Investment glossary
Clear definitions for terms used across FlipMetric flip and rental analysis.
FlipMetric guide · Reviewed 2026-11-10
- ARV (After-Repair Value)
- Estimated sale price of a property after renovations are complete. Used in flip profit and MAO calculations.
- MAO (Maximum Allowable Offer)
- A rule-of-thumb offer ceiling, often (ARV × percentage) − rehab. FlipMetric defaults to a 70% style MAO you can edit.
- Cash-on-cash return
- Annual cash flow divided by cash invested. A levered rental return metric.
- Cap rate
- Net operating income divided by purchase price (or value). An unlevered yield measure.
- NOI (Net Operating Income)
- Effective rental income minus operating expenses, before debt service.
- DSCR (Debt Service Coverage Ratio)
- NOI divided by annual debt service. Lenders often look for ratios above about 1.20–1.25; FlipMetric stores this as ratio × 10,000.
- Holding costs
- Costs incurred while you own the property before sale—such as taxes, insurance, utilities, and HOA during a flip.
- Hard money
- Short-term financing often used for flips, typically interest-only with points and fees. FlipMetric can model these costs.
- Vacancy
- Expected empty periods for a rental, modeled as a percentage reduction to gross rent.
- BRRRR
- Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat. An educational strategy that combines flip-style rehab with rental underwriting—not a separate FlipMetric calculator.
Educational material from FlipMetric, not financial advice. Disclaimer.