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Max Offer Calculator

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How to use the Max Offer Calculator

1
Set the ARV from real comps
Use three to five recent sales of similar, updated homes within about a mile. Everything else depends on this number.
2
Enter repairs with a cushion
Take your contractor's bid and add 10–20% for surprises.
3
Pick your profit target
Higher targets protect you if prices dip. Newer flippers often aim for 15% or more.
4
Set selling costs
Agent fees plus seller closing costs, usually 6–9% of the price.
5
Add holding and financing
Loan interest and points plus monthly bills. Longer projects need more here.

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This calculator builds your own version of the 70% rule. Instead of one fixed percentage, you set your profit target and each cost, so the result fits your market and your financing.

Worked example

A house has an after-repair value of $380,000 and needs $55,000 of repairs. The buyer wants a 15% profit and expects 8% selling costs and 7% holding and financing costs.

That leaves 70% of the sale price for the purchase and repairs, so the maximum offer is $211,000, the same as the classic 70% rule. If the buyer raises the profit target to 20%, the maximum offer drops to $192,000.

The formula

Max offer = ARV × (1 − Profit % − Selling % − Holding & financing %) − Repairs

With 15% profit, 8% selling and 7% holding, the percentages add up to 30%, which is where the 70% rule comes from.

Common mistakes

Setting holding costs too low. At today's loan rates, interest alone can run 5% of the sale price on a six-month flip.
Counting repairs twice. If your repair figure already includes contingency, don't raise the profit target to cover the same risk.
Negotiating up to the maximum. The result is a ceiling. Start lower.

What to do next