BRRRR Calculator
Model a BRRRR deal, seeing how much the refinance pulls back out, what stays in the deal, and the resulting cash-on-cash return.
Want to understand the concept, not just the number? Read The Real Estate Investing Guide and more below.
How it's calculated
BRRRR stands for buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat. The goal is to recycle your cash. You buy a run-down property, fix it up so it appraises higher, rent it out, then refinance based on the new value to pull most of your money back out. If it works, you own a cash-flowing rental with little of your own cash still tied up, and you use that recovered cash to do it again.
Take the default. You put $130,000 into the purchase, $45,000 into the rehab, and $5,000 into closing and holding, so $180,000 of cash goes in. The work lifts the appraised value to $220,000. A lender does a cash-out refinance at 75 percent of that value, a $165,000 loan. That $165,000 comes back to you, leaving just $15,000 of your own cash still in the deal. The other $165,000 is now free to roll into the next project.
The refinanced loan of $165,000 at 7.5 percent over 30 years costs about $1,153.70 a month. The property rents for $1,800, and after a 5 percent vacancy allowance and $500 of monthly operating expenses, it clears about $56.30 a month, or $675.55 a year. Measured against the $15,000 you left in, that is a 4.5 percent cash-on-cash return, and because so little of your cash remains, the return on your trapped money can be high even when the monthly cash flow is modest. The catch is the appraisal. If the after-repair value comes in low, the refinance returns less and more of your cash stays stuck. Test a lower after-repair value here to see how much that matters.
Assumptions
- The refinance loan is the after-repair value times the loan-to-value. It pulls back your cash up to that loan, and whatever it does not cover stays in the deal.
- Cash-on-cash return divides the annual cash flow after the new mortgage by the cash left in the deal. Cash flow is rent after vacancy minus operating expenses and the payment.
Last updated: 2026-08-08
These assumptions follow our general methodology.
Frequently asked questions
What does BRRRR stand for?
Buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat. You buy a property that needs work, renovate it to raise the value, rent it to a tenant, refinance based on the higher appraised value to pull your cash back out, then repeat the process with that recovered cash on the next deal.
How much cash can I pull out in a BRRRR refinance?
It depends on the appraised value and the lender loan-to-value limit, often around 75 percent for a cash-out refinance on a rental. If your total cash in is below that new loan, you can recover most or all of it. If the appraisal is low, more of your cash stays in the deal.
What makes a BRRRR deal work or fail?
The after-repair value is everything. A high appraisal lets the refinance return most of your cash and keeps the return on your remaining money high. A low one leaves cash trapped and can turn a good plan into an ordinary rental. Rehab overruns and a weak rent also hurt, so build in a cushion on all three.
Is a low cash-on-cash return in BRRRR a problem?
Not necessarily, because the point of BRRRR is to leave very little cash in the deal. Even a modest monthly cash flow can be a strong return on a small amount of trapped cash, and you still capture appreciation and loan paydown on the full property. Look at the cash left in alongside the return.