BRRRR stands for Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat: buy a house below its fixed-up value, renovate it, rent it out, then refinance at the new higher value to pull most of your cash back out — so the same money buys the next house while you keep the first. Done well, one pot of capital compounds into a portfolio; that is the snowball.
| Step | What it means |
|---|---|
| Buy | Pay less than the home will be worth after repairs (the "ARV"). The discount is where your profit is born — target all-in (price + rehab) at 75% of ARV or better. |
| Rehab | Renovate to rent-ready. See per-market cost rules of thumb on each metro page. |
| Rent | Place a tenant. The rent must cover the future loan with room to spare. |
| Refinance | A lender appraises the fixed-up home and loans ~75% of its new value, returning most of your cash. |
| Repeat | Redeploy that cash into the next house. Equity stays behind and compounds. |
Price-to-rent ratio — home price ÷ a year of rent. Under ~15 favors landlords; our rankings live mostly in the 13–16 range. Gross yield — a year of rent as a % of price, before expenses (a 50% expense rule is a sane planning default). The 1% rule — monthly rent of at least 1% of purchase price is the classic screen for cash flow.
The Star Score ranks metros for this exact loop: yield, entry prices a normal budget can buy, landlord law, equity growth, taxes and insurance risk. Pick a market from the map, then pressure-test your first deal in the calculator.