Glossary
After-Repair Value (ARV)
What a house is worth fully renovated and sold at retail. Investors use it to size their offers, often as a percentage minus repair costs.
The ARV is the investor's starting point for calculating what they'll pay. A common rule of thumb is 70% of ARV minus repair costs. On a house with an ARV of $300,000 needing $40,000 in repairs, that points to an offer of roughly $170,000. Understanding the ARV — and how the investor is estimating it — is fundamental to evaluating any cash offer.
Read more in the Field Guide:
- The Cash Buyer: "We Buy Houses" — The Basics
- The Value Chain of a Troubled House — The Basics
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