Understanding After Repair Value (ARV) in Real Estate Investing

What is After Repair Value?

After Repair Value ("ARV") is the estimated value of a property after it has been renovated or improved. This metric is crucial for real estate investors, house flippers, and lenders as it helps determine the potential profitability of a deal. Investors use ARV to assess whether a property is worth purchasing and to strategize their renovation budgets effectively. Lenders also rely on ARV to decide the amount they are willing to finance.

For example, if you bought a house for $100,000, invested $50,000 into a cost-effective renovation, and it then appraised for $200,000, the ARV is $200,000. To estimate the ARV of a property, you can look at the comparable home sales and listings ("comps") to see what properties with similar characteristics in a neighborhood are selling for.

Using the BRRR method real estate investing method, your budget of purchase price plus rehab would ideally be no higher than 75% of the ARV. For example, let's say you bought a property for $50,000 and invested $25,000 into repairs. That's $75,000 of invested capital. Now, when you go to a lender to refinance the property by taking out a mortgage, the home appraises for $100,000. The ARV in this example is therefore $100,000. Since most lenders require 25% down for non-primary residences and investment properties, you're able to cash out 75% of the appraised value of the property -- that's $75,000 which is is the entire amount you invested in the project.

How do you calculate After Repair Value?