Tools · Wholesale MAO
Wholesale MAO Calculator
Maximum allowable offer in 10 seconds. Free forever. Powered by SaintSal AI.
Most MAO calculators stop at your number. This one also shows what is left for the end buyer after your assignment fee — because a spread your buyer cannot survive is not a deal, it is a dead contract.
Inputs
Live calculationOptional. Used to label your result and prefill the full Deal Analyzer.
01 · The four core inputs
Support with closed comps, not active listings.
Scope the roof, HVAC, electrical and foundation before you trust this number.
What your buyer needs to clear to say yes.
3.57% of ARV
02 · Deal costs the end buyer carries
Financing, taxes, insurance and utilities across the full rehab and resale period.
$21,000
$6,300
03 · Rule-of-thumb cross-check
70% is the classic rule. Hot markets run 75–80%; distressed heavy-rehab markets run 60–65%.
Result updates live as you type — the button just jumps to it
A maximum allowable offer of $234,700 is 55.9% of ARV. Your end buyer pays $249,700 for the contract, goes all-in at $365,000 including exit costs, and clears $55,000 — a 13.1% margin on ARV.
Collected at assignment or at a double close. This tool assumes the fee is disclosed to both parties, which most states now require.
The deal survives your fee with the buyer's target intact.
Offer build-up
Spread analysis
70% rule cross-check
The rule of thumb is more conservative than the itemized build-up here. Re-check whether holding and resale cost assumptions are realistic before offering the higher number.
Sensitivity
Repair scope and your fee are the two things you actually control. Move them.
Education
MAO, the 70% rule, and the spread that kills deals
The offer number is easy arithmetic. The discipline is refusing to move it when a seller pushes back.
What MAO is
Maximum allowable offer is the highest price you can contract at while still leaving your end buyer their required profit and yourself your fee. It is a ceiling, not a target — a contract written at MAO has zero margin for a repair surprise.
The 70% rule — ARV × 0.70 − repairs — is a fast screen, not an underwriting method. It bakes in a generic allowance for holding costs, resale costs and profit that may not match your market or your buyer.
Why the spread matters
Your assignment fee comes out of your buyer's margin, not out of thin air. Every dollar of fee is a dollar less of buyer profit, so an aggressive fee on a thin deal produces a contract nobody takes down — and a reputation problem with the buyers you need next month.
- Buyer all-in at or below 75% of ARV is the common cash-buyer test
- Fee sized to the deal, not to the seller's desperation
- Disclose the fee — most states now require written disclosure of an assignment
- Verify proof of funds before you promise a close date
Compliance you cannot skip
- Assignment and wholesaling rules are state-specific, and several states now regulate or license aspects of the activity. Check your state before you market a contract.
- Marketing a property you do not own or control can constitute unlicensed brokerage. Market the contract, not the property, unless your counsel has cleared otherwise.
- Disclose your position and your fee in writing to both the seller and the end buyer.
- All advertising must comply with Fair Housing law — no preference, limitation or discrimination based on a protected class.
Methodology
Every formula, stated
Deterministic arithmetic computed client-side. No provider data is called and nothing is inferred.
Formulas used
- Resale Costs = ARV × (Commission % + Closing %)
- What the end buyer pays to sell the finished property.
- MAO = ARV − Resale Costs − Repairs − Holding − Buyer Acquisition Closing − Desired Buyer Profit − Assignment Fee
- Itemized build-up. This is the number to offer against.
- Rule Check = (ARV × Rule %) − Repairs
- The classic 70% screen, shown for comparison only.
- End-Buyer Purchase Price = MAO + Assignment Fee
- Your contract price plus your spread.
- End-Buyer All-In = Purchase Price + Repairs + Holding + Acquisition Closing + Resale Costs
- Total cost to the buyer through resale.
- End-Buyer Profit = ARV − All-In
- What survives for your buyer after your fee.
- Return on Cash = Profit ÷ (Purchase + Repairs + Holding + Closing)
- Unlevered. A financed buyer's cash return will differ substantially.
Known limitations
- ARV and repair cost are your assumptions. A missed roof, foundation or mechanical scope routinely exceeds the entire assignment fee.
- Assumes an all-cash end buyer. Financed buyers carry points, interest and lender fees that reduce their profit further.
- Excludes marketing cost, earnest money at risk, title cure costs, back taxes, liens and any seller concessions.
- Assumes a single assignment at the stated fee with no double-close costs. Double closings add a second set of closing costs and often transactional funding fees.
- Does not address state-specific assignment, disclosure or licensing requirements, which vary and change.
- Not an appraisal, a repair bid, legal advice, or investment advice, and no input is verified.
Investment Analysis Disclaimer
This calculator is informational and educational only. It is not an appraisal, a repair estimate, a legal opinion, or investment advice, and no advisory relationship is created by using it.
Past performance is not indicative of future results. All real estate investment involves risk, including loss of capital. Output reflects only the assumptions you enter.
Fair Housing and transaction conduct
CookinCapital complies with all Fair Housing laws. Any marketing of a property or contract must be free of preference, limitation or discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, national origin, or any other protected class under applicable federal, state or local law.
Wholesaling, contract assignment and disclosure requirements are governed by state law and vary by jurisdiction. Consult licensed counsel in your state before assigning a purchase contract or marketing an interest in one.