What is the 70% rule in wholesaling?

The 70% rule says a cash buyer or flipper will generally pay no more than 70% of a property’s after-repair value (ARV) minus repair costs. As a wholesaler, you offer the seller below that number so your assignment fee fits inside the buyer’s budget.

How do you calculate the Maximum Allowable Offer (MAO)?

MAO = (ARV × 70%) − estimated repairs − your wholesale fee. That is the highest price you can offer the seller and still leave room for both the end buyer’s margin and your fee.

How much should a wholesale fee be?

Assignment fees vary widely — many wholesalers target $5,000–$15,000 per deal, but it depends on the spread in the deal and your market. The calculator lets you set any fee and see whether the numbers still work.

Can I use a different percentage than 70%?

Yes. In hotter markets some buyers go up to 75%; in slower or riskier deals they use 65% or lower. Adjust the rule field to match what your cash buyers actually pay.

Wholesale Real Estate Calculator (Free MAO Tool)

After-repair value (ARV)$What the home is worth fully fixed up.Estimated repair costs$What the buyer will spend on rehab.Rule of thumb%Most cash buyers use 70%. Lower = more conservative.Your wholesale fee$What you want to earn on the assignment.

Maximum offer to the seller$105,000Offer at or below this and your fee still fits the deal.

70% of ARV$140,000

− Repairs($25,000)

= Buyer’s max price$115,000

− Your wholesale fee($10,000)

Estimates only, for education — not financial advice. Always confirm ARV with comps and get real repair bids before making an offer.

How the wholesale calculator works

Every wholesale deal has to leave room for two people to profit: the cash buyer who actually rehabs or rents the property, and you, the wholesaler. This calculator works backward from the property’s after-repair value (ARV) to find the highest price you can offer the seller — the Maximum Allowable Offer (MAO) — while still protecting your fee.

The formula: MAO = (ARV × 70%) − Repairs − Your Wholesale Fee

The four inputs

ARV — what the home is worth fully renovated, based on recent comparable sales (“comps”).
Repairs — what the end buyer will spend bringing the property to that ARV.
Rule of thumb — the percentage of ARV your cash buyers work from. 70% is the classic figure.
Your wholesale fee — the assignment fee you want to earn for putting the deal together.

How to use your number

The MAO is your ceiling, not your opening offer. Negotiate below it when you can — the bigger the gap between your contract price and the buyer’s max, the easier the deal is to assign and the more you can earn. If the calculator turns red, the deal doesn’t pencil at those numbers: lower your offer to the seller, trim your fee, or pass.

Once a deal pencils, you’ll need the rest of the stack to actually close it — a way to find motivated sellers, skip tracing to reach owners, and a buyers list for disposition. Compare the tools real wholesalers use in our software directory, or start with the beginner’s guide to wholesaling.

Wholesale Real Estate Calculator

How the wholesale calculator works

The four inputs

How to use your number

Related

Frequently asked questions

Build your wholesaling toolkit