Wholesaling

Wholesale Calculator

Maximum allowable offer and assignment fee, free and without a sign-up

Work backwards from what your end buyer can pay, so the fee fits inside the spread instead of being wished into it.

The deal

What it will be worth, what it needs, what you want to earn

From closed comps, not listings. Use the ARV calculator.

Your buyer prices off this number.

Ask your actual buyers. Many work to 65.

Offer the seller

Maximum you can offer
$155,000
The asking price is $20,000 above this, so the fee does not fit yet.
  • 70 percent of ARV$210,000
  • Less rehab-$45,000
  • Most the buyer pays$165,000
  • Less your fee-$10,000
  • Spread over asking-$10,000

The arithmetic

Buyer's maximum = (ARV x buyer percentage) - rehab

Your offer = buyer's maximum - your assignment fee

Every number in that chain belongs to somebody else. The ARV belongs to the comps, the rehab belongs to the contractor, and the percentage belongs to your buyer. Your fee is the only part you control, and it lives in whatever gap the other three leave.

Why contracts fail to assign

  • The ARV came from listings. Asking prices are opinions. Closed sales are facts, and only facts assign.
  • The rehab was guessed from photos. Buyers walk the property. If your number is light, the spread they see is smaller than the one you sold them.
  • The buyer works to 65, not 70. On a 300,000 dollar ARV that is 15,000 dollars of difference, which is usually the whole fee.
  • The comps were too far away. A mile in a suburb is fine. A mile in a city can cross three price bands.

Frequently asked questions

How do you calculate a wholesale offer?

Work backwards from what your buyer can pay. Take the after repair value, multiply by the percentage your buyers work to, usually 70 percent, subtract the rehab budget, and that is the most the end buyer will pay. Subtract your assignment fee from that and you have the price you can offer the seller.

What is MAO in wholesaling?

Maximum allowable offer: the highest price you can pay and still leave your buyer a deal after their rehab and costs, with your fee included. If you go above it, either your fee has to shrink or the contract will not assign.

What is a typical assignment fee?

Five to fifteen thousand dollars is the common range on a single family house, with bigger spreads in higher priced markets. The fee is not a fixed rate: it is whatever is left between the seller price you negotiated and the number your buyer will pay.

Why does my deal not assign?

Almost always one of three things. The ARV was optimistic because the comps were listings rather than closings, the rehab was estimated from a photo rather than a walkthrough, or the buyer works to 65 percent rather than 70 and the spread was never there.

Do I need the rehab number if I am not doing the work?

Yes. Your buyer prices the deal off it, so a rehab estimate that is 20,000 dollars light means an offer that is 20,000 dollars high, and a contract nobody takes.

Related calculators

A contract assigns when the buyer agrees with your comps. Send them a Resideline report instead of a screenshot.