A fix and flip loan calculator is only useful if the inputs look like a term sheet and a HUD-1, not a motivational spreadsheet. This guide walks the free calculator the way a desk reads a file: ARV first, leverage second, carry third, sale costs always.
Jaken Finance Group prices qualified fix-and-flip debt at 8.99%–13.5% interest-only, caps most files at 75% of ARV, and will consider up to 100% LTC when the economics support it. The calculator will happily print a profit on a fantasy ARV. Underwriting will not.
Pair this page with fix and flip loan rates, requirements, and how to get a loan.
Open the tool and enter fields in this order
Do not start with loan amount. Start with the house.
1. After-repair value (ARV)
Use three sold comps within a tight radius, same bedroom/bath count, same finish. Actives are marketing. Tax assessments are history. Zillow is a conversation starter.
If two comps support $240,000 and one outlier sold at $275,000 after a designer kitchen you are not building, your ARV is $240,000. Inflating ARV inflates every downstream lie: leverage, profit, and the appraisal argument you will lose in week two.
Deep dive: instant ARV estimate · how to calculate ARV.
2. Purchase price
Use the contract price, not the list, not the “seller said they would take.” Assignment fees belong in basis if you are paying them.
3. Rehab budget
Enter the bid plus 10% contingency, not the Instagram number. Kitchen-only math that ignores HVAC is how calculators print $40,000 of profit that becomes $8,000. Cost bands: average fix-and-flip rehab costs. Scope format: scope of work templates.
4. Loan-to-cost (LTC)
LTC is loan ÷ (purchase + rehab). Run three scenarios every time: 80%, 90%, and 100%. Higher LTC reduces cash in and raises monthly interest. The loan the calculator outputs must still clear the 75% ARV cap — if 90% of cost exceeds 75% of ARV, the real loan is the cap, not the LTC wish.
5. Interest rate
Until you have a term sheet, use a mid-band rate. First files: model 11%–12.5%. Repeat sponsors with fat ARV: you can test 9.5%–10.5%. Do not model 7.25% because a competitor homepage said “from.”
6. Hold months
Permit + construction + list + close. Add 30–60 days of buffer. A 90-day cosmetic plan in Chicago winter is a 150-day file. Holding-cost detail: fix-and-flip holding costs.
The formulas the tool is using
Keep these on a notecard. If the UI and the napkin disagree, trust the napkin and find the bad input.
Loan amount ≈ minimum of:
- LTC × (purchase + rehab)
- 75% × ARV (Jaken Finance Group published cap)
Monthly interest-only ≈ loan × annual rate ÷ 12
Sale proceeds ≈ ARV × (1 − sale-cost %)
Net profit ≈ sale proceeds − loan payoff − remaining cash you still have in − total carry − unpaid points/fees you treated as cash
At 11% IO, a $200,000 balance costs about $1,833 per month. Two extra months erase $3,666 before you touch sale costs. That is why hold time is not a soft input.
Sale costs — the line amateurs skip
Use 8% of ARV as a default unless your market is honestly cheaper:
- Listing and buyer-side commission
- Title and escrow
- Transfer / recordation taxes (Cook County and DC are not 0.2%)
- Staging, credits, and the last inspection fight
A $250,000 ARV with 8% sale costs gives the buyer-side world $20,000 before you have a dollar of profit. If you model 3% “because I will FSBO,” say so out loud to your partner. Then run 8% anyway.
Worked example — same Indianapolis ranch as the calculator page
This is the walkthrough behind the numbers on the tool page. Composite, labeled as such.
| Input | Value | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase | $148,000 | Contract |
| Rehab | $41,000 | Bid + contingency inside the number |
| ARV | $232,000 | Three sold comps, mid finish |
| LTC | 90% | Repeat-sponsor request |
| Rate | 10.5% IO | Mid-band, not a teaser |
| Hold | 4.5 months | Aggressive but documented GC |
| Sale costs | 8% | Default |
| Output | Approx. |
|---|---|
| All-in cost | $189,000 |
| 90% LTC loan | $170,100 |
| 75% ARV cap | $174,000 — LTC request still fits |
| Cash to close (gap + costs; reserves extra) | ~$19,000+ |
| IO carry 4.5 mo | ~$6,900 |
| Sale at ARV after 8% | $213,440 |
| Net profit | About $26,500 |
Now break it on purpose — this is the part the tool is for:
| Stress | What happens |
|---|---|
| ARV −5% ($220,400) | Sale net $202,768; profit collapses by ~$10,700 |
| Hold 6.5 months | Extra ~$3,000 carry |
| LTC 80% instead of 90% | More cash in, less carry — often the first-timer file |
| LTC 100% | More carry; only if the 75% ARV test still passes |
If stress-test profit falls under $12,000, stop calling it a flip. Run the same rehab and ARV as a rental on the DSCR calculator. Indiana context: Fountain Square case · Indiana fix and flip.
Holding costs beyond interest — lawn, snow, winterization, alarm, and vacant-home insurance — belong in the same napkin as IO. A $180/month vacant policy for seven months is $1,260 you will not see in a rate-only output. Add it before you call the profit “about $26,000.” Utilities in a vacant Midwest winter can exceed the policy. If you cannot estimate them, add $200–$400 per month and revisit after the first electric bill. HOA dues on a vacant townhome are holding costs too — they accrue whether you have a tenant or a dumpster. Special assessments announced mid-hold are not in the tool; ask the HOA before you treat ARV as stable.
