How to Use the BRRRR Calculator¶
This guide explains how to use the client-side BRRRR (Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat) calculator to analyze whether a distressed property can be bought, rehabbed, rented, and refinanced to recycle your down payment into the next deal.
What is BRRRR?¶
BRRRR is a wealth-building strategy for scaling from 1 to 10+ properties:
- Buy a distressed property below market value
- Rehab to bring it to rent-ready condition
- Rent at market rate
- Refinance at 75% LTV of ARV (After-Repair Value) — the "cash-out refi"
- Repeat — use the refinanced equity to fund the next deal
The key metric: How much of my own money did I leave in the deal?
Access the Calculator¶
Navigate to BRRRR Calculator in the navigation menu, or browse to /brrrr/ on your
prei instance.
Step-by-Step¶
Step 1: Enter Property Details¶
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Purchase Price | What you'll pay to acquire the property |
| After-Repair Value (ARV) | Estimated market value after renovations |
| Down Payment % | Percentage down on the purchase loan (typically 20–25%) |
| Interest Rate | Annual interest rate on the purchase loan |
| Loan Term (Years) | Loan amortization period (typically 30) |
ARV is required. The calculator dims results until you provide an ARV value and shows a prompt explaining why it's needed.
Step 2: Enter Rehab & Refinance Costs¶
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Rehab Cost | Total estimated renovation costs |
| Closing Costs | Purchase closing costs (optional, defaults to 0) |
| Refinance LTV % | Loan-to-value ratio on the cash-out refi (defaults to 75%) |
| Refinance Interest Rate | Rate on the new refinanced loan |
| Refinance Loan Term | Term of the refinanced loan (typically 30 years) |
Step 3: Enter Rental Income¶
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Monthly Rent | Expected gross monthly rent after rehab |
| Property Tax (Annual) | Annual property tax |
| Insurance (Annual) | Annual insurance premium |
| Other Monthly Expenses | HOA, management, maintenance, etc. |
Step 4: Read the Results¶
The calculator computes:
| Metric | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Cash Left in Deal | purchase + rehab + closing - cash-out refi amount. Negative = you got all your money back |
| Monthly Cash Flow | rent - expenses - new mortgage payment |
| CoC Return | Annual cash flow / cash left in deal (infinite if cash left ≤ 0) |
| DSCR | NOI / annual debt service on the new loan |
| Total Cost | purchase + rehab + closing |
| New Loan Amount | ARV × refinance LTV% |
| Monthly PI (New) | Principal + interest on the new loan |
Step 5: Interpret the Verdict Banner¶
| Verdict | Condition | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Full Cycle 🟢 | Cash left ≤ 0 | You recycled 100% of your capital — ready for the next deal |
| Partial Recycle 🟡 | Cash left ≤ 25% of total cost | Most of your capital is free; some remains in the deal |
| Capital Trap 🔴 | Cash left > 25% of total cost | Significant capital is stuck in this property |
If DSCR < 1.25, a warning is appended to the verdict — most lenders require ≥ 1.25.
Example¶
Input: - Purchase Price: $150,000 - ARV: $210,000 - Rehab Cost: $40,000 - Down Payment: 20% - Interest Rate: 7% - Monthly Rent: $2,000 - Refinance LTV: 75% - Refinance Rate: 6.5%
Results: - Cash Left in Deal: -\(2,500** (negative = Full Cycle 🟢) - Monthly Cash Flow: **\)350 - CoC Return: ∞ (infinite — no capital remaining) - DSCR: 1.42 ✅
Notes¶
- The calculator is fully client-side — no form POST, no page reload. All calculations run in JavaScript.
- Numbers are formatted with
toLocaleString()for your locale. - If ARV is zero, the results table dims to
opacity: 0.35and a prompt is shown. - The
UnderwritingScorefrom the server-side engine also tracks BRRRR metrics; seecore/services/brrrr.pyfor the server-side pure-math engine. - 25+ unit tests cover the server-side BRRRR logic (
test_brrrr.py).