Selling a House
Passively Invest in Real Estate: The Basics
Learning how to passively invest in real estate can be complicated. Start with the basics and give yourself a good foundation.
How to Use the BRRRR Strategy to Your Advantage
The BRRRR real estate investment strategy is one of the most common methods that investors use to generate passive income.
Madison Clifton
Apr 19, 2021
If you’re looking for a real estate investing strategy that will help you achieve your goal of financial independence, look no further than the BRRRR strategy. This particular real estate investment strategy is one of the most common methods that property investors use to generate passive income, and to grow their overall net worth. With that in mind, we’ve created a Guide to the BRRRR investment strategy below. Read it over to learn more about how this strategy works, and how you can use it to your advantage.
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What is the BRRRR strategy in real estate?
Before getting into specific detail about how to make BRRRR investing work in your favor, it’s important to take a closer look at how this investment strategy works. In light of that, we’ve taken the time to break down the step-by-step process below. Here’s an explanation of how each component of BRRRR investing works from an investor’s perspective.
B: Buy
The first step in this process is to buy a rental property. In this case, you’ll want to focus on buying a distressed property so that you can negotiate a purchase price that falls below the property’s fair market value. If you can do that, your initial investment will be lower and you’ll have better profit margins when it comes time to rent out your BRRRR property.
R: Rehab
The next step is to rehab your rental property. Truthfully, since you’ve focused on buying a distressed property, it may take a little bit of work to make the property rentable. So choosing the right renovations will be key.
Instead of trying to increase the property value the same way you would with a fix-and-flip investment property, you should concentrate on providing upgrades that will appeal to tenants. Such as providing new appliances, or putting in new hardwood floors.
R: Rent
Once you’ve rehabbed, your investment property, the next step is to rent it out. At this point, your goal should be to bring in as much rental income as possible.
R: Refinance
Then, when possible, it’s time to refinance the home. In particular, you’re going to want to choose a cash out refinance, which allows you to borrow more than you owe on the home and receive the difference as cash. Ideally, you will also be able to secure a better interest rate on your loan.
R: Repeat
The last step in this process is to use the money you’ve received from your cash out refinance to buy another BRRRR property and to rehab it. Ideally, you will continue to use this method to continue to grow your real estate portfolio until you’ve reached the point of total financial freedom.
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How to use the BRRRR investment strategy to your advantage
Now it’s time to get into how to really use this strategy to your advantage. We’ve included five of our best tips below. So take some time to read them over so that you understand how to apply them to your own real estate investing strategy.
Focus on buying below fair market value
First and foremost, when you buy a property, it is absolutely crucial to make sure that the purchase price falls below the appraised value. Not only will this make your initial investment more affordable, but it will also ensure that you have more room to work with when it’s time to decide how much money to put into repairs. However, above all, buying at a lower price also means that more rental income goes into your pocket each month.
Carefully budget your rehab cost
Next, it’s absolutely crucial that you maintain a strict budget for your rehab cost and make sure to stick to it. At the end of the day, your goal should be to achieve the highest repair value possible without over-improving the property.
In order to gauge how much you should spend and what repairs make the most bends, be sure to look at other rentals in the area where the property is located. Make note of which particular features are commanding the highest rents, and be sure to put those on your to-do list.
Maintain positive cash flow as you rent
Once you’ve achieved your full repair value, the next step is to rent out the property. Here, your focus should be to maintain a positive cash flow. In order to do so, you’ll need to focus on keeping your operating expenses as low as possible, and finding a tenant who is willing and able to pay a decent amount of rent each month.
To that end, it may make sense to avoid using a property manager as that will help you keep your costs low. While it may mean more work for you, especially when it comes time to market the property and vet potential tenants, it will be worth it when you can eventually enjoy the extra income.
Leverage your equity with a cash out refinance
Many real estate investing resources recommend using a hard money loan, or private money loan in order to finance your next investment property. However, hard money often comes at an extremely high interest rate and private money can be hard to find unless you are well connected.
With that said, a cash out refinance is a good option for many investors. It allows you to leverage the equity that you felt up in the property, and borrow cash at an affordable interest rate. Best of all, you have the option to use the money however you see fit, which means it can cover the down payment and closing costs for your next investment property.
The bottom line
As a real estate investor it is easy to dream of achieving financial independence, but that is much harder to put into practice. However, the BRRRR strategy can provide you with a step-by-step formula for growing your real estate portfolio. With that in mind, don’t hesitiate use the BRRRR method and the tips provided as you get started on your real estate investing journey. Armed with this knowledge, you should have all the information you need to take the first step toward becoming an investment property owner.