How much time BRRRR takes per one deal

Question

How much time BRRRR would take for a first single-family house (finding a deal, rehab management, taking a loan, etc.)? How much time do you put in and how much money do you get out per hour?

Do you think it's possible to balance building a business (not related to the Real estate) / having an FT job and do BRRRR (1-2 houses per year)? Or better invest traditional way (or turn-key) and focus on building a business

Evan Polaski · Answer

@Artur A. if I include all the internet time looking at properties that I will never even tour, plus touring those that appear to hit the basics, offers, counters, etc: acquisition time can take anywhere from a few hours to many, many, many hours.  I would say for my first property, I spent probably 8-10 total hours before I had it acquired (but this was 10+ yrs ago).  And in today's market, I have to look at more than I used to, to find one that is worth touring.

Once owned, I spent probably another 10ish finding a contractor.  Phone calls, bids, talking to friends to see if they have anyone they suggest, etc.

During renovation, about 4hrs week heading to property to check progress.  Thankfully it was between my office and house, so easy to swing in.  And even on lunch breaks, took about 15 min from office, each way.  Rehab took about 16 weeks.

Once completed, I self manage, so probably about 10 hours of marketing and showing before I signed lease, over a few weeks.

Tenant moved in, and I self manage, so another 3-4 of initial fixes that I did myself (bought out of foreclosure, so small items that didn't work and weren't part of renovation scope, i.e. basement construction light replacement, fixing a small dishwasher leak).

Refi process: about 4-6 hours, 12 months later.  Searching for bank to lend on SFR in LLCs name, and small balance loan.  Apps, appraisal meeting, closing.

I still self manage, and it is totally do able.  I have a friend that was working a full time job and BRRRR to about 100 units, all while working full time.  his wife helps, and his dad did help.

From a practical matter, whether you plan on doing one or 100, I recommend keeping your job for a while.  You will need your income to get loans until you have a pretty significant portfolio and track record.

Andrew Postell · Answer

@Artur A. thanks for posting.  I have been investing in real estate for over 20 years.  The entire time I have had a W2 job and worked the BRRRR method on properties.  My goal every year is to do 2 properties a year.  I kind of treat it like a hobby...but it's a hobby that pays.  And because of that hobby I am a millionaire.  I don't mean to say this in a bragging way but to emphasize that keeping a regular job and working 1-2 properties a year means you will have a very comfortable life.  My first deals weren't very good.  But over time I got better and better at it.  While there's no right or wrong technique here there will be something that fits you better than another method.  For example, putting 25% down and buying "turn key" properties actually has very good returns....but how do you afford to put down 25% down on dozens of properties.  The thing we all run into is the limitation on our funds.  Even if you have $1,000,000 in cash, that just means your limit is higher than the rest of us.  It's a limit.  But the BRRRR method has no limit.  That's why we use it.

Hope all of this helps in some way.  Thanks!

Nathan Murith · Answer

@Artur A.

Unless you have done this in the past and have a solid team ready to execute on the BRRRR, I would consider it a full-time job. :-) I wrote this a while back:

BRRRR is such a fantastic advanced strategy, it has so much potential for growing your portfolio with minimal amounts of your own money when it goes well. It is not something I would personally recommend when getting started, even more so if it is remote where you do not have access to the property to oversee the project and learn from it. There are so many things that could go wrong in a normal BRRRR, this raising interest rate environment adds a layer of risk and complexity to the whole thing.

It sounds like you have have your hands full already :-)

Andrew Garcia · Answer

Hi @Artur A., it really depends on where you want your business to go.

If you want to build a multi-million dollar business, it does not make sense to spend hundreds of hours to make $40k. If you are trying to build a small antique store in your town, BRRRRs could be a good avenue.

The amount of time it takes depends on a variety of factors. If you are doing a gut renovation as a newbie and putting in sweat equity, you are going to spend a lot more time than a light rehab for an experienced investor with a team.

Hope this helps! Let me know if I can be of any assistance.

Bruce Woodruff · Answer

Sure, you can do this as @Andrew Postell has done. But this is a tricky business and nothing is guaranteed. Nothing. You had better be smart and good at it. And there is no specific time that it takes to do this, depends too much on your particular situation......

How much time BRRRR takes per one deal

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