CompDesk › Fix and Flip Calculator
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Fix and Flip Profit Calculator
Enter the purchase, rehab, loan and sale numbers. The calculator adds up every cost of the flip, from closing costs and loan points to the months you hold the house and the fees when you sell it, and shows your net profit and return on the cash you put in.
Don't know the ARV or rehab yet? Enter the address and CompDesk pulls the sold comps and value, then runs these flip numbers for you.
Your first lookup is free, with no account needed. A free account gets you 3 more.Calculate flip profit
1 · Buy
2 · Rehab
Not sure of the rehab number? Use the Rehab Cost Estimator.
3 · Financing
4 · Hold
5 · Sell
Need the sale price? Work it out from comps with the ARV Calculator.
Profit is before income taxes. Estimates for investment analysis; confirm costs with your lender, title company and contractor.
How to calculate fix and flip profit
Flip profit is what's left of the sale price after every cost of owning, fixing and selling the house. Most first flips that disappoint don't fail on the rehab. They fail on the costs that are easy to forget: loan points, months of interest, taxes and insurance while the house sits, and the commissions and closing costs on the way out.
The five cost buckets
- Buying: the purchase price plus closing costs, often 1–3% of the price for title, recording, lender fees and inspections.
- Rehab: the renovation budget plus a contingency, commonly 10–15%, for what you find once the walls are open.
- Financing: points (upfront fees, a percent of the loan) and monthly interest. Hard-money and fix-and-flip loans usually charge more than a regular mortgage.
- Holding: property taxes, insurance, utilities, lawn care and HOA dues for every month you own it. Count from closing on the purchase to closing on the sale, not just the construction months.
- Selling: agent commissions, seller-paid closing costs, transfer taxes and any concessions to the buyer.
Worked example
A house bought for $150,000, renovated for $45,000 plus a 10% contingency, and sold 6 months later for $285,000. The loan covers 85% of the purchase and 100% of the rehab at 11% interest and 2 points. These are the numbers already in the calculator above.
| Purchase price | $150,000 |
| Closing costs to buy (2%) | $3,000 |
| Rehab plus 10% contingency | $49,500 |
| Loan points (2% of a $172,500 loan) | $3,450 |
| Interest (6 months at 11%) | $9,488 |
| Taxes, insurance and utilities (6 × $600) | $3,600 |
| Commissions and seller closing costs (6%) | $17,100 |
| Total cost | $236,138 |
|---|---|
| Net profit ($285,000 − $236,138) | $48,863 |
That's a 17% margin on the sale price. Because the lender funds most of the project, the cash in the deal is about $46,538, so the return on cash is about 105% over 6 months. Paying all cash instead cuts out about $12,938 of loan costs and raises profit to about $61,800, but ties up $206,100 for a return of about 30%.
What's a good flip profit?
Many investors want a net profit of at least 10–15% of the sale price, and a dollar floor (often somewhere around $25,000–$30,000) so one surprise repair or an extra two months on the market doesn't wipe the deal out. On lower-priced houses a percentage target can be too thin, which is why the dollar floor matters. Run the calculator with a slower sale and a bigger repair bill too: if the deal only works when everything goes right, it's a risky deal.
Working backward, the 70% rule (pay no more than 70% of ARV minus repairs) is a quick filter that usually leaves room for these costs and a profit. This calculator shows whether a specific deal actually clears that bar.
Common flip math mistakes
- Counting construction months only. Permits, contractor schedules, listing, the buyer's inspection and closing usually add months. Holding costs and interest keep running the whole time.
- Leaving out selling costs. Commissions and closing costs on the sale are often the single largest cost after the purchase and the rehab.
- No contingency. Old houses hide wiring, plumbing and framing problems that only show up after demolition.
- An optimistic sale price. Use renovated comps that actually sold, not list prices or automated estimates.
- Ignoring taxes. Profit on a quick flip is generally taxed as ordinary income, not as a long-term capital gain. Talk to a tax professional before you count the money.
Run the whole deal in one place
CompDesk pulls the comps and ARV, builds the rehab budget line by line, and runs flip, wholesale and BRRRR numbers side by side, then turns it into a deal report for your lender or partner.
Fix and Flip Calculator questions
How do you calculate profit on a house flip?
Subtract every cost from the sale price: the purchase price, buying closing costs, the rehab and contingency, loan points and interest, holding costs such as taxes, insurance and utilities, and selling costs such as commissions and closing costs. What's left is your profit before income taxes.
How much profit should a fix and flip make?
Many investors look for a net profit of at least 10–15% of the sale price, plus a dollar minimum so a single surprise doesn't erase the profit. The right target depends on the price point, the market and how much risk is in the rehab.
What is return on cash in a flip?
Return on cash divides the net profit by the cash you actually put into the deal: the down payment, closing costs, any rehab the lender doesn't fund, and the points, interest and holding costs you pay along the way. Leverage raises this return but also raises the risk.
How long does a typical flip take?
Many flips take four to eight months from purchase to sale, depending on the size of the rehab, permits, contractor availability and how fast homes sell in the area. Plan for the longer end when you estimate holding costs.
Are holding costs really that important?
Yes. Loan interest, taxes, insurance and utilities are charged every month you own the house, so a flip that takes eight months instead of five can lose thousands of dollars of profit even if the rehab comes in on budget.