Free calculator
BRRR calculator
BRRR stands for buy, refurbish, rent, refinance. You buy below market value, add value with the refurb, let the property, then remortgage against the new higher value to pull your money back out. The whole strategy lives or dies on one number: how much of your cash is still stuck in the deal after the refinance. This calculator gives you that figure, plus the monthly cashflow once the new mortgage is paying.
BRRR calculator
Return on the cash still in the deal: 10.1% (£1,815 a year on the £18,000 left in).
The number that decides a BRRR deal
Total cash in is the purchase price plus refurb plus every buying and holding cost. The refinance releases the loan-to-value percentage of the end value, commonly 75% on a buy-to-let remortgage. Subtract one from the other and you have the cash left in.
Worked example: buy at £120,000, spend £25,000 on the refurb and £8,000 on stamp duty, legals and bridge interest, £153,000 all in. If the finished property values at £180,000 and the lender advances 75%, the remortgage releases £135,000, leaving £18,000 in the deal. Do that with £18,000 left in each time and a £150,000 pot recycles into deal after deal instead of being spent once.
When the refinance releases more than you put in, the calculator shows money OUT: all your capital back plus a surplus, with the property and its cashflow kept for free. Genuine money-out deals are rare and usually mean you bought very well below market value.
What catches people out
Three things, in order of damage. First, an optimistic end value; the surveyor at remortgage does not care what you spent, only what the comparables support. Second, forgetting holding costs; six months of bridge interest, council tax and utilities during the works can add £8,000 to a modest deal. Third, down-valuations on the rent, which cap the loan even when the value survives, because buy-to-let lenders stress the mortgage against rental cover.
- Value the end product from sold comparables, not from cost plus profit
- Model the mortgage interest-only at today's rates, then stress it 1 to 2 points higher
- Most lenders want 6 months of ownership before a remortgage; budget the holding costs
- Cash left in is the metric; a deal that cashflows but traps £60,000 is a one-off, not a strategy
Frequently asked questions
What does BRRR stand for?
Buy, refurbish, rent, refinance. Some write it BRRRR with repeat on the end, because the point of pulling your capital back out is doing the next deal with the same money.
What LTV can I refinance at?
Most UK buy-to-let remortgages advance up to 75% of the surveyed value, with the loan also capped by rental cover stress tests. Some lenders offer 80% at higher rates. HMOs and limited company borrowing have their own criteria.
How long before I can refinance?
Many lenders apply a six-month rule from purchase before they will remortgage, though a growing number will go earlier where there is clear added value. Factor at least six months of holding costs into the appraisal either way.
Is leaving money in a BRRR deal a failure?
No. Most good BRRR deals leave something in; the question is how much and what it earns. £15,000 left in a deal producing £3,000 a year of cashflow is a 20% return on the money still working. Leaving £60,000 in is where the strategy stalls.
Want this run automatically on any Rightmove listing?
PropDetect runs these numbers, and the rest of the deal, on every listing that matches your criteria: refurb costs from the photos, comparable sold valuations, rent, GDV and a strong, solid or avoid verdict across six strategies. You just read the result.
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