Calculate ARV, MAO & Profit for Any Fix-and-Flip Deal
Calculate ARV, Maximum Allowable Offer (MAO), projected profit, ROI, and deal score for any fix-and-flip or BRRRR investment property in the USA.
Estimated market value of the property after all repairs are complete, based on comparable sold properties (comps).
Selling costs typically include agent commissions (~5–6%) plus title, transfer taxes, and concessions (~2–3%).
How to Use the ARV Calculator
You don’t need a spreadsheet or a real estate course to analyse a fix-and-flip deal. Follow these four steps and the calculator will give you the MAO, net profit, ROI, cash-on-cash return, and a colour-coded deal score in seconds — before you ever make an offer.
Enter the ARV and Purchase Price
Start with the After Repair Value — the price the property will sell for once fully renovated, based on comparable sold properties in the same area. Then enter the current asking or purchase price. The calculator instantly computes the Maximum Allowable Offer for your chosen rule percentage and flags whether the purchase price is above or below it.
Enter Rehab Budget, Strategy, and MAO Rule
Input your estimated total rehab cost and add a contingency percentage — 10% for well-scoped jobs, 20% for properties with unknowns. Select your investment strategy (Fix & Flip, BRRRR, Buy & Hold, or Wholesale) and the MAO rule percentage. The 70% rule is the industry standard for flips, but you can customise it to match your market and return targets.
Fill In Financing and Holding Costs
Enter your hard money or bridge loan rate, loan-to-cost percentage, and hold period in months. Then add your monthly carrying costs — property tax, insurance, utilities, and any other ongoing expenses. These costs directly reduce your profit and are often underestimated by new investors. Getting them right here shows you the real all-in cost of the deal before you commit.
Review the Deal Score and Download Your PDF
Read the colour-coded deal score (Excellent / Good / Fair / Poor), the MAO vs ask price comparison bars, and the full profit and returns breakdown. Download the two-page PDF report to share with your lender, partner, or private money investor — it includes your complete deal inputs, cost breakdown table, profit summary, and six key metric cards formatted for professional use.
What This Calculator Computes
Most ARV calculators only show the MAO. This tool builds a complete deal analysis — including financing costs, a hold period model, annualised ROI, a deal score, and a professional PDF report — so you can evaluate any deal end-to-end before making an offer.
ARV and Maximum Allowable Offer (MAO)
Calculates the MAO using your chosen rule percentage (65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, or custom) applied to ARV minus repair costs. The MAO is displayed prominently alongside the asking price and ARV on a comparison bar so you can instantly see whether you’re above or below the safe offer threshold.
Complete All-In Cost Breakdown
Sums every cost category — purchase price, rehab with contingency, buying and selling closing costs, hard money financing cost, and total holding costs — into a single all-in figure. Each cost is shown as a proportion bar relative to ARV, so you immediately see which costs are eating the most into your margin.
Net Profit, Cash-on-Cash, and Annualised ROI
Computes three distinct return metrics: net profit in dollars (ARV minus all-in cost), cash-on-cash return on your equity invested (net profit divided by cash out of pocket), and annualised ROI (total ROI scaled to a 12-month equivalent). These three numbers together give you a complete picture of what the deal is worth relative to your time and capital.
Colour-Coded Deal Score (0–100)
The deal score evaluates the deal across four dimensions — profit margin vs ARV, purchase price vs MAO, cash-on-cash return, and total ROI — and returns a score from 0 to 100 with a rating of Excellent, Good, Fair, or Poor. Each rating includes a plain-English description of what the score means and what to adjust to improve it.
Strategy Support: Flip, BRRRR, Rental & Wholesale
The calculator supports four investment strategies. For Fix & Flip, it models the full sale cycle. For BRRRR, the ARV represents the refinance value rather than a sale price. For Buy & Hold, it shows your all-in cost and equity position. For Wholesale, it calculates the MAO as your assignment spread anchor — the maximum you can pay and still leave profit for the end buyer.
Two-Page PDF Deal Analysis Report
Downloads a professionally formatted PDF with the deal inputs panel, cost breakdown with proportion bars, profit and returns table, six summary cards, and a full monthly holding cost detail on page 2. Share directly with a hard money lender, private investor, or business partner without any additional formatting or tools.
Numbers Every US Fix-and-Flip Investor Should Know
How Different Investors Use This Calculator
ARV analysis looks different depending on your exit strategy and experience level. Here’s how three types of US real estate investors set up the calculator to get the most relevant numbers for their specific situation.
Fix-and-Flip Investors
70% Rule / Full deal analysisYou’re evaluating a distressed property before making an offer and need to know immediately whether the numbers work — purchase price, rehab, carrying costs, and all closing fees included — before spending time and money on inspections.
- Start with the ARV based on 3–5 recently sold comps within half a mile
- Use the 70% rule as your baseline MAO, adjust to 65% in uncertain markets
- Add a 15–20% contingency on rehab for anything built before 1980
- Set selling closing costs to 8–9% to account for full agent commissions and concessions
- Check the deal score — anything below “Good” requires renegotiation or walk away
BRRRR Investors
Refinance value / Equity modelYou’re buying a distressed rental, renovating it, renting it out, and then refinancing to pull your cash back out. The ARV drives how much equity you can access in the refinance — and how much cash you’ll have left in the deal.
