Fix & Flip Calculator

See what you keep after commission, holding costs and interest, and how far the sale price can slip.

Sample$150,000 buy, $45,000 rehab, sold for $275,000 after 6 months

This deal works

This flip works, with enough margin to absorb a surprise.

$37,525

profit on a $275,000 sale, after all costs

Biggest risk

It stops working if the sale comes in under $234,212.

The numbers behind it

Return on cash87.3%

Your profit measured against the cash you put in.

Annualized return174.6%

That same return, stated as a yearly rate.

Profit margin13.6%

The profit as a share of what you sell it for.

How the flip calculator works

The flip calculator adds up every cost between buying and selling, including loan interest, holding costs and the agent’s commission, and shows what you keep and how far the sale price can slip. The sample flip keeps $37,525 on a $275,000 sale.

How is a flip’s profit worked out?

Start with the sale price and take away everything it cost to get there.

On the sample, a $275,000 sale pays for the $150,000 purchase, a $45,000 rehab, $3,000 of closing costs, $5,400 of holding costs over six months, $12,075 in loan points and interest, and $22,000 to sell. That leaves $37,525, a 13.6% margin on the sale.

When does DealLevel say a flip works?

This deal works when the profit is at least 10% of the sale price, enough to absorb a surprise.
Cutting it close between 5% and 10%, where one delay or one overrun can take it all.
This deal doesn’t work under 5%, or when it sells at a loss.

Where does the 70% rule come in?

The 70% rule says to pay no more than 70% of the finished value, minus the rehab. On the sample that caps the offer at $147,500, so the $150,000 price is $2,500 over. The calculator shows the rule, but judges the flip on the full list of costs, because the rule leaves out what your loan and your months of holding actually cost. The 70% rule, worked through.

What would make it stop working?

The sale price. The sample loses money if the house sells for under $234,212, and every extra month before it sells costs $2,338 in holding costs and interest.

Which numbers make a flip look better than it is?

Using the best sale on the street as your finished value. How to work out a finished value.
Planning on a rehab that finishes on time. How long a flip really takes, and what each month costs.
Leaving out the cost of selling. Commission and closing costs come off the sale price: $22,000 on the sample.
Leaving out the loan’s points. $3,450 on the sample, paid before any work starts.

Articles on this

The 70% rule for house flipping, worked through
The 70% rule stops you overpaying, but the 30% it leaves isn’t profit. In this worked example, $42,276 of it goes to buying, holding, loan and selling costs, and three surprises cut the $40,224 profit to $10,759.
How to calculate ARV on a house, with an example
ARV, short for after-repair value, is what a house should sell for once the work is done, and you work it out from recent sales of similar finished homes nearby. In this example, three sales point to ARVs from $315,000 to $345,000, and the same flip’s profit runs from $25,195 to $52,795.
How long does it take to flip a house? Holding costs
ATTOM’s report for the first quarter of 2026 says the typical flip took 165 days, about five and a half months. In this example, each month costs $2,800 in bills and loan interest, so the flip makes $55,480 if it sells at six months and $38,680 if it takes a year.
Flip or rent a property? One house, run both ways
Compare what each path leaves you with, and when. In this example, selling the finished house makes $27,870 at month six. Keeping it leaves $15,605 of your cash in the house, clears $129 a month, and takes one to two years to pass the flip’s profit before taxes.
Can you use a HELOC to flip a house?
Yes, if your home has the equity and your lender allows it. In this example, a HELOC at 8.5% with no points instead of hard money at 10% with 2 points cuts the cost of the money from $12,075 to $7,331 and lifts profit from $37,525 to $42,269. Your home secures the debt.