Investor calculator
ARV / Maximum Offer Calculator
Work backwards from the estimated after-repair value and your profit target to the maximum price you can pay for a project. Results are estimates for educational and planning purposes, not financial, tax, legal, lending, or investment advice.
Enter your project assumptions
Estimated results
Estimated maximum purchase price
$--
Profit used in the calculation
$--
Implied ROI at that price
--%
Rule of thumb reference
A common rule of thumb suggests a maximum offer near ARV x 0.7 minus rehab. It is only a starting simplification: it ignores your holding, financing, and selling costs and your profit goal, and it does not fit every market or project. It is context, not a rule.
Estimates for educational and planning purposes only. Not financial, tax, legal, lending, or investment advice.
What it does
Start with the finished value, then back into your offer.
This calculator is for rehab investors who need to know the most they can pay for a property and still hit their profit goal. It subtracts every expected cost and your desired profit from the after-repair value. Enter a desired profit in dollars or a desired ROI percentage, or both (if both are entered, the larger profit requirement wins).
What each major input means
- ARV: the expected resale price after renovation, grounded in comparables.
- Rehab, holding, financing, and other costs: everything the project spends beyond the purchase.
- Desired profit or ROI: your minimum acceptable outcome. ROI is measured against total cash deployed.
- Selling costs: commissions, closing costs, and concessions as a percentage of the sale price.
How the calculation works
A budget, written backwards
The maximum offer is the ARV minus rehab, holding costs, financing costs, selling costs, other expenses, and your desired profit. When only an ROI target is entered, the calculator solves for the price that leaves that ROI on everything you invest. Selling costs are based on the ARV, which is an assumption; actual sales prices and costs will differ. If the result is zero or negative, the assumptions do not support a purchase.
What the outputs mean
- Maximum purchase price is your ceiling for this project on these assumptions.
- Implied ROI shows the return your profit target represents on the cash you will have in the project.
- The rule-of-thumb reference is context only and never a substitute for your own math.
Important limitations
This tool cannot know your market, your renovation quality, or the real demand at your target price. ARV errors are the classic killer of rehab deals, and the calculator inherits every assumption you enter. Treat the maximum offer as one input to your decision, not the decision.
Calculator FAQ
Common questions.
Direct answers about ARV, the 70% rule, and how to use the maximum offer.
What is the most important input in this calculator?
The estimated after-repair value (ARV). If the ARV is too high, the calculator tells you that you can pay more than the deal is worth. Ground the ARV in comparable sales of similar renovated homes, ideally with your agent's analysis.
Is the "70% rule" real?
It is a rule of thumb some flippers use as a starting screen: a maximum offer around 70 percent of after-repair value minus rehab costs. It is not a rule, it ignores your actual holding, financing, and selling costs, and it does not fit every market or project. Use it as context, never as the decision.
What happens if the maximum offer comes out negative?
That means your assumed ARV, costs, and profit target do not support a purchase at any positive price. Either the property is overpriced for your plan, or one of your assumptions is off. Recheck the ARV and costs before moving on.
Are these results a guarantee of what I should pay?
No. They are an estimate from your own assumptions, for educational and planning purposes only, and are not financial, tax, legal, lending, or investment advice. Market competition may force a higher price, and actual costs may invalidate the math.
Go deeper
Related JC Pacific investor resources.
Run the numbers first. When you are ready to look at properties, JC Pacific can help with the next step, and the property search can show you what actually trades in your target price range.