Fix and Flip Calculator (House Flipping ROI)
Fix and flip calculator. 70% rule check, total acquisition + holding + selling costs, profit, ROI, annualized return, breakeven sale price. Complete house-flipper deal analysis.
Fix and Flip Calculator
Flip P&L breakdown
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Purchase price | — |
| Rehab | — |
| Holding costs (total) | — |
| Hard money interest | — |
| Hard money points | — |
| Total acquisition cost | — |
| − Agent commission | — |
| − Buyer concessions | — |
| − Selling closing costs | — |
| Net sale proceeds | — |
| = PROFIT | — |
Key metrics
| Cash invested (your equity) | — |
| Breakeven sale price | — |
| Profit margin vs ARV | — |
How to use the fix and flip calculator
Enter acquisition + rehab
Purchase price + buyer's closing costs (typically $3-5K) + your rehab budget. Get multiple contractor quotes; pad budget 20-30% for surprises (water damage, code upgrades, supply delays). For most US flips, total rehab runs $30-80K on $150-400K properties.
Enter hold + financing
Hold period: 4-8 months typical (1-2 month rehab + 1-2 month listing + 30-60 day close). Longer holds amplify holding costs. Hard money: 10-12% interest + 2-4 points typical; only used during rehab phase (paid off at sale). Monthly holding ~$1,500-$3,000 (utilities + tax + insurance + interest).
Enter ARV (sale price) + selling costs
ARV = After-Repair Value. The realistic sale price after rehab completion. Use comparable sales for similar-quality, similar-area properties closed within 6 months. Pad ARV estimate DOWN 5-10% for safety. Agent commission typically 5-6% (you pay both sides). Buyer concessions 1-3% (closing-cost help) increasingly common in normal markets.
Check the 70% rule
70% rule: Max purchase price = (ARV × 0.70) − Rehab. The flipper's industry-standard discipline. If your purchase price exceeds this, you're overpaying. The 30% margin covers: agent commission (6%), buyer concessions (2-3%), holding costs (3-5%), hard money costs (3-4%), profit margin (10-15%). Below 70% = strong deal; 75-80% = thin; above 80% = dangerous.
Read profit + ROI verdict
Net profit = ARV − all costs. ROI = profit ÷ cash invested. Industry benchmark: minimum $25K profit + 15% ROI per flip. Annualized ROI normalises for hold period — a 4-month flip with 12% ROI is 36% annualized, often beating 6-month flips with 20% ROI (60% annualized). Compare to alternatives (rental hold, REITs, stocks).
Fix and flip — buying ugly homes, selling pretty ones for profit
Fix and flip — also called "rehabbing" or simply "flipping" — is the strategy of buying distressed properties, renovating them, and selling for profit within 6-12 months. According to ATTOM Data, US flippers completed ~60,000-90,000 flips per quarter in recent years, with median gross profit ~$70K (median ROI ~30%). But those headline numbers hide huge variance: top flippers profit $40-80K per deal at 30%+ ROI; bottom-quartile flippers actually lose money on roughly 1 in 5 deals after all costs. The difference between profit and loss usually comes down to two things: accurate ARV estimation and rehab budget discipline.
The 70% rule + why it matters
The 70% rule is the flipper\'s discipline. Max purchase price = (ARV × 0.70) − rehab. Example: $320K ARV, $50K rehab → max purchase $174K. The 30% margin covers: 6% agent commission, 2-3% buyer concessions, 3-5% holding costs, 3-4% hard money costs, leaving 10-15% profit margin. Violating the rule doesn\'t mean the deal won\'t work — it means you\'ve removed your safety margin. Top flippers ALWAYS pencil deals at 70% and walk away if they can\'t hit it. New flippers buy at 80-85% of ARV-minus-rehab "because the deal still looks good on paper" — then get crushed by overruns + appraisal disappointments.
Most failed flips fail for one of three reasons: overpaid acquisition (ignored the 70% rule), rehab budget overrun (no contingency), or ARV estimate wrong (cherry-picked optimistic comps). All three are AVOIDABLE with discipline.
Cost categories that flippers underestimate
Five hidden costs. (1) Holding costs: utilities + tax + insurance + HOA + interest during the entire hold. 6 months × $1,800/mo = $10,800. (2) Hard money: 10-12% interest + 2-4 points upfront. On a $200K loan held 6 months: $10-15K total. (3) Selling costs: 6% agent + 2-3% concessions + 1% closing = 9-10% of ARV. On $320K ARV: $29-32K. (4) Tax: short-term capital gains on flips (your marginal tax rate, often 32-37% federal + state). The "30% ROI" pre-tax becomes 19-22% post-tax. (5) Opportunity cost: 6 months of your time + capital tied up. Successful flippers track all five.
ASEAN flip markets
Fix and flip is a primarily US/UK/AU strategy. Most ASEAN markets are less conducive due to: (a) higher transaction costs (5-15% per transaction), (b) less inventory of "distressed" properties, (c) tighter financing for short-term flipping. Where flipping does work in ASEAN: Hong Kong small-unit conversions, Singapore condo reno-and-resale (limited by 6-12 month SSD seller stamp duty period), Malaysia auction properties (high entry barriers but motivated sellers), Australia outer suburban knockdown-rebuild (similar to US flip in concept). Most ASEAN-based investors with US/UK capital flip in those markets rather than locally.
10 Things to Know About Flipping
70% rule: Max purchase = ARV × 0.70 − rehab. Industry-standard flipper discipline. Walk away if you can\'t hit it.