- Select “BRRRR” strategy — the ARV represents your refinance appraisal target
- Set LTC to your lender’s refinance LTV (typically 70–75% of ARV)
- Target leaving less than 10% of ARV in the deal as your cash-in baseline
- Use the cash invested figure to calculate whether you’ve achieved a true “infinite return”
- Hold period should reflect renovation + seasoning period before the refi
Wholesalers
MAO as assignment anchorYou’re finding off-market deals and assigning the contract to an end buyer (typically a flipper). Your job is to ensure the price you put the property under contract for is low enough that the end buyer can still hit their numbers — and you can make your assignment fee.
- Use the 70% rule MAO as the maximum the end flipper buyer would pay
- Subtract your assignment fee ($5,000–$20,000) to get your true maximum contract price
- Set rehab using realistic contractor estimates — not your own guess
- Download the PDF to show the end buyer a deal analysis with your numbers pre-filled
- A Good or Excellent deal score makes the deal much easier to assign quickly
7 Ways to Run a More Accurate ARV Analysis
The ARV calculation is only as good as the inputs you put in. These tips help you avoid the most common mistakes that cause new investors to overestimate profit and underprice risk on their first few deals.
Build ARV From Sold Comps, Not List Prices
ARV must be based on closed sale prices of similar properties — not active listings, pending sales, or Zestimates. Use 3–5 sold comps within half a mile, sold within the last 90 days, and within 20% of the subject property’s square footage. Properties should be in similar condition to what your renovation will produce. Your agent can pull a CMA, or you can use Zillow’s sold history filtered by date and size. Using list prices instead of sold prices is one of the most common ARV errors.
Always Add a Rehab Contingency — Never Skip It
Experienced investors budget a 10–20% contingency on top of every contractor estimate. Renovation projects almost always reveal hidden issues — outdated wiring, plumbing that needs replacing, structural surprises, permit requirements that add cost. Entering the raw contractor number without a contingency gives you a profit figure that will rarely survive contact with the actual renovation. Set 10% for clear-scope jobs with reputable contractors; 20% for anything with structural uncertainty or older mechanical systems.
Include the Full Selling Cost, Not Just the Commission
Many investors enter 6% as their selling cost, forgetting that title fees, transfer taxes, and seller concessions typically add another 1.5–2.5% on top. In most US markets, the realistic total selling cost is 7.5–9% of the sale price. Using 6% instead of 8% on a $350,000 ARV understates your selling costs by $7,000 — which can turn a good deal into a marginal one. The calculator defaults to 8%, which covers commissions plus typical transaction costs.
Model a Realistic Hold Period, Not an Optimistic One
New investors often estimate 3–4 months for a flip. In practice, the average US flip takes 6–8 months from purchase to close of sale — accounting for permitting delays, contractor scheduling, market time, and closing. An underestimated hold period understates your carrying costs and your financing cost, both of which reduce profit. If you’re using hard money at 10–12% APR, each extra month adds approximately 0.85–1% of your loan amount in interest expense.
Adjust the Rule Percentage for Your Market and Experience
The 70% rule is a starting point, not a universal law. In hot, competitive markets with fast absorption (days on market under 30), experienced investors sometimes stretch to 72–75% because holding and selling costs are lower. In slower markets or for investors using retail buyers agents, 65% provides more cushion. If you’re new, never exceed 70% — the margin of error in your first few rehab budgets and ARV estimates will be higher than you expect, and the extra buffer will save you.
Use the Deal Score as a Go/No-Go Filter, Not a Guarantee
The deal score in this calculator evaluates the deal against standard investor benchmarks — it does not account for your specific local market conditions, contractor relationships, buyer demand, or financing terms. An “Excellent” score based on an inflated ARV or an underestimated rehab is still a bad deal. Use the score as a quick filter to eliminate obviously weak deals quickly, but always verify your ARV with an agent or appraiser and get a proper contractor walkthrough before committing.
Download the PDF Before Approaching a Hard Money Lender
Hard money lenders evaluate deals quickly — typically within 24–48 hours — and first impressions matter. Walking in with a professionally formatted deal analysis showing the ARV, purchase price, rehab budget, all-in cost, and projected returns demonstrates that you understand the numbers and have done the work. Download the two-page PDF report from this calculator and use it as the cover document for your loan application package. It answers most of the questions lenders will ask before you even get on the phone.
ARV Calculator FAQ
Straight answers to the questions US real estate investors ask most about After Repair Value, the 70% rule, and deal analysis.
Important disclaimer: All results provided by this calculator are for educational and estimation purposes only and do not constitute financial, investment, legal, or real estate advice. ARV estimates, rehab costs, closing costs, holding costs, and return projections are highly variable and depend on local market conditions, contractor pricing, lender terms, property condition, and your specific deal structure. Actual results may differ materially from calculator outputs. Always obtain a formal appraisal from a licensed appraiser, a written scope of work from a licensed contractor, and advice from a licensed real estate professional before making any investment decision. HomeExpertly is not a licensed real estate broker, appraiser, contractor, or financial advisor.