Analyze any BRRRR deal in seconds. Enter your numbers to see cash-on-cash return, monthly cash flow, and exactly how much cash you'll have left in the deal after refinancing.
The BRRRR strategy — Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat — is one of the most capital-efficient approaches in real estate investing. Rather than tying up a large down payment in each new property, investors use a cash-out refinance to pull most (or all) of their initial capital back out of a deal after the renovation is complete and the property is stabilized. That recycled capital then funds the next acquisition, allowing a portfolio to compound faster than traditional buy-and-hold strategies.
Acquire a distressed or undervalued property below market value. The discount between your all-in cost (purchase + rehab + closing + holding) and the ARV is where equity is created. Cash, hard money, or private lending are typical financing vehicles at this stage.
Execute the renovation quickly and on budget. Every dollar of cost overrun and every extra week of carrying costs reduces the equity cushion you need for the refinance to make sense. This is why disciplined rehab budgeting and draw tracking are critical — not just nice to have.
Place a qualified tenant at market rent before refinancing. Most lenders require 60–90 days of seasoning with an executed lease in place before they will lend against the stabilized ARV. Rent level directly affects your long-term cash flow, so price accurately against comparable rentals.
Obtain a long-term rental property loan (DSCR loan, conventional rental, or bank portfolio product) at 70–75% of the appraised ARV. The proceeds pay off your acquisition financing and return your rehab capital. The difference between your total invested and the refinance proceeds is your 'cash left in deal.'
Deploy the recycled capital into the next deal. If you execute the strategy correctly — buying at the right discount, keeping rehab on budget, and refinancing at a favorable LTV — you can scale your portfolio with the same core pool of capital rather than constantly raising new money.
The defining test is whether you can get most or all of your capital back at refinance while still generating positive monthly cash flow. Most experienced investors target:
In a BRRRR deal, the rehab cost is the variable you control most directly — and the one most likely to blow up your returns. A $10,000 cost overrun doesn't just reduce your profit by $10,000; it increases your all-in cost, shrinks the equity created, and may push you into a position where the refinance proceeds don't fully cover what you've invested. That means more cash left in the deal, a lower cash-on-cash return, and less capital available for the next acquisition.
Tracking rehab scope, budget versus actuals, change orders, and contractor draw requests in real time — rather than reconciling at the end — is how professional developers protect the BRRRR math. A spreadsheet that lives on someone's desktop isn't enough when a plumber submits a surprise invoice mid-project.
TerraLine keeps your rehab costs on track in real time — line-item budgets, contractor draw requests, cost events, lender-ready draw reports, and tax exports, all in one place. Protect your BRRRR math before the numbers slip.
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