70% rule vs. this calculator
The 70% rule / MAO calculator answers “what can I pay?” This tool answers “what do I keep after debt?” Use both.
MAO ≈ (ARV × 0.70) − rehab is a screening hack from cheaper-basis decades. In 2026 many viable Midwest files do not hit a strict 70% after today’s ARVs. That does not make them good — it means you must model carry and sale costs, not a rule of thumb from a 2014 forum post.
ATTOM’s Q4 2025 state report (via Kiavi’s March 2026 Investor Pulse) put typical national gross flip ROI near 23.6%. Gross ignores your rate, your points, and your 8% sale costs. The calculator exists so you stop quoting gross ROI to yourself.
Model points and holding costs on the napkin
The tool’s interest line is rate × balance × months / 12. Points are separate.
On a $170,100 loan:
- 1.5 points = $2,552 due at close (or rolled — still part of all-in cost)
- Taxes + insurance + utilities for 4.5 months on a vacant Midwest ranch often run $1,800–$3,500 depending on vacancy policy and winter heat
- Those lines do not appear as “profit” if you ignore them
If the UI does not have a points field, subtract points from net profit after you run the case. Same for a city transfer tax that is 1%+ of consideration.
BRRRR pivot — same rehab, different exit
Take the Indianapolis ranch. After rehab, market rent $1,775.
| Flip exit (from above) | ~$26,500 net if ARV and DOM hold | | BRRRR exit | DSCR at 75% of $232,000 = $174,000 loan at 5.75%–10.5% |
If the flip stress-test (ARV −5%, +60 days) drops net under $12,000 but rent still covers PITIA above 1.0 DSCR, the calculator just told you to stop flipping. Run DSCR calculator. Product split: DSCR vs hard money.
Five input errors that print fake profit
- ARV from the listing agent’s “I can get” number
- Rehab without dumpsters, dump fees, or permit line
- Hold months equal to the GC’s verbal promise
- Sale costs at 3%
- Rate at the competitor “from” headline
If you need the loan to print $40,000 of profit to justify the bid, you are bidding too much. Recut basis on the 70% rule calculator.
What the calculator will not save you from
- HOA rental caps that kill a BRRRR exit on a condo
- Insurance that cannot bind
- Permit clocks in historic districts
- Transfer taxes you forgot
- A GC who is three jobs deep
Those belong in the narrative you send with pre-qual, not in a hidden cell.
Tariffs and material swings in 2026 move kitchen and mechanical line items faster than ARV comps update. If your bid is 90 days old, refresh it before you trust the profit cell. Background: tariffs and rehab budgets.
Luxury and manufactured — same tool, different caps
The calculator does not know you entered a $1.2M North Shore gut or a titled mobile home.
- High-finish files: luxury fix and flip — ARV comps must match the finish, or the tool’s profit is fiction
- Manufactured on owned land: mobile home fix and flip — chattel vs. real-property rules change the exit more than they change the IO formula
- 2–4 units: use the same LTC/ARV logic; rent on a hold exit belongs in the DSCR calculator, not as fake flip ARV
If you are scraping the lot, you are not in this tool. Use construction math and ground-up vs fix and flip.
From calculator to application
If two partners disagree on ARV, run both cases and fund the worse one. Partnership files die when the term sheet assumes the optimistic partner’s number. Vesting and authority still belong in the LLC packet.
When the stress-tested net still clears your minimum:
- Export or screenshot the conservative case (not the dream case)
- Attach comps and the scope that produced the rehab number
- Submit at pre-qualify
- Expect the term sheet to move LTC or rate — rerun the tool on the actual sheet
Companion apply guide: how to get a fix and flip loan. Close clock: how long it takes.
How to use the fix and flip loan calculator — FAQ
How do I use a fix and flip loan calculator?
Enter purchase price, rehab budget, after-repair value, loan-to-cost, interest rate, and hold months. Read loan amount, cash to close, interest carry, and net profit after sale costs. Then stress-test ARV down 5% and hold time up 60 days before you apply.
What is a good profit on a fix and flip?
Many Midwest and Southeast sponsors target $20,000–$40,000 net on sub-$300,000 ARV files after 8% sale costs and hard-money carry. Sub-$12,000 net after honest hold time is often a BRRRR candidate, not a flip.
Does the calculator include points and closing costs?
Treat points as extra cash to close or extra basis. Sale costs of 7%–9% of ARV cover agent, title, transfer, and staging. The tool estimates carry from rate and hold months — add insurance, taxes, and utilities as holding costs.
What rate should I enter?
Use a mid-band assumption unless you already have a term sheet. Jaken Finance Group publishes 8.99%–13.5% interest-only on qualified files. First-timers should model 11%–12.5% until a desk prices the file.
Run the conservative case, then apply
Open the fix and flip loan calculator and enter the stress-test first. When the conservative case still works, pre-qualify or call (833) 264-7776.
Further reading: 70% rule · all investor calculators · Chicago SFR flip.
Calculator outputs are educational estimates. Rates, terms and conditions offered only to qualified borrowers and are subject to change at any time without notice. Closing times are in business days and commence upon receipt of appraisal payment and satisfaction of borrower conditions. Jaken Finance Group only finances non-owner occupied investment properties.
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Jaken Finance Group, 2300 Barrington Road, Suite 400, Hoffman Estates, IL 60196