Median US flip in recent years: ~$70K gross profit, ~30% ROI (ATTOM Data). Top flippers crush this; bottom 25% lose money.
Hard money rates 10-12% + 2-4 points. Used during rehab only; paid off at sale.
Selling costs: 9-10% of ARV (6% agent + 2-3% concessions + 1% closing). Often underestimated.
Short-term capital gains tax: flips held <1 year taxed at your marginal rate (32-37% federal). 30% ROI becomes ~20% after tax.
Common rehab overrun: 20-40% over budget for first-time flippers. Always include 20-30% contingency.
Hold time matters: 4-month flip at 12% ROI = 36% annualized; 12-month flip at 30% ROI = 30% annualized.
Flip vs BRRRR: flip = realize all profit + tax hit. BRRRR = keep property + tax-deferred wealth growth.
Most-overlooked cost: your time. 6 months × 10 hrs/week × $50/hr opportunity cost = $13K real cost.
Top flippers: build relationships with wholesalers, contractors, real estate agents. The deal flow advantage compounds.
Frequently asked questions
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Five sources, in order of decreasing market discount. (1) Wholesalers: investors who put properties under contract then assign to flippers — they find off-market deals you can\'t easily access. (2) Auctions: foreclosure + tax-sale auctions. Need cash + same-day funding ability. (3) Driving for dollars: physically driving neighborhoods looking for distressed properties + direct-marketing owners. (4) MLS expired listings: properties that didn\'t sell — motivated sellers may accept discounts. (5) MLS active listings: rare to find deeply-discounted properties on MLS; most are picked off quickly.
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Flips held <1 year: ordinary income tax rates (32-37% federal for high earners + state). The IRS may classify frequent flippers as "dealers" rather than "investors" — dealers can\'t use 1031 exchange, must pay self-employment tax, and don\'t get long-term capital gains treatment ever. Holding 12+ months gets you long-term cap gains (15-20% federal) but most flippers can\'t afford to hold that long. Many flippers structure their LLCs as S-Corps to manage SE tax. Consult a CPA before scaling flip volume.
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Different goals. Flip: realise profit immediately, pay tax, redeploy fully into next deal. Good for cash-generation, building startup capital, or in markets where rents don\'t cash flow. BRRRR: keep the property + recover most capital. Better for long-term wealth building, tax-deferred appreciation, passive income. Many investors do BOTH: BRRRR in stable markets where rents cash flow; flip in expensive markets where rentals don\'t pencil. The 70%-rule discipline applies to both.
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Three approaches. (1) Contractor walkthrough: hire a contractor to walk the property + provide line-item bid. Most reliable, but slow + costs $200-500. (2) Per-square-foot estimate: light rehab $15-25/sf, medium $25-40/sf, heavy $40-70/sf, full gut $70-100/sf. Useful for quick screening. (3) Room-by-room breakdown: kitchen $5-25K, bathroom $3-10K, roof $5-15K, HVAC $4-10K, paint $1-3K, flooring $3-8K. Add 20-30% contingency. Get multiple bids (3-5) before closing; favor the median.
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Yes — if you have cash. All-cash flippers save 10-15% in hard-money interest + points, dramatically improving margins. The capital cost: $200K+ in cash to deploy per property. Alternatives: HELOC (cheaper than hard money, ~7-9%); private lender (friends/family ~6-8%); seller financing (rare but exists for distressed sellers). Cash flippers also close FAST (7-10 days), letting them win competitive deals with aggressive offer terms.
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Mixed. ~40% of first-time flippers lose money OR break even when properly accounting for time + opportunity cost. ~40% achieve modest profit ($10-25K). ~20% hit the textbook outcome ($40-80K, 25%+ ROI). Common first-flip mistakes: (a) overpaid by violating 70% rule, (b) underestimated rehab by 30-50%, (c) over-improved (built too high-end for the area), (d) chose a slow-selling property type. The learning curve takes 2-3 flips to flatten. Many veteran flippers strongly recommend partnering with an experienced flipper for the first deal.
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Match the neighborhood. Going significantly above local standard rarely pays back: a $400K neighborhood will not pay $500K for your "extra-fancy" finishes. Use mid-grade finishes that match the area\'s aspirational tier. Standard flipper finishes: granite or quartz counters, stainless appliances (white in budget markets), LVP flooring, recessed lighting, neutral paint, new fixtures, neutral cabinets. Skip high-end: solid hardwood, marble, custom millwork, top-line appliances unless the area genuinely demands them.
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Contested. Critics argue flippers price out first-time buyers by buying + reselling at markups. Counter-argument: flippers buy properties most retail buyers WON\'T touch (distressed, vacant, deferred maintenance) and bring them back to habitable inventory. ATTOM Data shows flippers transact 4-7% of US sales — material but not dominant. The structural housing affordability problem is supply (zoning, construction labor) more than transaction-level flipping. Markets vary: some cities are explicitly tightening flip-related regulations.
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No. All flip-deal inputs stay in your browser. Computations run entirely client-side. Open DevTools → Network when you click Analyse and you\'ll see zero outbound requests.
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J Scott, The Book on Flipping Houses + The Book on Estimating Rehab Costs. Industry-standard references. BiggerPockets (biggerpockets.com) has free flipping content + paid bootcamps. ATTOM Data (attomdata.com) publishes quarterly US flipping market reports. Hard Money Bankers + RCN Capital for hard money lender quotes. Mark Ferguson InvestFourMore for free flip walkthroughs + content.
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