BRRRR Calculator: What to Input, How to Read the Results, and What the Numbers Mean

The BRRRR strategy — Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat — has a reputation as a shortcut to building a rental portfolio without locking up capital forever. In theory, you recycle your cash at the refinance stage and deploy it again.

In practice, the math only works within a specific set of conditions: the right purchase price relative to ARV, rents that can support the new mortgage, and a refinance LTV that returns enough capital to make it worth the effort.

A BRRRR calculator runs all of that instantly. But the results are only useful if you understand what they're measuring. This guide covers exactly that — what each input does, what each output metric means, and what numbers you should be targeting.

If you want the detailed deal walkthrough, see How to Analyze a BRRRR Deal. This post focuses on using the calculator itself.

You can run these numbers instantly using the BRRRR calculator below — especially useful when testing how different purchase prices or ARV estimates affect capital recycled and post-refi cash flow.

Phase 1 Inputs: The Acquisition

The first phase of a BRRRR deal is about buying and renovating a distressed property below its future value. These inputs determine how much cash you put in.

Purchase Price

This is your acquisition cost, not including closing costs. In a BRRRR deal, the purchase price needs to be well below the after-repair value (ARV) — typically 65–75% of ARV minus the rehab budget.

If ARV is $280,000 and rehab is $45,000, the max purchase to recycle all capital is $165,000. This is the 70% rule in practice.

Rehab Budget

Include everything: labor, materials, permits, dumpsters, and a 10–15% contingency. Scope creep is the most common reason BRRRR deals go over budget. The rehab budget directly increases your all-in cost and affects how much capital needs to be returned at refinance.

Closing Costs (Purchase)

Typically 2–4% of purchase price for a hard money or cash purchase. Includes title, escrow, recording fees, and any origination points if using acquisition financing. Use 3% as a default if you do not have a quote.

Holding Costs

The costs incurred during rehab: hard money interest, insurance, property taxes, and utilities while the unit is vacant. If you are using hard money at 10–12% per year, a 3-month rehab on a $185,000 loan costs roughly $4,600 in interest alone. Do not skip this.

Phase 2 Inputs: The Refinance

Phase two is where BRRRR either succeeds or quietly fails. The refinance determines how much capital you get back — and what the property's ongoing economics look like under the new mortgage.

After-Repair Value (ARV)

ARV is the estimated appraised value after renovation. This is the most consequential number in the entire model. Your new loan amount is based on it. If the appraisal comes in 10% below your estimate, your capital recycled percentage drops sharply.

Source your ARV from closed comparable sales (not active listings) within 0.5 miles and 6 months. Then stress-test it at 90% of your best estimate to see what happens to the deal.

Refinance LTV

Most conventional lenders cap investment property cash-out refis at 75% LTV. Some DSCR lenders will go to 80%. Use 70–75% as your baseline. The calculator will compute:

Refinance Rate and Term

The rate determines your new monthly mortgage payment, which directly sets post-refi cash flow and DSCR. In 2026, most 30-year DSCR loans on investment property are pricing 7.0–8.5% depending on DSCR, LTV, and credit. Use a rate that reflects what you can actually get — not the best-case scenario.

Monthly Rent and Operating Expenses

These inputs drive your post-refi NOI, which feeds into DSCR and cash flow. Use market rents — not what you hope to charge. Operating expenses should include taxes, insurance, management (8–10% of rent), maintenance reserves ($1,200–$2,400/unit/year), and vacancy (5–8%).

How to Read the Outputs

Most BRRRR deals look great on paper through the purchase phase and fall apart after the refinance. This is where the BRRRR deal analysis actually matters — and where the calculator earns its keep.

Here is what each output metric means and what numbers you should be targeting.

All-In Cost

Total cash deployed before the refinance: purchase price + rehab + closing costs + holding costs. This is the baseline your refinance needs to beat to recycle capital.

Capital Recycled %

The percentage of your all-in cost returned at refinance.

Post-Refi DSCR

DSCR (Debt Service Coverage Ratio) after the refinance is the most important output. It determines whether you can actually get the loan — and whether the property sustains itself.

Post-Refi Cash Flow

Monthly and annual cash flow after the new mortgage payment. This is what you actually deposit each month. A positive DSCR and positive cash flow are required for the deal to make long-term sense.

Important: cash flow is not the same as DSCR. A DSCR of 1.10 on a $1,800/month mortgage means you have $180/month in cash flow — not nothing, but not a lot of runway.

Cash-on-Cash Return

Post-refi CoC measures annual cash flow as a percentage of the cashremaining in the deal after the refinance. If you recycled all your capital, cash-on-cash is technically infinite. If $30,000 remains in the deal and generates $3,600/year, CoC is 12%.

This is why BRRRR can generate higher cash-on-cash returns than a straight buy-and-hold on the same property — the leverage from capital recycling magnifies the return on remaining equity.

How to Stress-Test the Deal Before Buying

The most useful thing you can do with a BRRRR calculator is run downside scenarios before you commit to a purchase price.

Example: Running the Calculator on a Real Deal

Single-family in a B-class suburb. Distressed listing, structurally sound, dated kitchen and baths.

This deal clears every threshold: capital recycled above 80%, DSCR above 1.20, positive cash flow, and strong CoC on remaining equity. The purchase price at $162,000 was the key — it is well within the 70% rule ceiling of $164,500 = ($270K × 0.75) − $38K.

What if ARV comes in at $245,000?

Drop the ARV 9% in the calculator. New loan at 75% = $183,750. Cash returned after refi costs = $179,250. Capital recycled drops to 85.7%, cash left in deal rises to $29,850. DSCR tightens slightly (lower ARV doesn't affect rent, so NOI holds). CoC on remaining capital drops to ~11.8%. Still acceptable.

That margin — the deal surviving a 9% ARV shortfall and still penciling — is why purchase price discipline is the only BRRRR variable you fully control.

Run Your Own Numbers

The DealForge BRRRR calculator models all of the above in one place. Enter your purchase price, rehab budget, ARV, and refinance terms — all outputs update instantly.

For a full step-by-step deal analysis using real numbers, see How to Analyze a BRRRR Deal. For the underlying metrics, see What DSCR Do Banks Require? and What Is a Good Cash-on-Cash Return?.