Fair Home Cash What will a cash buyer pay for your house?

No mystery, no lowball — just the standard formula.

Cash buyers work backward from what your house is worth fully renovated (the after-repair value), then subtract what it costs to fix, resell, and take on the project risk. The industry shorthand is:

A lighter, quicker flip lands near the top of that range; a heavier project with more risk lands nearer the bottom. A fair buyer shows you every number — a lowballer hides them all inside one low figure. Want the full breakdown? See how cash buyers price offers.

Why it's a range, and what pushes an offer up or down.

The spread between 70% and 85% isn't padding — it's how buyers price risk. A house that needs one clean, known repair (say, a roof with a written quote) prices near the top of the range, because the buyer can see the whole project before committing. A house with unknowns — foundation movement, old plumbing behind the walls, an unpermitted addition — prices lower, because the buyer absorbs whatever surprises show up after closing.

Everything the buyer carries while holding the house counts too: property taxes, insurance, utilities, financing costs, and the months a renovation takes before resale. A house that can be turned around quickly supports a stronger offer than one facing a long project or a slow resale market. Location works the same way — the easier the finished house is to resell, the more of the ARV a buyer can pay up front.

Feed it honest inputs, and treat the output as a starting point.

The estimate is only as good as the two numbers you feed it. For the fixed-up value, look at what renovated homes like yours actually sold for nearby — sold prices, not asking prices, which run higher. For repairs, resist the urge to guess low: walking a contractor through the house, or at least pricing the big items (roof, HVAC, kitchen, bath), beats a hopeful round number.

Then compare honestly. A listed sale usually brings a higher price — minus agent commission, seller closing costs, the repairs you make before listing, and the carrying costs of the months in between. An as-is cash sale trades some of that price for speed and certainty. Put the two nets side by side before deciding — the offer-math breakdown shows every step a fair buyer should be willing to walk you through.

And remember what this tool is not: it isn't an appraisal, and it isn't an offer. A real cash offer accounts for the specific property, the neighborhood, and recent sales before putting a number on paper. If the estimate here looks even close to interesting, that real number is worth requesting.

How is a cash offer for a house calculated?

Cash buyers start from the after-repair value (ARV) — what the home would sell for fully renovated — then subtract repair costs and their resale costs and profit. The common shorthand is 70 to 85 percent of ARV minus repairs. On a 150,000 dollar ARV needing 38,000 in repairs, that is roughly a 67,000 to 89,500 dollar range.

Is the estimate a guaranteed offer?

No. It is a planning estimate based on the numbers you enter. A real, no-obligation cash offer is based on your specific property and recent local sales. It is always free and there is no obligation to accept.

What are ARV and repair costs?

ARV is the after-repair value — what your house would sell for fully fixed up, which you can ballpark from Zillow or Redfin for similar renovated homes nearby. Repairs are the rough cost to bring the house to that condition.