BRRRR Strategy Calculator
Calculate how much equity and cash you can pull out with the BRRRR strategy — and whether you can recycle your initial investment.
How to use this tool
- Enter purchase price, rehab / renovation cost, closing costs (purchase), after repair value (arv), refinance ltv and closing costs (refinance) in the fields above.
- Results update instantly as you type — or click Calculate.
- Read your cash left in deal and the full breakdown beneath it.
BRRRR is a recycling strategy: buy distressed, rehab, rent, refinance to pull your cash back out, then repeat. A negative 'cash left in deal' means you recovered more than you invested.
Formula
Total Cash Invested = Purchase Price + Rehab Cost + Closing Costs (buy)
Refinance Loan = ARV × (Refi LTV ÷ 100)
Net Cash Out = Refinance Loan − Closing Costs (refi)
Cash Left In Deal = Total Cash Invested − Net Cash Out
Equity Remaining = ARV − Refinance Loan
How it works
The BRRRR (Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat) calculator tracks the full cash cycle of the strategy: it totals all money deployed to acquire and renovate the property, then computes how much the refinance loan returns after covering refi closing costs, leaving a net figure of cash still tied up in the deal.
A negative Cash Left In Deal indicates the investor has fully recycled their capital and pulled out more than they put in — the ideal BRRRR outcome. Results depend on accurate ARV estimates and lender LTV limits; actual lender terms and appraisal outcomes may differ.
Worked example
Worked example
- Purchase $80,000 + Rehab $30,000 + Buying costs $3,000 = $113,000 total cash invested
- Refi loan = $160,000 ARV × 75% = $120,000
- Net cash out = $120,000 − $4,000 refi closing costs = $116,000
- Cash left in deal = $113,000 − $116,000 = −$3,000 (capital fully recycled)
- Equity remaining in property = $160,000 − $120,000 = $40,000
Cash left in deal: −$3,000 | Equity remaining: $40,000 | Total invested: $113,000 | Refi loan: $120,000 | Net cash out: $116,000
Key terms
- After Repair Value (ARV)
- The estimated market value of a property after all planned renovations are completed, used to size the refinance loan.
- Loan-to-Value (LTV)
- The ratio of the loan amount to the appraised property value, expressed as a percentage; lenders typically refinance at 70–80% LTV.
- Cash left in deal
- The net cash the investor still has tied up in the property after the cash-out refinance; zero or negative means capital has been fully recycled.
- BRRRR
- Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat — a real estate investment strategy that uses a cash-out refi to recycle capital into the next deal.
- Equity remaining
- The difference between ARV and the new refinance loan balance; represents the investor's built-in equity cushion after the refi.
Frequently asked questions
- What does negative 'cash left in deal' mean?
- A negative value means you pulled out MORE cash at refinance than you originally invested. You own the property with none of your own money tied up — the ideal BRRRR outcome.
- What LTV do cash-out refinance lenders allow?
- Most conventional lenders allow up to 75% LTV on investment property cash-out refinances. DSCR lenders and portfolio lenders may go up to 80%. The lower the LTV, the less cash you can extract.
- What is ARV?
- After Repair Value (ARV) is the estimated market value of the property after all renovations are complete. Use recent comparable sales (comps) within 1 mile and 0.2 sq ft to estimate ARV accurately.