Wholesaling Deal Analysis: A Quick Checklist
Wholesaling deal analysis comes down to one question: after the end buyer pays for repairs and keeps their margin, is there still room between what they can pay and what the seller will accept? Run four numbers in order (ARV, repairs, your buyer's maximum offer, and your assignment spread) and you will know whether a lead is worth a contract.
This checklist walks those four numbers with clearly labeled hypothetical math, then covers the checks that keep a wholesale deal from falling apart at closing. It builds on our earlier ACC Insights posts on how to calculate ARV and the 70% rule. Written by the ACC Solutions team; ACC Software makes the A.I. Deal Assistant mentioned below.
Why wholesalers have to analyze from the buyer's side
A flipper asks, "What can I pay?" A wholesaler has to ask, "What will my buyer pay, and how far below that can I contract?" Your profit is set by someone else's math. If your ARV is high or your repair number is light, the buyer will find out on their walkthrough, and the spread you counted on disappears or the assignment never happens.
So every step below is the number your buyer will check, run before they do.
The wholesaling deal analysis checklist
1. ARV from recent sold comps
Use sold comps, not active listings or the seller's asking price.
Match beds, baths, living area, style and location as closely as you can, and stay inside a recent time window.
Use the finish level a flipper buyer would actually sell at, not a luxury remodel.
Write down the comps you used. Buyers ask, and a comp list makes your deal easier to sell.
Method: how to calculate ARV on a fix and flip.
2. Repairs your buyer will budget
Estimate the scope the end buyer will price: light, medium or heavy, plus a contingency.
Note the big-ticket items you can see or suspect: roof, furnace, electrical panel, plumbing, foundation, water in the basement.
Price toward the buyer's number, not your optimistic one. Expect buyers to discount anything they cannot see.
Method: how to estimate rehab costs per square foot.
3. Your buyer's maximum allowable offer (MAO)
A common screen flipper buyers use is the 70% rule of thumb: buyer's MAO = ARV × 0.70 − repairs. It is a rule of thumb, not a guarantee, and your buyers may use a tighter percentage. Ask your regular buyers what they use, and build your number to their rule, not yours. For what the other 30% has to cover, see the flip profit formula.
4. Assignment spread
Assignment spread = buyer's price − your contract price with the seller. That spread has to cover your own marketing, earnest money at risk and time before it is profit. If the spread only works at the very top of the buyer's MAO, you have no room to negotiate when they push back.
Worked example (hypothetical numbers only)
All figures below are made up for illustration. They are not Cleveland averages, not A.I. Deal Assistant output and not a promise of any fee.
ARV from sold comps: $150,000 (hypothetical)
Repairs the buyer will budget: $35,000 (hypothetical)
Buyer's MAO at 70%: $150,000 × 0.70 = $105,000; minus $35,000 = $70,000
Your contract price with the seller: $62,000 (hypothetical)
Assignment spread: $70,000 − $62,000 = $8,000, before your own costs
Now change one input at a time. If your buyer uses 65% instead of 70%, their MAO is $150,000 × 0.65 − $35,000 = $62,500, and your spread falls to $500. If the buyer's walkthrough adds $6,000 of repairs at 70%, their MAO is $64,000 and the spread is $2,000. Same house, same contract price, almost no deal.
The lesson: know your buyer's percentage and stress-test repairs before you sign with the seller, not after.
Deal-killer checks before you sign
Title and parcel facts. Confirm the record owner and parcel details. In Cuyahoga County, start with MyPlace and the Fiscal Officer. A title company will find liens and other issues; budget time for that.
Local sale requirements. Some cities require inspections before a sale. Cleveland Heights, for example, requires owners to obtain a Certificate of Inspection (Point-of-Sale) before entering into an agreement to sell. Violations on that report become part of your buyer's repair budget.
Permits and lead-safe work. Your buyer will plan around City of Cleveland rehab permits and, on many pre-1978 homes, the EPA RRP Rule. Both add time and cost they will price in.
Your state's wholesaling and assignment rules. Rules differ by state and change; check your state's rules and talk to a real estate attorney. In Ohio, Ohio Revised Code 5301.95 took effect March 2, 2026. It defines residential real property wholesalers (1–4 unit homes) and requires a separate written disclosure statement, signed and dated by the record owner and the wholesaler, before a binding contract. We are not lawyers and this is not legal advice; read the statute and get your own counsel.
Buyer fit. Know who would buy this deal before you sign. A spread on paper is worth nothing without a buyer whose criteria it meets.
Mistakes that shrink or kill the spread
Using the asking price or an online estimate as ARV.
Pricing repairs to make the deal work instead of to what the buyer will see.
Assuming every buyer uses 70%.
Counting the full spread as profit before marketing, earnest money and time.
Skipping the local checks (point-of-sale reports, permits, title) until after the contract.
Treating any analyzer result as an appraisal.
Speed up steps 1 and 2 with the A.I. Deal Assistant
Our sales page puts it this way for wholesalers: screen the leads coming in and check ARV, rehab and projected profit on a property before you put it under contract or send it to your buyers. Paste a property address or a Zillow or listing link and you get ARV from recent comps, a rehab estimate (square-footage logic plus national and local cost data), projected flip profit and a property snapshot with beds, baths and year built. It works on desktop and mobile.
Two limits to be clear about: a max offer (MAO) calculator is not listed on our sales page, so you run steps 3 and 4 yourself with the formulas above; and results are estimates to help you screen deals, not appraisals or inspections. If a Cleveland-area deal is one you would rather flip than assign, "Need Help With This Flip?" on your results reaches the ACC team about the project, and our Cleveland rehab project coordination page explains that side. Buying remotely? See how to analyze an out-of-state deal.
100+ active real estate investors are already using it. Free tier: 10 searches, 72-hour access. Investor Pro - Solo: $47/month for 3,000 searches, automatic updates and batch search support, useful when you are screening a full lead list.
Questions? Email support@accmgmtsolutions.com or call (216) 238-5999. — ACC Solutions team
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you analyze a wholesale real estate deal?
Work backward from the end buyer: estimate ARV from recent sold comps, estimate repairs, figure the price a flipper buyer can pay (often screened with ARV × 0.70 − repairs), then subtract your contract price with the seller. What is left is your assignment spread, before your own costs.
How is the assignment spread calculated?
Assignment spread = the price your end buyer pays for the contract − your contract price with the seller. In a hypothetical deal where the buyer's max is $70,000 and your contract price is $62,000, the spread is $8,000 before marketing, earnest money and other costs.
Are there rules on wholesaling or assigning contracts in Ohio?
Yes, and they change, so check your state's rules and talk to a real estate attorney before you contract. Ohio Revised Code 5301.95, effective March 2, 2026, defines residential real property wholesalers and requires a written disclosure statement signed by the owner before a binding contract on 1–4 unit residential property. This is not legal advice.
Can the A.I. Deal Assistant help wholesalers?
Yes, for the numbers. Wholesalers can paste a property address or a Zillow or listing link to see ARV from recent comps, a rehab estimate, projected flip profit and a property snapshot before putting a property under contract or sending it to buyers. A max offer calculator is not listed on our sales page, so you apply the buyer's MAO formula yourself.
Where can I try the A.I. Deal Assistant?
See how the A.I. Deal Assistant works at https://accmgmtsolutions.com/ai-deal-assistant, or try 10 free deals at https://app.accmgmtsolutions.com/. The free tier is 10 searches with 72-hour access. Investor Pro - Solo is $47/month for 3,000 searches.
