The maximum allowable offer, or MAO, is the most a wholesaler can pay a seller and still hand a cash buyer a deal that works. Get it right and your assignment fee is safe; get it wrong and the contract sits until it expires. This calculator runs the 70% rule with Louisville repair costs, subtracts your fee, and then does something most MAO calculators skip: it checks whether the end buyer actually makes money at that price, using real Louisville hard money, holding and resale costs including the Kentucky deed tax.
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How the 70% rule works
The rule of thumb is simple: a flipper pays no more than 70% of the after repair value, minus the repairs. The 30% that is left over has to cover the buyer's financing, holding costs, resale commission, closing costs on both ends and the profit that makes the project worth doing. A wholesaler then subtracts the assignment fee to get the price they can offer the seller. On a $250,000 ARV with $56,000 of work and a $10,000 fee, the buyer's ceiling is $119,000 and your offer ceiling is $109,000.
Seventy is a starting point, not a law. In Louisville, cash buyers stretch to 75% or 80% on a cosmetic rehab in a neighborhood where houses sell in days, and they drop to 60% or 65% on a full gut, a house with foundation questions, or a street where the resale will take a while. Change the percentage to match the buyer you expect to sell to. If you are not sure, run it at 70 and again at 65 and offer between them.
Estimating repairs in Louisville
The calculator's repair tiers are per-square-foot starting points for Louisville in 2026. Cosmetic work, meaning paint, flooring, light fixtures and hardware, runs around $20 a square foot. A moderate rehab with a new kitchen, refreshed baths and a couple of systems is about $40. A heavy rehab that replaces the roof, HVAC, electrical or plumbing on top of the finishes runs $65 or more. A full gut with structural work starts around $95 and goes up from there. Older housing stock in the Highlands, Germantown, Portland and the West End often has knob-and-tube wiring, galvanized plumbing and slate or layered roofs that push a job up a tier. Use the tiers to screen; get a contractor's bid before you sign.
Why the end buyer's numbers matter
Most MAO calculators stop at the offer. Ours keeps going because the buyer's math decides whether your contract sells. It assumes the buyer finances purchase plus repairs with hard money at the rate and points you enter, carries the house for the months you enter, and pays a commission on the resale plus the Kentucky deed transfer tax of $0.50 per $500 and about $1,500 of title and closing fees. Profit of 15% of ARV or more is a deal Louisville buyers will move on; 10% to 15% will draw offers with negotiation; under 10% is a deal you will be chasing buyers for. When the number comes back thin, the fix is usually one of three things: your ARV is optimistic, your repair estimate is light, or the seller's price needs to come down.
Marketing the deal legally in Kentucky
Kentucky changed the rules in 2023. House Bill 62 amended the real estate licensing law (KRS Chapter 324) so that advertising for sale an equitable interest in a contract to buy real estate is an act of brokerage, which means it requires a Kentucky real estate license. In practice, an unlicensed wholesaler cannot post the property or the contract on social media, blast it to an email list, or put it on a website. Doing so is a Class A misdemeanor on a first offense. Assignments themselves are still legal; what changed is who is allowed to market them.
There are four compliant paths. Get licensed. Double close, so you own the house before you sell it. Share the deal privately with buyers you already know, without public advertising. Or market it through a licensed brokerage. Winner Realty is licensed in Kentucky and Indiana and markets wholesale contracts to our buyer list, which is the route that lets you keep doing what you do without a license. Send us the deal and we handle the marketing side.
A worked example
A 1,400-square-foot brick ranch in Okolona with an ARV of $250,000 needs a moderate rehab: kitchen, both baths, flooring and a water heater. At $40 a foot that is $56,000. Seventy percent of $250,000 is $175,000; subtract the repairs and the buyer's ceiling is $119,000. Take a $10,000 assignment fee and your maximum offer is $109,000. Check the buyer's side: hard money at 12% and 2 points on $175,000 for five months costs about $12,250, holding costs add $2,000, buying costs about $1,300, and selling at 6% plus deed tax and title runs $16,750. The buyer's total cost is roughly $207,000 against a $250,000 resale, a $42,700 profit at 17% of ARV. That deal moves.
Related tools
Run the resale through the seller closing cost calculator to see the buyer's exact exit costs, use the investment property analyzer if the buyer is holding instead of flipping, and read the Kentucky wholesaling guide for the full HB 62 rundown. Every tool is on the tools page.
Frequently asked questions
What is MAO in wholesaling?
MAO stands for maximum allowable offer: the most you can pay a seller and still assign the contract to a cash buyer at a price that works for them. It is the buyer's ceiling (typically 70% of ARV minus repairs) minus your assignment fee.
Is wholesaling real estate legal in Kentucky?
Yes, assigning a purchase contract is legal. Since House Bill 62 took effect in 2023, publicly advertising a contract you hold requires a Kentucky real estate license, so unlicensed wholesalers must double close, share deals privately, or market through a licensed brokerage.
How much do wholesalers charge for an assignment fee in Louisville?
Most Louisville assignment fees fall between $5,000 and $20,000, with $10,000 common on houses under $300,000. The fee is whatever the end buyer will pay above your contract price, so the deal's margin sets it, not a formula.
How do I find the ARV of a house?
Pull sold comparables from the last three to six months within about a half mile: same style, similar square footage and bed and bath count, already renovated. Adjust for differences and use the middle of the range, not the top. A licensed agent can pull MLS sold data that public sites miss; ask us for comps.
Should I use 70% or a different percentage?
Seventy percent is the national rule of thumb. In Louisville, light rehabs in fast-selling neighborhoods can support 75% to 80%, while heavy rehabs and slower streets need 60% to 65%. The best guide is what the buyers on your list have actually paid for similar houses.
Numbers verified September 27, 2026. Kentucky wholesaling law: 2023 House Bill 62 (Acts Chapter 84) and KRS Chapter 324. Deed tax: KRS 142.050. Repair tiers are Winner Realty's Louisville starting points and are updated annually. This is an estimate, not an appraisal, legal or investment advice. Winner Realty is a licensed Kentucky and Indiana real estate brokerage. Equal Housing Opportunity.