV × Refi LTV %
- The appraised value at refinance, not the purchase price, drives loan size.
- Cash Out At Refi = Refinance Loan − Acquisition Loan Payoff − Refinance Closing Costs
- What actually returns to you at the refinance table.
- Cash Left In Deal = Cash In At Start − Cash Out At Refi
- The headline BRRRR metric. Zero or negative means full capital recovery.
- NOI = (Gross Rent − Vacancy) − (Taxes + Insurance + Management + Maintenance)
- Stabilized operations after refinance, before debt service.
- Cash-on-Cash = (NOI − Annual Debt Service) ÷ Cash Left In Deal
- Undefined when no capital remains in the deal — reported as 'Infinite' rather than a number.
- IRR: NPV = Σ CFₜ ÷ (1 + r)ᵗ = 0, solved by bisection
- Annual periods with t0 at refinance completion, level annual cash flow, and a net sale in the final year.
Known limitations
- ARV is your assumption, not an appraisal. Appraisal risk is the dominant risk in this strategy and this tool cannot price it.
- Assumes the full bridge loan is drawn at closing and paid interest-only; construction-draw structures reduce interest cost.
- Assumes the refinance closes exactly at the end of the rehab timeline with no seasoning delay and no lease-up gap.
- Excludes rehab contingency, permit and inspection fees, lease-up cost, and capital expenditure reserves unless you enter them.
- IRR treats cash flow as level and annual, ignores tax effects, depreciation recapture and refinance timing within the year, and is highly sensitive to the appreciation and selling-cost assumptions.
- Not an appraisal, credit decision, loan offer, or tax, legal or investment advice, and no input is verified.
Investment Analysis Disclaimer
This calculator is informational and educational only. It is not an appraisal, a credit decision, a loan offer, or investment, legal or tax advice, and no advisory relationship is created by using it.
Past performance is not indicative of future results. All real estate investment involves risk, including loss of capital. Projected returns, including any IRR shown, are illustrative outputs of assumptions you supply and should not be relied upon as expected results.
Refinance eligibility, loan sizing, seasoning requirements and appraised value are determined by lenders and licensed appraisers, not by this tool.