Enter the after repair value, your repair estimate, and the assignment fee you want to make. This tool runs the 70% rule and tells you two numbers that matter: the most a cash buyer should pay (your maximum allowable offer), and the exact price to offer the seller so your fee is protected. Slide the percentage to match what your buyers actually accept.
Your fee leaves nothing for the seller at this price. Lower the fee or your repair estimate, or the deal will not pencil for a cash buyer.
Directional tool for deal screening, not an appraisal. Always confirm ARV with local comps and repairs with a contractor before you contract a property.
The three formulas inside this tool
- Maximum allowable offer (MAO) = ARV x rule% − repairs
- Your offer to the seller = MAO − your assignment fee
- Buyer's built-in margin = ARV x (100% − rule%)
How the wholesale calculator works
Wholesaling has one job: get a property under contract for less than a cash buyer will pay, then assign that contract for a fee. Every number in the deal hangs off the after repair value, so that is where the math starts.
The calculator applies the 70% rule to the ARV, subtracts the repairs, and lands on the maximum allowable offer: the ceiling a flipper or landlord will pay and still make money. Then it subtracts the fee you want, which gives the number you actually put in front of the seller. Offer at or below that, and your fee is baked in before you ever pick up the phone.
The last figure, the buyer's built-in margin, is the part new wholesalers forget. If there is no room left for the cash buyer, the deal does not sell no matter how motivated the seller is. Keeping that cushion visible stops you from tying up properties nobody will take off your hands.
What is ARV and how do you calculate it?
ARV is what the house is worth after it is fully fixed up, not what it is worth today. You get it from comparable sales, or comps: recently sold, renovated homes near the subject property that match it on size, age, and layout.
- Pull 3 to 5 sold comps within about half a mile, sold in the last 3 to 6 months.
- Match square footage within roughly 20%, same bed and bath count where you can.
- Use sold prices, not list prices. Active listings tell you hope, not value.
- Take the price per square foot of the comps and apply it to the subject home.
Get ARV wrong and every other number is wrong with it. When in doubt, pull fresh comps or ask an investor-friendly agent. A confident ARV is worth more than a fast one.
The 70% rule, and when to move off it
The 70% rule is shorthand for how cash buyers protect themselves: pay no more than 70% of ARV minus repairs, and the remaining 30% of ARV covers holding, closing, selling costs, and profit. It is a default, not a law.
| Situation | Rule to use | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Hot market, hungry buyers | 72 to 75% | Buyers accept thinner margins to win inventory |
| Standard flip | 70% | The reliable middle most buyers underwrite to |
| Heavy rehab or slow market | 65% or less | More risk means buyers want a bigger cushion |
| Turnkey rental buyer | 75 to 80% | Landlords holding for cash flow tolerate less spread |
Slide the rule in the tool to whatever your real buyers accept. If you do not know yet, ask the buyers on your list what percentage they underwrite to. That single question is worth more than any formula.
Estimating repair costs without a contractor on site
For a first-pass offer you do not need a line-item bid, you need a defensible ballpark. Most wholesalers screen with a price-per-square-foot band, then confirm with a contractor before closing.
| Rehab level | Rough cost / sq ft | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Light / cosmetic | $10 to $25 | Paint, flooring, fixtures, cleanup |
| Medium | $25 to $45 | Kitchen and baths, some systems, curb appeal |
| Heavy | $45 to $75+ | Full gut, roof, HVAC, electrical, foundation |
Ranges are directional national ballparks and vary widely by market, labor, and material costs. Use them to screen, not to sign.
Setting your assignment fee
Your fee is the spread you keep for finding and controlling the deal. Set it too high and the offer to the seller drops so low they walk. Set it too low and you leave your own money on the table.
For a reference point, the national average wholesale assignment fee is about $13,000, based on a 2025 survey of more than 1,000 wholesalers. It swings hard by state, from around $5,000 in Arizona to $22,000 in North Carolina and Georgia. We break the numbers down further in our real estate wholesaling statistics roundup, and cover the full economics in cost per deal in wholesaling.
A worked example
Say a tired 3-bed in a Tier 2 metro will be worth $220,000 renovated, needs about $35,000 of medium rehab, and you want a $12,000 fee, with buyers underwriting at 70%. Here is how the tool pencils it:
- Assign price to your cash buyer (MAO) = $220,000 x 0.70 − $35,000 = $119,000
- Your offer to the seller = $119,000 − $12,000 fee = $107,000
- Buyer's built-in margin = $220,000 x 30% = $66,000, to cover holding, closing, selling, and profit
So you contract at $107,000, assign at $119,000, and keep $12,000, while your buyer still has real room to make the flip work. Change any input in the tool and all three numbers move together. Your deal is not this example, so plug in your real ARV, repairs, and target fee, and let the math tell you your walk-away price before you ever talk to the seller.
You have the number. Now you need the seller.
A calculator tells you what to offer. It does not find the motivated seller to offer it to. Vocalxlabs runs the AI Acquisition Manager: compliant AI cold SMS that texts your market, holds real conversations, and qualifies sellers on motivation, price, condition, and timeline, then hands you the ones ready to talk. Start with a free 2-week pilot. You cover only data costs, usually under $100, and there is no setup fee until it produces qualified sellers.
Start the free 2-week pilotFrequently asked questions
How do you calculate a wholesale real estate offer?
Multiply the ARV by 70%, subtract repair costs to get the maximum allowable offer, then subtract your assignment fee to get your offer to the seller. In short: Offer to seller = (ARV x 0.70) − repairs − your fee. The tool above does it live as you type.
What is the 70% rule in wholesaling?
It says a cash buyer should pay no more than 70% of a property's after repair value minus repairs. The other 30% of ARV covers holding, closing, selling costs, and profit. Wholesalers use it to find the ceiling their buyers accept, then price their own offer below it.
How much should a wholesale assignment fee be?
The national average is about $13,000, ranging from roughly $5,000 in Arizona to $22,000 in North Carolina and Georgia, per a 2025 survey of over 1,000 wholesalers. Most operators set the fee between $5,000 and $20,000 depending on market and spread.
What is ARV in real estate?
ARV is the after repair value, what a home will be worth once fully renovated. It is estimated from recent sales of comparable renovated homes nearby, ideally sold in the last 3 to 6 months and similar in size and condition.
Is 70% always the right number?
No. It is the common default. Buyers go to 75% or higher in hot markets, and want 65% or less on heavy rehabs or in slower markets. Slide the percentage in the calculator to match what your actual cash buyers underwrite to.
The bottom line
A wholesale deal lives or dies on three numbers: ARV, repairs, and the spread. Get those right and the offer prices itself. This calculator keeps the buyer's margin visible so you only tie up properties that will actually assign. The math is the easy part. The hard part is finding a motivated seller to run these numbers on, which is a problem worth solving on purpose.
Sources: Average wholesale assignment fee by state, survey of 1,000+ wholesalers (Real Estate Bees, 2025); 70% rule and MAO methodology (standard real estate investing practice); repair cost bands (directional national contractor ranges).