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What’s the most you should offer?
THE SHORT ANSWER
Your maximum allowable offer (MAO) is the after-repair value times 70%, minus repair costs. Type your ARV and rehab number below and this free calculator gives you the MAO, a conservative opening offer, and a walk-away price instantly.
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What the 70% rule actually does
The 70% rule prices a distressed property backwards from its exit. A cash buyer who plans to fix and resell needs the purchase price plus rehab to land well under the after-repair value — the 30% they hold back pays for their profit, closing costs, holding costs, and selling costs. The percentage is an error budget: it also absorbs every mistake in your inputs, and a single bad comp moves your ceiling by more than the rule percentage ever will.
MAO = (ARV × 70%) − repairs
This calculator also shows two numbers the formula alone doesn't give you: a conservative opening offer at 62% of ARV (room to negotiate up), and a walk-away price at 76% (past that, the margin on the deal goes negative). Those are the same offer bounds the PropTitan app computes on every property it analyzes.
Worked example
Say the renovated houses around your target sell for $312,400 (that's the ARV) and the property needs $38,500 of work:
ARV (sold comps agree) $312,400
× 70% rule $218,680
− repairs −$38,500
= MAO $180,180
opening offer (62%) $155,188
walk-away (76%) $198,924
If you're wholesaling this deal and want a $15,000 assignment fee, you need it under contract at $165,180 or less — the end buyer still gets their full 70%-rule deal at $180,180.
When the 70% rule breaks down
The rule assumes a fix-and-flip exit. It gets too strict on higher-priced houses (30% of a $600,000 ARV is a bigger cushion than the costs need) and too loose on very cheap ones (30% of an $80,000 ARV may not even cover closing and holding costs). It also says nothing about rental exits — a landlord buyer prices off cashflow, not the 70% rule. Treat the MAO as a screen, not a final answer: the deals worth pursuing get a full comp-based workup.
Where do the ARV and repair numbers come from? That's the actual work — comps you trust and a rehab budget grounded in local costs. The calculator can't do that part. Our 70% rule guide covers both inputs in depth.
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QUESTIONS
Calculator questions
Is this calculator really free?
Yes — no signup, no email required to use it. The email box below is only if you want the breakdown in your inbox.
What does MAO stand for in wholesaling?
Maximum allowable offer — the most you can pay for a property and still leave room for repairs, holding costs, your assignment fee, and the end buyer’s profit.
Why 70% and not some other number?
The 30% you hold back covers the buyer’s profit, closing costs, holding costs, and selling costs on the exit. In hot markets some buyers stretch to 75–80%; in slow markets they tighten to 65%. Start at 70% and adjust to what cash buyers in your market actually pay.
Does the MAO include my assignment fee?
The MAO is the ceiling for the END BUYER. Your contract price needs to sit below it by at least your fee — if MAO is $180,180 and you want a $15,000 assignment fee, get the property under contract at $165,180 or less.
Is my data saved when I use this calculator?
No. The math runs entirely in your browser on the numbers you type. Nothing is stored unless you choose to email yourself the breakdown.
Where do I get an accurate ARV and rehab number?
ARV comes from recent sold comps near the property — similar size, age, and condition. Rehab comes from a repair walkthrough or a per-square-foot estimate. PropTitan pulls both automatically for any address if you’d rather not do it by hand.