70 Percent Rule Calculator

About this calculator

The 70% rule is a quick screening formula real estate investors use to cap what they'll pay for a fix-and-flip property: Maximum offer = (After-Repair Value × 0.70) − Estimated repair costs. The 30% buffer below ARV is meant to cover the flipper's profit margin plus carrying costs — financing interest, insurance, utilities, property taxes and selling costs (agent commissions, closing costs) — that eat into a deal even when the repair budget itself is accurate.

Flippers use this rule as a fast first-pass filter before running a detailed proforma, since it lets them quickly reject deals where the seller's asking price already exceeds the maximum offer — a house that “looks like a good deal” on the surface often fails the 70% test once realistic repair costs and holding costs are accounted for.

This calculator takes the after-repair value and estimated repair costs and returns the maximum offer you should make on the property.