How does the BRRRR method work?

BRRRR is Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat. You buy a property below market (often one needing work), renovate it to raise its value, rent it out, then do a cash-out refinance against the higher after-repair value. The refinance returns much or all of the cash you put in, which you use to buy the next property and repeat. The goal is to recycle the same capital across many deals.

How do I calculate a BRRRR deal?

Add up the cash you put in: purchase price, rehab, and buy-side closing and holding costs. Size the refinance as the after-repair value times the lender's LTV (commonly 70 to 75 percent), then subtract any loan payoff and refinance closing costs to get the cash recovered. Cash invested minus cash recovered is the cash left in the deal. Finally, check the post-refinance cash flow: rent minus vacancy, operating costs, taxes, insurance, and the new loan payment.

What refinance LTV is typical for a cash-out on a rental?

Investor cash-out refinances commonly cap the new loan around 70 to 75 percent of the after-repair value, which this calculator defaults to 75 percent. The exact limit depends on the lender, the loan program, the property type, and any seasoning period the lender requires before it will lend against the new appraised value rather than your purchase price. Confirm the LTV and seasoning rules with your lender before you count on the cash-out.

What does an infinite return mean in BRRRR?

If the cash-out refinance returns everything you invested, you have no cash left in the deal, so your cash-on-cash return (cash flow divided by cash invested) divides by zero and is described as infinite. It means the property still produces cash flow while tying up none of your own money. This calculator reports it as not applicable and flags that your capital was fully recovered, rather than showing a misleading number.

What does my result mean?

The cash left in the deal is the headline: the lower it is, the more capital you freed up to reinvest, and zero or below means a full BRRRR. But read it alongside the monthly cash flow, because maximizing the cash-out means a bigger loan that can turn the rental cash-flow negative. A strong BRRRR recovers most of your capital and still cash-flows; a weak one does one but not the other.

BRRRR Calculator

Model a BRRRR deal end to end: buy, rehab, rent, and cash-out refinance, to see how much cash you pull back out and how much stays in the deal.

Purchase price

Rehab cost

Buy-side closing and holding costs

After-repair value (ARV)

Refinance LTV

Refinance closing costs

Existing loan payoff

Monthly rent

Refinance interest rate

Refinance term

years

Property tax

Insurance

Vacancy rate

Maintenance

Property management

X f in

Cash left in the deal

$14,500.00

Cash recovered at refinance: $183,500.00
Total cash invested: $198,000.00
New loan (cash-out refinance): $187,500.00
Monthly cash flow after refinance: $74.62
Cash-on-cash return: 6.18%
Capital recovery: Most of your capital recovered

Capital in the deal

Item	Amount
Purchase price	$150,000.00
Rehab cost	$40,000.00
Buy-side closing and holding	$8,000.00
Cash recovered at refinance	-$183,500.00
Cash left in the deal	$14,500.00

Quick answer: With the example inputs this page loads by default, the headline result (Cash left in the deal) comes to $14,500.00. Model a BRRRR deal end to end: buy, rehab, rent, and cash-out refinance, to see how much cash you pull back out and how much stays in the deal. Change any input above and every figure updates instantly in your browser.

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Fact-check: results on this page are verified against an independently coded reference oracle that covers all 106 calculators on this site. See how we verify .

BRRRR stands for Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat. You buy a property that needs work, renovate it, rent it out, then do a cash-out refinance against the higher after-repair value to pull your cash back out and buy the next one. This calculator finds how much cash you recover at the refinance, how much stays trapped in the deal, your post-refinance monthly cash flow, and your cash-on-cash return.

What this result means

The headline BRRRR number is the cash left in the deal. When the refinance returns everything you put in, that figure is zero or negative and your cash-on-cash return is effectively infinite, since you have no cash tied up, which is the outcome BRRRR investors aim for. A positive figure means real capital stays trapped in the property until you sell or refinance again. Watch the post-refinance cash flow separately: pulling the most cash out means the largest loan, and a large loan at current rates can leave the rental cash-flow negative even when the capital math looks great. The two swing assumptions are the after-repair value and the refinance LTV, both of which depend on the appraisal and the lender, so a conservative ARV is the safest way to plan. This is an estimate for education, not financial advice or a guarantee of appraised value or loan terms.

