5% down fix and flip: what’s the real cash to close?

The deal, in pictures

Words on this page

Cash to close

The money you bring to the closing table: down payment plus every closing cost.

Proof of funds

Cash the lender wants to see in your bank statements. Only the cash to close is spent; the rest stays yours.

After repair value (ARV)

What the house will be worth once the rehab is done. Lenders cap the loan at a share of it.

Texas metro area (MSA)

Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio and the smaller Texas metros. Rural Texas starts at 10% down.

Draws

Rehab or build money released after each phase is finished and inspected.

The short answer, as of October 2026

• Budget about 2.7 times the down payment. On a small loan the closing costs come close to the down payment itself.
• The deal has to fit: 95% of the purchase plus the rehab under 75% of the after repair value.
• Completed flips bring the rate down to 10.74% at 10+ flips, still 5% down.
• 5% down is for Texas metro areas (MSA), with 590+ credit.

Capital Kings LLC is a broker, not a lender. We compare every file across 400+ lenders and send the term sheet with every fee on it before you sign.

Every dollar, line by line

A $160,000 purchase, a $45,000 rehab and a $290,000 after repair value, 700 credit, first flip, in a major Texas metro. The real term sheet, every line labeled by who gets paid:

Open the full term sheet →

Cash to close$21,320

Proof of funds to show$46,384

Where the $21,320 goes

• Down paymentEquity$8,000
• Appraisal feeAppraiser$550
• Prepaid interestLender$733
• Origination and lender feesLender$4,780
• Broker feeBroker$2,000
• Closing / titleTitle co$3,309
• Property insuranceInsurer$1,948

Proof of funds adds $13,500 of the rehab and $11,564 of interest that stay in your account. The gold broker line is the only money Capital Kings earns.

A sample sheet for a made-up borrower, built the same way yours is. Yours takes about five minutes and doesn’t pull your credit.

How do the options compare?

Credit moves the rate and the interest in proof of funds; it barely moves cash to close.

The same deal at every credit score

First flip, $160,000 purchase, $45,000 rehab, $290,000 after repair value. The down payment and the fees barely move with credit; the rate does, and so does the six months of interest in proof of funds. Rates as of October 2026.

And with completed flips

At 700 credit. Completed flips lower the rate; the down payment stays at 5%. Rates as of October 2026.

How does it actually work?

The loan is 95% of the purchase plus 100% of the rehab. The purchase funds at closing and the rehab follows in draws after each inspection, so interest starts at $1,487 a month and reaches $1,927 once the whole rehab is out.

If the rehab grows, the cap bites. With an $80,000 rehab on the same house the loan hits 75% of the after repair value, and the down payment grows to $22,500, with $36,768 to close.

What else do people ask?