Get your money back out and do it again.
Buy, rehab, rent, refinance, repeat. Enter the deal and see how much of your cash you recover at refinance, how much stays trapped, and the cash-on-cash return on whatever is left in.
The deal
Did the capital come back?
Cash in versus cash recovered
Every dollar you put in, and how much refinance pulls back out
Deal scorecard
Cash left in at different refinance LTVs
A higher appraisal or a more generous lender pulls more cash out. Here is how cash left in and cash-on-cash move as the refinance LTV changes.
| Refi LTV | Refi loan | Cash pulled out | Cash left in | Cash-on-cash |
|---|
BRRRR, explained
The BRRRR Strategy
Buy a distressed property cheap. Rehab it. Rent it out. Refinance at the higher ARV to pull out your original cash. Repeat with next deal. Goal: build a rental portfolio without running out of capital.
Math of a Full BRRRR
Buy $80k + rehab $30k = $110k all in. ARV $150k. Refinance at 75% LTV = $112.5k. Cash back: $2.5k more than invested. You own a $150k property with $0 invested.
Partial BRRRR Scenarios
Often the refinance returns 60-90% of cash, not 100%. Still better than buying retail, you have a stable rental with reduced cash invested compared to traditional purchase.
BRRRR Risks
Rehab costs blow over budget. ARV comes in lower than expected. Refinance rates spike. Tenant trouble during stabilization. Always model worst-case before committing.
Common questions
What's a good BRRRR outcome?
Full BRRRR = $0 or negative cash left. Strong BRRRR = under 25% of all-in remains. Partial BRRRR = some cash left but improved equity position.
What LTV will refinance allow?
75% standard for conventional investment. DSCR loans 70-80%. Some specialty programs 80-85% for strong DSCR.
How long does BRRRR take?
6-12 months typical. Buy + rehab 2-4 months. Rent stabilization 3-6 months (most lenders want 6 months seasoning before refinance).
What if ARV is lower than expected?
Cash left in deal goes up. May still be profitable rental, just slower portfolio scaling.
Hard money vs cash for purchase?
Hard money speeds acquisition but adds 8-12% interest. Cash gives negotiating leverage. Both work for BRRRR.
Estimates for planning only. Refinance appraisals, lender LTV limits, seasoning rules, rates and real expenses all move the outcome. Model a conservative ARV before you commit and verify every figure with your lender.