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BRRRR Calculator

Full buy-and-hold and refinance analysis. Includes NOI, DSCR, cash-on-cash return, and post-refi cash flow. Conservative assumptions required.

BRRRR Calculator

Rent, NOI, cash flow, and refi analysis for buy-and-hold deals

Acquisition

$

Investment property typical: 20–25%. Hard money / cash: 0%.

%
Down payment amount$46,250
Loan amount$138,750
$
$

Rental income

Conservative comp, not best-case

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8–12% is conservative for Charlotte

%

Annual expenses

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$
$

% of effective gross income

%

% of gross income. 5% is a common baseline; increase for older properties.

%
Annual CapEx reserve$990

Financing

%
yr
Est. monthly payment$970

Refi scenario

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%
%

Threshold targets

Adjust to match your actual criteria.

1% is common; varies by market and strategy

%

e.g. 1.25

e.g. 1.0

8% is a common threshold

%

Results

All-in cost
$218,000
NOI
$10,669
Annual cash flow
-$973
Cash-on-cash
-0.45%
Cap rate
4.89%
DSCR
0.92
DSCR 0.92
Income & expense breakdown
Gross annual rent$19,800
Effective gross income$18,216
Taxes + insurance + maint.$5,100
Property management$1,457
CapEx reserve$990
Total expenses$7,547
NOI$10,669
Annual debt service$11,642
Refinance analysis
Refi loan amount$202,500
Cash-out from refi-$15,500
Post-refi monthly payment$1,381
Post-refi annual cash flow-$5,908

Negative cash-out: ARV may not support full capital recovery. Verify comps.

Guideline checks
Rent-to-price ratio (1% rule)
Below 1% threshold
0.89%
DSCR target (1.25x strong / 1x min)
Below minimum
0.92
Cash-on-cash return (8% target)
Below 8% target
-0.45%

These rules are general guidelines. Adjust thresholds to match your actual criteria.

Conservative underwriting: verify rent comps, use local vacancy data, and stress-test capex. Never rely on rent-growth assumptions to make a deal work.

Understanding BRRRR underwriting

BRRRR (Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat) is a capital recycling strategy. The goal is to acquire, improve, stabilize with a tenant, refinance at a higher appraised value, and pull out enough capital to repeat the process. It only works when the basis is right, the rent supports the new loan payment, and the refi LTV allows meaningful cash-out.

Charlotte-specific notes

  • Vacancy: Charlotte apartment vacancy averaged around 12.8% in 2025. Single-family vacancy is typically lower but 8–10% is a conservative planning figure.
  • Rents: One-bedroom rents in Charlotte center city fell ~2% to ~$1,468 in early 2026. Don't underwrite to peak rents.
  • Capex: Older Charlotte housing stock (1940s–1980s) has meaningful capex exposure. Budget $100–$150/month per unit minimum.
  • Refi rates: 30-year fixed rates were ~6.47% in June 2026. DSCR loans and portfolio loans may be higher. Use current, not hopeful, rate assumptions.

Key ratios

  • DSCR ≥ 1.25: Lender standard for most DSCR loans. Below 1.0 means the property doesn't cover its debt service.
  • Cash-on-cash ≥ 8%: Reasonable threshold for a buy-and-hold given current rates and risk.
  • Cap rate: NOI divided by all-in cost. Useful for comparing properties on an unleveraged basis.

Never make a BRRRR deal work on rent-growth hope. If it doesn't pencil at today's rents with conservative vacancy and capex, it's not a deal yet.