What is MAO (Maximum Allowable Offer)?

MAO — Maximum Allowable Offer — is the highest price a real estate investor can pay for a distressed property while still meeting their minimum profit requirement. The standard formula is: ARV × 70% minus repair costs. The 70% multiplier is designed to leave room for holding costs (financing, taxes, insurance during the flip — roughly 10% of ARV) and a profit margin of around 20% of ARV.

For wholesalers, the calculation goes one step further: the MAO is reduced by the assignment fee before presenting the contract price to an end buyer. This calculator handles both scenarios — house flippers setting their own offer price and wholesalers calculating a price that still leaves the end buyer a viable deal.

How to Use the MAO Calculator

1. Enter the After Repair Value (ARV). Input your estimated market value of the property after renovations, based on comparable sold properties (comps) in the same neighborhood. ARV is the most important input — an inaccurate ARV directly misstates your MAO.
2. Enter your repair estimate. Input your total rehab cost estimate to bring the property to the condition used to determine the ARV.
3. Set your multiplier. The default is 70% — the industry standard. Adjust lower for conservative markets or uncertain repairs, or higher in competitive markets with strong ARV confidence.
4. Enter your wholesale fee (if applicable). If wholesaling, enter your assignment fee. The calculator shows the contract price to present to an end buyer after deducting your fee.
5. Review your MAO. The result is the maximum offer price that leaves room for repair costs, holding costs, and a minimum profit margin.

Key Variables Explained

• ARV (After Repair Value): The estimated market value of the property after full renovation. Find this from recently sold comps in the same neighborhood — not automated estimates.
• Repair Estimate: The cost to bring the property to the condition reflected in the ARV. For wholesalers, a rough per-square-foot estimate is common for quick screening.
• Wholesale Fee: Your profit as the wholesaler. It is subtracted from the MAO to calculate the contract price you assign to the end buyer.

When to Adjust the 70% Multiplier

While 70% is the industry standard for most house flippers, it is not fixed. In highly competitive markets, investors sometimes pay 75–80% of ARV minus repairs when they have very accurate ARV data and lower overhead. In slower markets with higher carrying costs or uncertain repair budgets, dropping to 65% provides more safety margin.

Who Is This For?

• House flippers who need to quickly screen off-market deals, foreclosures, and wholesaler leads to determine whether they are worth a full analysis.
• Wholesalers calculating the assignable contract price — the number they can show an end buyer while still covering their own assignment fee and leaving the buyer a profitable deal.
• Real estate investors learning deal analysis who want to understand how the 70% rule works with actual numbers before committing to a property.

Key Benefits

• Privacy first. All calculations run in your browser. Your deal numbers and ARV estimates are never sent to any server.
• Completely free. No subscription, no paywall, no account required.
• No account needed. Works instantly — screen as many deals as you need.
• Adjustable multiplier. The default 70% is right for most markets, but you can adjust it to match your specific market conditions, holding cost assumptions, and target return.

Frequently Asked Questions