Acquisition and rehab
Buying costs use the entered percentage of purchase price. Rehab is treated as investor cash in this model, separate from the purchase loan.
Renovation and resale
House Flipping Calculator
Estimate flip profit and ROI from the full project cost stack, or reverse the same assumptions to calculate a maximum purchase price for a target profit.
Decision question
What may remain after every modeled cost—and what purchase price supports your target?
This calculator provides estimates and educational information for planning and comparison, not financial, investment, tax, legal, lending, or real estate advice.
All-in project view
Profit starts with the sale price and accounts for the full modeled project
Purchase and rehab are only part of the basis. Interest during the hold, property-level carrying costs, acquisition costs, and sale costs can materially change the exit.
Estimated project profit
Profit = ARV − purchase − rehab − buying − financing − holding − selling costs
ROI = estimated profit ÷ total cash invested × 100. Cash invested uses the down payment rather than the full purchase price because the remaining acquisition amount is modeled as debt.
Time and financing
Interest is estimated on the original loan for the full holding period. Taxes and insurance are prorated, while utilities and other holding costs accumulate monthly.
Sale and investor return
Selling closing costs and commission use ARV. Net sale proceeds repay the purchase loan; profit then measures what remains after all modeled costs.
Separate the detailed result from the 70% rule
The maximum allowable offer readout is only the fixed 70%-rule reference. It does not use the entered financing, holding, buying, or selling costs and does not represent a recommended offer. Use the all-in profit and cash-invested rows to evaluate the entered scenario.
Reverse deal analysis
Calculate the maximum purchase price that supports a target profit
Instead of starting with a known purchase price, the reverse mode starts with ARV, rehab, project costs, financing, and desired profit. It then finds the highest modeled offer that preserves that target.
Maximum purchase price relationship
Max price = ARV − rehab − selling − financing − holding − buying costs − desired profit
This relationship is conceptual, not a simple one-pass subtraction. Buying costs and loan interest change with purchase price, so the calculator runs the complete flip engine through a bounded cent-level search.
Why ARV and rehab move the offer
ARV is the modeled exit value. A higher supported ARV can create more purchase-price room, while a lower exit reduces it. Rehab overruns work in the opposite direction: additional construction cost consumes dollars that could otherwise support the acquisition. Percentage selling costs also move with ARV, so the effect is not always dollar for dollar.
Desired profit is not markup
Desired profit is the dollar amount left after every modeled project cost. Markup usually describes a percentage added to a cost base and does not by itself account for acquisition, financing, carrying, or sale friction. The result is an estimate under submitted assumptions, not an investment recommendation.
Costs that cannot be ignored
Interest, tax, insurance, utilities, buying closing costs, sale closing costs, and commission reduce the amount available for the purchase and target profit. A longer hold can increase several categories together. Review the complete cost stack in the house flipping profit guide.
Why sensitivity matters
A single optimistic case hides how quickly offer room changes. The 5×5 matrix reruns the same reverse engine across ARV and rehab ranges. If the planned exit changes, compare a refinance path in the BRRRR Calculator or ongoing operations in the Rental Property Calculator.
Detailed assumptions replace a fixed offer rule
The familiar 70% rule remains visible in Profit & ROI mode only as a screening reference. Maximum Purchase Price is property-specific: it uses the entered sale, renovation, financing, transaction, holding, and profit assumptions. Neither output replaces due diligence, lender terms, bids, valuation work, or professional advice.
Learn the method
Related Guides
- MethodHow to Calculate Profit on a House FlipBuild a complete flip cost stack and see how financing, time, and selling costs reduce the apparent spread.
- ExampleHouse Flipping Deal Example: Costs, Profit, and ROITurn an apparent purchase-to-sale spread into a complete project result and stress the timeline.
- ComparisonFlip vs. Rent: Comparing Two Exit Strategies for the Same PropertySeparate flip profit and ROI from annual rental cash flow and cash-on-cash return, then stress a delayed sale.
Questions
About the House Flipping Calculator
Estimated profit subtracts purchase price, rehab, buying costs, financing cost, holding costs, and selling costs from the entered after-repair value. Costs that are not entered or modeled are not included.
It treats the purchase loan as interest-only during the holding period. Financing cost equals the loan amount multiplied by the annual interest rate and the holding period in years. The loan principal is repaid from the modeled sale proceeds.
ROI equals estimated profit divided by total cash invested, multiplied by 100. Cash invested includes the down payment, rehab, buying costs, financing cost, and holding costs. ROI is unavailable when that total is zero.
The entered after-repair value is used as the modeled sale price and as the base for percentage selling costs and commission. A lower actual sale price would reduce the result.
The 70% rule estimates a reference offer as ARV multiplied by 70%, minus rehab costs. It is a quick screening heuristic, not a universal offer limit. The Maximum Purchase Price mode instead uses the financing, holding, buying, selling, and desired-profit assumptions entered for the project.
It is a reverse flip calculation. The engine searches for the highest purchase price at which ARV still covers purchase, rehab, buying, financing, holding, selling costs, and the entered desired profit. Purchase-dependent interest and buying costs are recalculated for every candidate price.
Each cell recalculates Maximum Purchase Price after changing ARV and rehab costs by the displayed percentages while keeping the other submitted assumptions fixed. It shows how a lower exit value or a rehab overrun reduces room in the offer.
The model does not predict inspection findings, change orders, resale delays, financing points, income taxes, or market movement. Add costs to the available input categories and compare more conservative scenarios where appropriate.