BRRRR Calculator Excel Template and How to Use It for Deal Analysis

A BRRRR calculator is a spreadsheet that models all five stages of a Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat deal in one place, so you can see, before you make an offer, how much cash you'll have left in the property after the refinance and what your cash-on-cash return will be. The math that decides a BRRRR isn't the purchase price; it's the ARV, the rehab budget, and the refinance loan-to-value. This guide gives you the template and walks through every input and formula so you can run a deal in ten minutes.

This is written for investors and wholesalers who are actively underwriting rehab-to-rental deals, not a glossary of the acronym.

Why the BRRRR math is different from a flip

A flip cares about one number: sale price minus everything. A BRRRR cares about how much of your capital you can pull back out at the refinance, because that recycled cash is what lets you "repeat." A deal can cash-flow beautifully and still be a bad BRRRR if you leave $60,000 stuck in it. So the calculator has to carry your money through all five stages, not just to the point of sale.

The five stages, and the number each one produces:

1. Buy, total cash into the deal (purchase + closing + holding + rehab).

2. Rehab, the budget that drives your after-repair value.

3. Rent, gross rent, expenses, and net operating income (NOI).

4. Refinance, the new loan amount, set by the lender's LTV against your appraised ARV.

5. Repeat, cash left in the deal and your cash-on-cash return on that remaining capital.

The inputs and formulas, stage by stage

Buy: your all-in cash

Add every dollar you spend before the property is stabilized and refinanced:

• Total cash invested = Purchase price + Closing costs + Holding costs + Rehab budget

• Holding costs are the ones people forget: interest on your acquisition/hard-money loan, taxes, insurance, and utilities across the rehab-and-lease-up window. Model 4–8 months honestly.

The 70% rule and ARV: your offer ceiling

The after-repair value (ARV) is what the property will appraise for once rehab is done, the single most important input in the whole model, because the refinance is sized against it. Pull ARV from recent sales of genuinely comparable, renovated properties, the same way an appraiser does; an appraisal is an independent professional opinion of value, and your refi hinges on the appraiser agreeing with your number.

The 70% rule is the classic guardrail for your maximum offer:

• Max allowable offer = (ARV × 0.70) − Rehab budget

On a $300,000 ARV with $45,000 of rehab, your ceiling is (300,000 × 0.70) − 45,000 = $165,000. The 30% haircut is your margin, it's what leaves room to pull most of your cash back out at the refinance.

Rent: NOI

• Net operating income (NOI) = Gross annual rent − Operating expenses (taxes, insurance, management, maintenance, vacancy, not the mortgage)

• Track the actuals in a proper ledger once you're leased up; our free rental ledger template shows the format lenders and bookkeepers expect.

Refinance: the stage that makes or breaks the deal

This is where the recycled cash comes from. Two inputs govern it:

• New loan amount = ARV × Refinance LTV

• Cash-out available = New loan amount − Any existing loan payoff − Refi closing costs

Most lenders cap a cash-out refinance on a single-unit investment property at 75% LTV (Fannie Mae's Selling Guide); many DSCR (business-purpose) lenders sit at 70–75%. So on a $300,000 ARV at 75%, the new loan is $225,000.

DSCR is the ratio these lenders underwrite instead of your personal income:

• DSCR = NOI ÷ Annual debt service (principal + interest on the new loan)

Lenders generally want DSCR at or above 1.20 for their best pricing; below 1.00 the property doesn't cover its own debt and the loan gets harder and more expensive.

Repeat: cash-left-in and cash-on-cash

The two numbers you actually decide on:

• Cash left in deal = Total cash invested − Cash-out from refinance

• Cash-on-cash return = Annual pre-tax cash flow ÷ Cash left in deal

If the refinance returns all your capital, cash left in is $0 and cash-on-cash is effectively infinite, the "perfect BRRRR." More often you leave some in; the question is whether the remaining cash earns an acceptable return. Note that when NOI relative to debt matters this much, the same debt-load discipline behind the 43% debt-to-income benchmark lenders use is what keeps a leveraged rental solvent through a vacancy.

What actually makes or breaks a BRRRR (from the underwriting seat)

After running a lot of these, three inputs are where deals die, and they're rarely the purchase price.

1. ARV accuracy. Investors talk themselves into an optimistic ARV, then the refi appraisal comes in 8–10% low and the whole model collapses, because the loan is a percentage of the appraiser's number, not yours. Underwrite ARV to sold, renovated comps within roughly a mile and 90 days, and stress-test the deal at 90% of your ARV. If it still works at the haircut, it's a real deal.

2. Refinance seasoning. You usually can't refinance the day rehab ends. For a conventional cash-out, Fannie Mae requires the existing first mortgage being paid off to be at least 12 months old (measured note date to note date), with a standard single-unit cap of 75% LTV. Many DSCR lenders are faster, commonly six months, sometimes three for active BRRRR investors, but your timeline has to match your lender's rule, or your cash stays trapped. Confirm the seasoning window before you buy, and budget holding costs for the full period.

3. Rate and LTV drift. The refinance is months away, and both the rate and the maximum LTV can move against you between offer and refi. A model built on last year's 80% LTV breaks at today's 75%. Underwrite at the LTV and rate you can get now, not the ones you hope for.

The wholesalers who source these deals in volume know the seasoning and ARV constraints cold, it's the same discipline as knowing how assignment works in real estate before you tie up a contract. Sloppy inputs cost real money at the refi table.

Original asset: BRRRR calculator input-and-formula map

Every input the template asks for, its formula, and an illustrative worked row. The dollar figures below are illustrative, replace them with your deal's numbers.

Frequently asked questions

What is the 70% rule in BRRRR?
It caps your offer at 70% of the after-repair value minus rehab: (ARV × 0.70) − Rehab budget. The 30% margin is what lets you pull most of your cash back out at the refinance.

How long before I can refinance a BRRRR property?
It depends on your loan. Conventional cash-out refinances backed by Fannie Mae require the existing first mortgage being paid off to be at least 12 months old. Many DSCR lenders require six months of seasoning, and some offer three-month programs for active BRRRR investors. Confirm your specific lender's rule before you buy.

What LTV can I get on a BRRRR cash-out refinance?
For a single-unit investment property, cash-out refinances are commonly capped around 75% LTV (Fannie Mae's limit); many DSCR lenders sit at 70–75%. Your new loan amount is ARV × that LTV.

What DSCR do I need to refinance?
Most lenders want a debt-service-coverage ratio of at least 1.20 (NOI ÷ annual debt service) for standard pricing. Below 1.00 the property doesn't cover its own debt, and financing becomes difficult and more expensive.

Is a free BRRRR Excel calculator accurate enough?
Yes, if the inputs are honest. The template's math is fixed; deals fail on optimistic ARV, forgotten holding costs, or ignored seasoning, not on the spreadsheet.