How much does it cost to flip a house? Beyond the purchase price, a 280,000 dollar flip with a 40,000 dollar rehab can cost about 98,600 dollars once you add closing, holding, loan and selling costs. Those are example numbers. Enter your own below to see total cost, profit and break-even.
House flip cost and profit calculator
Enter the purchase, rehab, months, loan terms, closing costs and sale price. The tool shows total cost, profit, your return and the 70 percent rule offer. It also shows what happens when the sale slips, the rehab runs over or the job takes longer. You can print the budget with a checklist.
House flip cost and profit calculator
On these numbers $21,400 is left after costs and before income tax. Break-even sale price: $377,234. Your purchase price is $40,000 above the 70 percent rule of thumb. This is arithmetic on your inputs, not a recommendation on any deal.
Profit if the sale slips or the rehab runs over
| Sale / rehab | On budget | +10% | +20% | +30% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| As entered | $21,400 | $17,400 | $13,400 | $9,400 |
| -5% | $2,600 | -$1,400 | -$5,400 | -$9,400 |
| -10% | -$16,200 | -$20,200 | -$24,200 | -$28,200 |
| -15% | -$35,000 | -$39,000 | -$43,000 | -$47,000 |
Selling costs move with the sale price. Overruns are paid in cash, so the loan stays the same.
Profit if it takes longer
| On time | +1 mo | +2 mo | +3 mo | +6 mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $21,400 | $17,707 | $14,013 | $10,320 | -$760 |
Runs in your browser. Nothing is stored or sent. All defaults are an editable example, not market data. Interest assumes the full loan from day one, which is on the high side if your rehab money is drawn in stages. Profit is before income tax. Benchmark: ATTOM Q2 2026. This is arithmetic, not investment advice.
Key takeaways
- A flip has five cost groups beyond the purchase: rehab, closing, holding, financing and selling.
- ATTOM's typical gross profit of $60,526 in Q2 2026 is resale price minus purchase price. It does not include rehab or other expenses.
- The typical flip took 161 days in Q2 2026, so holding and interest costs are a real line in the budget.
- The 70 percent rule is a rule of thumb for an offer. It does not replace a budget.
| Cost | How to estimate it | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Rehab | Written contractor scope and price | $40,000 |
| Closing costs when you buy | 2.5% of $280,000 purchase | $7,000 |
| Taxes, insurance, utilities | $1,200 a month for 6 months | $7,200 |
| Loan interest | $272,000 at 11%, interest only, 6 months | $14,960 |
| Loan points | 2% of the loan | $5,440 |
| Costs when you sell | 6% of $400,000 sale | $24,000 |
| Total beyond the purchase | Add them up | $98,600 |
How much does it cost to flip a house?
Add five groups of costs to the purchase price: rehab, closing, holding, financing and selling. There is no reliable national total, because a cosmetic job and a full gut in different cities have little in common. Your own budget beats any average, including one on this page.
Rehab
This is the number most likely to move. Get the scope and price in writing from someone who has walked the house. The calculator holds a reserve as a percent of rehab, 10 percent by default. It counts that reserve as cash you need, not as money spent.
Holding costs
Taxes, insurance, utilities and any association dues keep running until you sell. So does interest. In the example, each extra month costs about 3,693 dollars. Six extra months would use up all 21,400 dollars of profit and leave a 760 dollar loss. Nothing went wrong with the house. It just took a year.
Financing
Paying cash removes interest and points, and raises the cash you need from about 86,600 dollars to about 338,200 dollars in the example. One lender, Crestmont Capital, wrote in June 2026 that fix and flip loans typically run 8 to 14 percent, with 1.5 to 3 points. It also says lenders often cap loans at 85 to 95 percent of project cost and 70 to 75 percent of after-repair value. We read that page in November 2026. Treat it as one lender's description and get your own quote in writing.
Selling costs
Commissions, transfer taxes, title charges and buyer concessions come out of the sale price, so they shrink your profit even when the sale goes to plan. The 6 percent default is an assumption. Ask a local agent or title company what applies to your sale.
What the 70 percent rule tells you
The 70 percent rule says to pay no more than 70 percent of the after-repair value, minus the rehab. On a 400,000 dollar sale with a 40,000 dollar rehab, that is 240,000 dollars. It is a rule of thumb from the trade, not a law or a lending standard.
The example buys at 280,000 dollars, which is 40,000 dollars above the rule, and still shows a 21,400 dollar profit. That profit is also thin enough that a 10 percent lower sale turns it into a loss of 16,200 dollars. The rule tries to leave room for exactly that. Use it as a fast first filter, then run the full budget.
