A house flip works on the money left after the whole project, not just the purchase and rehab. Use this calculator to estimate project profit and the sale price needed to cover the costs you enter. The starting values are an invented example; replace them with a supported resale estimate, bids and actual financing terms.
TL;DR
- Count the full purchase price once. Borrowing changes how you fund the project; repaying loan principal does not create a second purchase expense.
- Include the entire holding period, from acquisition through resale closing. Construction time alone leaves out costs.
- Enter financing charges separately from buying and holding costs, and check for the same charge appearing twice.
- Break-even is an estimate using your current costs and selling percentage. It is not a target profit, an appraisal or the cash you need to finish.
What goes into total project cost?
Total project cost is the purchase price plus rehab, the contingency allowance, holding costs, buying costs, selling costs and financing charges. The calculator treats the full contingency allowance as a cost; it does not assume you will get that allowance back.
Monthly holding costs cover the nonfinancing carrying costs you enter. Financing is one dollar estimate for the full project: interest, points and fees. If prepaid interest is already in your buying-cost estimate, move it to financing or leave it in buying costs, but do not count it in both.
The CFPB's Closing Disclosure explainer distinguishes principal, interest, settlement costs and cash to close. Those distinctions help you organize the inputs. Your investment-loan documents may use a different format, so use the actual terms and charges for your project.
The calculator does not estimate income tax, company overhead or unentered owner labor. Include the costs you want recognized in the appropriate input before treating the result as your working budget.
How is break-even calculated?
Break-even sale price equals fixed project costs divided by one minus the selling-cost percentage. Fixed project costs include everything entered except the part of selling costs tied to the sale price.
That means a lower assumed sale price also reduces percentage-based selling costs. Fixed selling costs remain unchanged. The tool requires the selling percentage to be below 100% so the denominator stays positive.
This is project economics, not a loan-payoff or cash-to-close statement. Borrowed funds, draw timing, principal payments and cash reserves require a separate funding plan. Use the rehab-loan cash-gap guide to separate a profitable project from one you can actually fund.
An illustrative project
The starting example has a $280,000 resale price, $150,000 purchase, $40,000 rehab and a 10% rehab contingency. It also includes $1,000 per month for six months, $5,000 in buying costs, selling costs of 6% plus $2,000, and $12,000 in financing charges.
| Item | Calculated amount |
|---|---|
| Contingency allowance | $4,000 |
| Holding costs | $6,000 |
| Selling costs at the assumed price | $18,800 |
| Total project cost | $235,800 |
| Project profit before income tax and unentered costs | $44,200 |
| Break-even sale price, rounded | $232,978.72 |
These are invented inputs, not a Homebase deal, quote or recommended budget. Change the sale price to $250,000 and holding time to nine months: profit falls to $13,000 with the other inputs unchanged. If the longer hold increases interest or loan fees, increase the financing input too.
What should you verify before relying on the result?
Start with the ARV explanation and comparable sales that fit the property. Then verify the repair scope, contractor pricing, title and closing charges, insurance, taxes, financing and likely timeline.
A tidy spreadsheet cannot fix an unsupported resale number or missing scope. The house-selection guide helps connect the numbers to a property you can handle. Read how Homebase works and who is behind it for the service's role and limits.
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