Assumptions

The base case is an all-cash purchase followed by a cash-out refinance. Total cash invested is the purchase price plus the rehab cost plus buy-side closing and holding costs. If instead you bought with a loan such as hard money, enter its balance in the existing loan payoff so it reduces the cash you recover; the cash invested figure still assumes a cash purchase, so reduce it by what you borrowed to read the financed case.
The new cash-out loan is the after-repair value (ARV) times the refinance LTV, which defaults to 75 percent (investor cash-out refinances commonly run 70 to 75 percent). Cash recovered at the refinance is that loan minus any existing loan payoff minus refinance closing costs, and it can be negative if the loan does not cover the payoff and costs.
Cash left in the deal is the total cash invested minus the cash recovered, and it is not floored. Zero or negative means you pulled all of your capital back out (an over-recovery), the celebrated BRRRR outcome; a positive figure is real capital that stays trapped in the property until you sell or refinance again.
Post-refinance monthly cash flow is the gross rent minus a vacancy allowance (a percent of gross rent), minus operating costs (maintenance and management, each a percent of the rent collected after vacancy), minus monthly property tax and insurance, minus the new loan payment. It is not floored: pulling the most cash out means the largest loan, which can leave the rental cash-flow negative.
The new loan payment is the standard amortization of the cash-out loan at your refinance rate and term. Property tax and insurance are entered annually and divided by 12.
Cash-on-cash return is the annual post-refinance cash flow divided by the cash left in the deal. When the cash left in is zero or negative the return is undefined (infinite), so it is shown as not applicable rather than dividing by zero, and the verdict reads that capital was fully recovered. The tie-break is inclusive: a cash left in of exactly zero counts as fully recovered.
All figures are monthly or annual nominal dollars, rounded to the nearest cent, and held constant (no growth in rent, expenses, or value over time). Not modeled: the acquisition loan interest and points during the rehab, seasoning periods before a lender allows a cash-out refinance, income taxes and depreciation, and closing on the next deal.
The after-repair value and the refinance LTV are the two swing assumptions, and both depend on the lender's appraisal and program, so a conservative ARV is the safest way to plan. This is an estimate for educational purposes only, not financial, legal, or tax advice, and not a guarantee of appraised value or loan terms.

Key terms

Definitions for the terms this calculator uses, in our finance glossary .

What BRRRR is and how it is calculated

BRRRR stands for Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat. You buy a property below market (usually one needing work), renovate it to raise its value, rent it out, then do a cash-out refinance against the higher after-repair value to pull your cash back out and buy the next one. The whole point is to recycle the same capital across many deals. This calculator models the five phases as a cash-in, cash-out flow.

Buy and rehab (cash in)

The base case is an all-cash purchase followed by a refinance. The total cash you put in is:

cash invested = purchase price + rehab cost + buy-side closing and holding costs

If you instead bought with a loan such as hard money, enter its balance as the existing loan payoff so it reduces the cash you recover, and lower the cash invested by what you borrowed.

After-repair value and refinance

The new cash-out loan is the after-repair value (ARV) times the refinance loan-to-value (LTV):

new loan = ARV x refinance LTV

Investor cash-out refinances commonly run 70 to 75 percent LTV; this calculator defaults to 75 percent. The cash the refinance returns is that loan minus any existing loan payoff and the refinance closing costs:

cash recovered = new loan - existing loan payoff - refinance closing costs

Cash recovered can be negative if the loan does not cover the payoff and costs.

Cash left in the deal (the headline)

cash left in = cash invested - cash recovered

This is the BRRRR headline. It is not floored. Zero or below means you pulled all of your capital back out, the celebrated outcome, and a positive figure is real capital trapped in the property until you sell or refinance again.

Post-refinance cash flow

monthly cash flow = rent x (1 - vacancy) - operating costs - property tax / 12 - insurance / 12 - new loan payment

Vacancy is a percent of gross rent; operating costs are maintenance and management, each a percent of the rent collected after vacancy (the same convention as the rental ROI and house hacking calculators). The new loan payment is the standard amortization of the cash-out loan. Cash flow is not floored: pulling the most cash out means the largest loan, which can leave the rental cash-flow negative.

Return

cash-on-cash = annual cash flow / cash left in x 100

When the cash left in is zero or negative, the return divides by zero and is undefined (infinite): the property still produces cash flow while tying up none of your own money. The calculator reports that as not applicable and flags that capital was fully recovered. The tie-break is inclusive: a cash left in of exactly zero counts as fully recovered.

