Max Offer

70% Rule / Max Offer Calculator

The most you can pay for a flip: the classic 70% screen and the profit-target math, with the binding number called out.

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Estimate from size, enter sqft, pick a level:
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70%
Itemized costs

These build the itemized MAO: an alternative to the rule %, never added on top of it. Percentages are of ARV so the math never chases the price you are solving for.

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The 70% rule and the itemized costs are two ways to estimate the same ceiling: you respect the lower one, you never add them together. Only a wholesaler's assignment fee comes off in addition.

Your max offer (binding)
Quick 70%-style screen
ARV × 70% − rehab—
Itemized max offer
After-repair value—
− Rehab—
− Purchase closing—
− Selling costs—
− Holding cost—
− Desired profit—
Itemized MAO—
Reconciled ceiling
Binding MAO lower of the two, never the sum—
Your max offer—
The rule at 65 · 70 · 75%

The same quick screen at each margin, on your role's basis. Your slider setting is highlighted when it lands on one; this is how much the constant alone swings the offer.

What if the ARV is different?

Same costs, recomputed at nearby ARVs. Your current ARV is highlighted; the downside rows are the ones to respect.

ARVYour max offer
Market negotiation context optional

Your max offer above is a property/deal-economics result and does not change here. Selecting a market adds a negotiation-strategy lens beside it, never a new input to the math.

Next step

Check the full flip economics in the fix & flip ROI calculator, or model the BRRRR exit in the BRRRR calculator. Browse all the calculators. Closed on the deal already? Track its equity and cash flow once it's a real property, not a hypothetical offer.

Related tools: PMI Removal · Tax Proration · 1031 Exchange · all calculators
Market data: 4,812 rental market grades · Best cash-flow rental markets 2026
Ranked lists: Highest yield · Cheapest vs. income · Rent covers the mortgage · Under $200k · Fastest-growing · Most stable

Common questions

What is the 70% rule?

A screening heuristic: pay at most 70% of the after-repair value minus rehab costs. The 30% margin is meant to absorb buying costs, holding costs, selling costs, and profit all at once. It is a fast filter for sorting leads, not a substitute for adding up your actual costs.

Are the quick 70% rule and the itemized method added together?

No, this is the most common mistake. They are two alternative estimates of the same ceiling, never additive. The 70% rule’s 30% margin already embeds buying, holding, selling, and profit; the itemized method lists those same costs out explicitly instead. You take the lower (binding) of the two, not the difference. The only cost subtracted in addition is a wholesaler’s assignment fee.

What does the implied percentage mean?

It is the rule percentage your own itemized costs actually imply: (itemized MAO + rehab) ÷ ARV. It equals 100% minus your buying, holding, selling, and profit as a share of ARV. If it lands above 70%, the classic rule is leaving profit on the table for this deal; below 70%, the rule is too loose and you would overpay. That is the whole reason to itemize instead of trusting a constant.

How is a wholesaler’s offer different from a flipper’s?

A wholesaler assigns the contract to an end buyer who still needs the flip to pencil, so the wholesaler’s offer to the seller is the end buyer’s MAO minus the assignment fee they intend to keep. Switch to wholesaler mode to subtract that fee: the calculator then shows the seller offer and your spread separately, where a flipper simply keeps the full MAO as their own ceiling.

What should the target profit be?

Enough to pay for the risk and months of work: many flippers want a five-figure minimum per project or 10–20% of ARV, scaled to the project size. Run the full numbers in the fix & flip calculator (including financing if you use it) before committing to any offer.