Is flipping houses profitable?
Flipping houses can be profitable, but the headline numbers overstate it, and results vary widely by market. ATTOM's Q2 2026 U.S. Home Flipping Report, published October 1, 2026, shows the typical gross margin falling to 21.5 percent, down from 27.6 percent a year earlier.
The same report shows how much location matters. Among metros with more than one million people, Pittsburgh reached 81.5 percent and Buffalo 76.6 percent. San Antonio showed a 0.3 percent loss, and Dallas just 1.8 percent. Price matters too. Homes bought for 100,000 to 200,000 dollars showed 28 percent, and those bought for 300,000 to 400,000 dollars showed 20 percent. Homes at 50,000 dollars or less showed a typical loss of 15,000 dollars. All of those are gross figures.
Why a 60,526 dollar gross profit is not your profit
ATTOM says plainly that its figure does not include rehab costs and other expenses. So run the typical numbers through a budget. A 60,526 dollar gross at a 21.5 percent return implies buying near 281,500 dollars and selling near 342,000 dollars. That is our arithmetic, not an ATTOM figure.
Now use the calculator's assumptions, with an 85 percent loan on the purchase and six months of holding:
- Closing when you buy: about 7,038 dollars.
- Taxes, insurance and utilities: 7,200 dollars.
- Interest and points: about 17,946 dollars.
- Costs when you sell: about 20,520 dollars.
That comes to about 52,704 dollars, which leaves about 7,800 dollars of the gross to pay for the entire rehab and any profit. Your costs will differ, and ATTOM's count may include resales with very little work done. The point is narrower: never compare your projected profit with a gross figure. They measure different things.
Why flipping houses is a bad idea for some buyers
Flipping is a bad fit when the plan has no room for a lower sale, a bigger rehab or a slower schedule. Run the table in the tool. If most of the cells are negative, you are betting on everything going right. A few other risks do not show up in a simple budget.
- Fast resales can lose FHA buyers. Under 24 CFR 203.37a, a house resold 90 days or less after the seller acquired it is generally not eligible for an FHA-insured mortgage, with listed exceptions. From 91 to 180 days, a price 100 percent above the purchase price requires more documentation, including a second appraisal. ATTOM says FHA loans backed 10.7 percent of flipped home sales in Q2 2026.
- The tax bill comes after the calculator. The IRS taxes net short-term capital gains, on assets held a year or less, as ordinary income. If flipping is your business, the house may count as property held for sale to customers, which federal tax law excludes from capital assets. Ask your tax advisor before you count the profit.
- Your cash is stuck until closing. The rehab reserve and the monthly costs need to be there whether or not the house sells.
Flipping a house checklist
This is the same list the tool prints with your budget. Each step exists to catch a number before it costs you money.
Before you make an offer
- Pull recent sold comps that match the size, condition and street, and write down the after-repair value.
- Walk the house with a contractor and get the scope and price in writing.
- Ask the building department which parts of the scope need permits.
- Run this calculator again with the sale price down 10 percent and the rehab up 20 percent.
Before you close
- Get a loan quote in writing with the rate, points, draw fees and any minimum interest.
- Order a title search and read the exceptions.
- Get an insurance quote for a vacant house under renovation.
- Set aside the reserve in cash, apart from the rehab money.
During the rehab
- Keep each contractor payment tied to finished work, with lien waivers where your state uses them.
- Compare spending with the budget every week.
- Close out permits and final inspections before you list.
- Update the holding months here when the schedule moves.
Before you sell
- Refresh the comps. The market may have moved since you bought.
- Check the date you took title against the FHA resale rule if FHA buyers are likely.
- Decide who answers buyer calls on the sign and the listing.
- Ask your tax advisor how this sale will be taxed and what to set aside.
The two phone calls in a flip budget
Flippers miss calls at both ends of a project. If you buy off-market, the seller who finally calls about your letter tends to do it while you are at the job site with a saw running. You can read how those sellers think in the guide to motivated sellers, and how a contract reaches you from a wholesale real estate contract. If you find deals through wholesalers, how wholesaling works explains what you are buying.
callflo.ai is an AI receptionist that answers those calls 24/7, asks your questions, captures the lead and texts you the details. On VIP it also books callbacks on your calendar. Starter is 39 dollars a month on annual billing, or 49 dollars month to month, with 120 minutes and extra minutes at 0.98 dollars. It does not fit if you flip one house a year from a deal someone hands you, or if a listing agent takes all your buyer calls. The page for investors shows the setup, and the pricing page has the plans.
Hear what answers while you are on the job site
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