Fix and Flip Calculator United States

What the fix and flip calculator does

Flipping a house means buying a property, renovating it and selling it for more than the total you put in. The profit is not simply sale price minus purchase price, because a flip has several costs that are easy to underestimate. This fix and flip calculator adds them up and compares them with the after-repair value, so you can judge a deal before committing money.

It returns your net profit, return on investment, annualized return and profit margin: how much you would make and whether the return justifies the risk and time.

After-repair value

The after-repair value, or ARV, is the price you expect the finished property to sell for, and every cost is measured against it. A realistic ARV comes from recent sales of similar renovated properties in the same area.

Overestimating ARV is the most common way flips go wrong; a figure even modestly too high can turn a projected profit into a loss. Estimate it conservatively and test how the result changes if the property sells for less.

The costs of a flip

• Purchase price: what you pay for the property.
• Rehab cost: the full renovation budget, ideally with a contingency for surprises.
• Purchase closing costs: fees paid when you buy, such as title, escrow and lender charges.
• Financing costs: points and interest on a rehab or hard-money loan, which can be significant on short projects.
• Holding costs: monthly costs of owning the property while you work and sell, such as loan interest, taxes, insurance and utilities.
• Selling costs: usually the real estate commission and seller-paid closing costs, entered as a percentage of the sale price.

Rehab overruns and longer timelines both reduce profit, so include a contingency in the rehab budget and estimate the project length realistically.

How the calculation works

• It multiplies your monthly holding cost by the number of months for total holding cost.
• It applies your selling-cost percentage to the ARV.
• It adds purchase, rehab, purchase closing, financing and holding costs for an all-in cost.
• It subtracts the all-in cost and selling costs from the ARV for net profit.
• It divides net profit by the all-in cost for ROI, and scales that to a year for the annualized figure.

No tax assumptions are involved; every number comes from the figures you enter.

ROI and annualized ROI

ROI is profit as a percentage of the cash you put into the project: a 15% ROI means fifteen cents for every dollar invested before the sale. It accounts for deal size better than raw profit.

Annualized ROI also accounts for time. A flip returning 15% in six months uses your money more efficiently than one returning 15% in a year. When comparing projects, the annualized figure often shows which uses your capital better, though shorter timelines usually come with more pressure to execute.

The profit margin

Profit margin is net profit as a share of the ARV, a quick measure of how much room a deal has. A thin margin leaves little room for a rehab overrun, a slow sale or a soft market. Many experienced flippers set a minimum margin before pursuing a property, and this figure lets you check a deal against yours.

Financing and the cost of time

Hard-money and rehab loans charge points and higher interest, which appear as financing costs, and every extra month adds interest. A flip that is profitable on a four-month schedule can approach break-even if the renovation takes eight months, because holding and financing costs keep building while the sale price stays the same. Enter a realistic holding period and test a longer one.

Cash buyers avoid financing costs but tie up more of their own money, which lowers the annualized return on that cash. The right structure depends on your capital, how many projects you run at once and how much risk you accept; the calculator lets you model each option.

When to use this tool

Use it to analyze a potential flip, compare several properties, or stress-test a deal by changing the rehab budget, holding period or ARV before you make an offer. Confirm your numbers with local comparable sales, contractor bids and professional advice before you buy.

This is general information only and not financial advice.

About This Fix and Flip Calculator

Use this fix and flip calculator to get an instant estimate based on the figures you enter. Adjust the inputs above to match your situation, or browse all our calculators to plan your next step.