All Forum Posts by: Sandra McEwan

Yes—BRRRRs are still working great for us. In fact, most of our investors are still using this strategy. While flipping might look more profitable in the short term, BRRRRs are winning long-term because rents are creeping back up toward that sweet 1% rule. We're still picking up properties with built-in equity and adding forced equity through rehab.

Let me break it down with an example: You could buy a house for $200K, put $100K into it, and it’s worth $400K after rehab. If you flip it, you pay closing costs, agent fees, etc.—you might walk away with $50K.

But with a BRRRR? Let's say you buy for $200K, rehab it for $50K (so you're in at $250K), and it appraises for $350K. When you do a cash-out refi, you can tap into 85% of that $100K equity gain—maybe you walk away with $35K, but here's the kicker: you still own the property, you're getting rental income, enjoying passive cash flow, and benefiting from the tax perks. That beats the flip in my book.

We’re also always watching neighborhoods for signs of growth. When we see rehabs, new builds, old buildings getting torn down—that's our cue. We’re not chasing areas that are already gentrified. We're going after spots that are just starting to shift. That’s where the real long-term equity is built. You get in now, ride the first wave of value from forced equity, then 5–7 years later, boom—another equity lift as the neighborhood hits that middle-class sweet spot.

So yes, BRRRRs are alive, well, and honestly, better than ever. 

@James Holmes Yes these are for some reason not talked about as alternative funding..

https://www.rainstarcapitalgroup.com/4hour

Hi Takarra,

Within my 20 years of experience managing over 300 properties and doing 30+ BRRRR deals myself, I've found that it's a smart idea to focus on properties that build equity fast—especially early on. In my opinion, single-family homes tend to be stronger for comps and resale, especially in gentrifying areas, while duplexes are often better for house hacking than the BRRRR strategy.

My personal sweet spot has always been buying in the high end of the low-end neighborhoods—those spots where gentrification is already in motion. I stay away from condos and duplexes and instead stack single-family homes in areas with strong rental history over the past 5–10 years. That way, I can predict rent growth and time my cash-out refi better.

If the deal has enough equity, even if cash flow is a little tight at first, the BRRRR still works great. Just make sure you're setting realistic timelines, and use historical rent trends to estimate when you'll hit that break-even or positive cash flow mark.

Congrats on taking the leap—this is where it starts! Happy to connect if you ever want to chat strategy.

Jorge Vazquez

One thing I enjoy doing is doing actual vacancy and turnover analaysis. So if a tenant's lease is ending in May, I decide if I'm planning to raise rent and if I'm raising it by a lot I assume they'll move out and that it will take two months to get a new person. I also take into consideration the turnover cost in my maintenance costs.

If a lease is coming due and I'm not planning to raise rents, I make an assumption as to whether or not they'll renew at that rate.

@Sandra McEwan thanks for the reference:)

How about a vote?

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