Fix and Flip Calculator

Add up purchase, renovation, holding and selling costs to see the profit and ROI on a flip.

$
$
$
Legal, transfer tax, inspection.
months
From purchase until the sale closes.
$
Interest, taxes, insurance, utilities while you own it.
% of sale
Commission and closing on the way out.
$

Fill in every field to see the result. Nothing is estimated for you.

How the fix and flip calculator works

A flip makes money only after every cost between buying and selling is paid. Purchase price and renovation are the obvious ones; closing costs on both ends and the monthly cost of holding the property are the ones that quietly eat the margin. This calculator assumes an all-cash purchase, so the return is on the total cost.

The formulas

  • Holding costs = months held × monthly holding costs
  • Selling costs = sale price × selling cost %
  • Total cost = purchase + renovation + buying costs + holding + selling
  • Profit = sale price − total cost
  • Return = profit ÷ total cost, and annualized = return × 12 ÷ months held

Worked example

Buy at $200,000, renovate for $50,000, pay $6,000 to close. Holding it 6 months at $1,500 a month costs $9,000. Selling at $350,000 with 6% selling costs ($21,000) brings the total cost to $286,000.

Profit is $64,000, a 22.4% return on cost, or 44.8% annualized.

What to watch

  • Renovations run over. Add a contingency to the renovation cost rather than hoping.
  • Every extra month adds holding costs and lowers the annualized return.
  • Short holds can be taxed as business income. Check the rules where the property is.