Worked example

Using the defaults: a $150,000 purchase, $40,000 rehab, $8,000 buy-side closing and holding, a $250,000 ARV, a 75 percent refinance LTV, $4,000 refinance closing costs, no existing loan, $2,100 rent, a 7.5 percent 30-year refinance, $3,000 annual tax, $1,200 insurance, 5 percent vacancy, 5 percent maintenance, and 8 percent management.

cash invested = $150,000 + $40,000 + $8,000 = $198,000
new loan = $250,000 x 75% = $187,500
cash recovered = $187,500 - $0 - $4,000 = $183,500
cash left in = $198,000 - $183,500 = $14,500
effective rent = $2,100 x (1 - 0.05) = $1,995; operating = $1,995 x 13% = $259.35
new loan payment on $187,500 at 7.5% over 30 years = $1,311.03
monthly cash flow = $1,995 - $259.35 - $250 - $100 - $1,311.03 = $74.62
cash-on-cash = $74.62 x 12 / $14,500 x 100 = 6.18%

So the refinance recovers most of the capital ($183,500 of the $198,000 put in, leaving $14,500), and the rental still cash-flows a modest $75 a month. Push the ARV or LTV higher and the cash left in falls toward zero, but the larger loan payment eats into that cash flow.

The ARV and LTV appraisal risk

The two swing assumptions are the after-repair value and the refinance LTV, and both depend on the lender’s appraisal and program. If the appraisal comes in below your ARV, or the lender caps the LTV lower than expected, the cash-out shrinks and more capital stays trapped. Lenders also often require a seasoning period before they will lend against the new appraised value rather than your purchase price. A conservative ARV is the safest way to plan.

What this includes and excludes

It includes the acquisition cash stack, the cash-out refinance, and the post-refinance rental cash flow and return. It does not model the acquisition loan interest and points during the rehab, seasoning periods, income taxes and depreciation, rehab overruns, or closing on the next deal. This is an estimate for education, not financial, legal, or tax advice, and not a guarantee of appraised value or loan terms.

Sources

BiggerPockets, “What Is the BRRRR Method?” and BRRRR investing guides, on the Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat strategy and typical investor cash-out refinance LTV limits.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, guidance on cash-out refinancing and how lenders size a loan against a property’s appraised value, at consumerfinance.gov.

Frequently asked questions

How does the BRRRR method work?: BRRRR is Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat. You buy a property below market (often one needing work), renovate it to raise its value, rent it out, then do a cash-out refinance against the higher after-repair value. The refinance returns much or all of the cash you put in, which you use to buy the next property and repeat. The goal is to recycle the same capital across many deals.
How do I calculate a BRRRR deal?: Add up the cash you put in: purchase price, rehab, and buy-side closing and holding costs. Size the refinance as the after-repair value times the lender's LTV (commonly 70 to 75 percent), then subtract any loan payoff and refinance closing costs to get the cash recovered. Cash invested minus cash recovered is the cash left in the deal. Finally, check the post-refinance cash flow: rent minus vacancy, operating costs, taxes, insurance, and the new loan payment.
What refinance LTV is typical for a cash-out on a rental?: Investor cash-out refinances commonly cap the new loan around 70 to 75 percent of the after-repair value, which this calculator defaults to 75 percent. The exact limit depends on the lender, the loan program, the property type, and any seasoning period the lender requires before it will lend against the new appraised value rather than your purchase price. Confirm the LTV and seasoning rules with your lender before you count on the cash-out.
What does an infinite return mean in BRRRR?: If the cash-out refinance returns everything you invested, you have no cash left in the deal, so your cash-on-cash return (cash flow divided by cash invested) divides by zero and is described as infinite. It means the property still produces cash flow while tying up none of your own money. This calculator reports it as not applicable and flags that your capital was fully recovered, rather than showing a misleading number.
What does my result mean?: The cash left in the deal is the headline: the lower it is, the more capital you freed up to reinvest, and zero or below means a full BRRRR. But read it alongside the monthly cash flow, because maximizing the cash-out means a bigger loan that can turn the rental cash-flow negative. A strong BRRRR recovers most of your capital and still cash-flows; a weak one does one but not the other.

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Learn how this works

New to this topic? Our companion guide explains it in plain language: BRRRR Method: Does It Still Work in 2026?

By Sam Sage Last reviewed July 2026.