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ARV, Repairs, and Hold: How We Price a Flip Offer
The three lines on our napkin. Why a cash number is not a percent off your neighbor's sale.
Short answer: How cash home buyers make offers in Florida is not a mystery discount. We take after-repair value from sold comps, subtract a repair budget we can actually fund, then subtract hold until the house resells. What is left is the cash offer. Call (407) 470-0491 or use the sell form.
Last week we stood in a kitchen in Pine Hills with a seller who had printed a neighbor's closing statement. The neighbor had granite and a new roof. This house had a dripping pan under the water heater and a panel from the 80s. He wanted that same number, cash, next Friday.
We do not buy on hope. USA Capital Group LLC is a cash buyer and a flip operator out of 1707 Orlando Central Pkwy Ste 410. The offer is a remainder after three lines: ARV, repairs, and hold. If you want the process after we buy, read how a Central Florida flip actually runs.
ARV is sold comps, not a wish
ARV means after-repair value. Plain English: what an updated house like this one would sell for once the work is done. We look at sold comps nearby with similar beds, baths, and lot. We do not use asking prices. Asking is a flyer.
A 3/2 ranch in Orange County does not inherit the sale price of a rebuilt kitchen two streets over if the lot, the school zone, or the flood zone is different. We walk the house first. Then we look at what actually closed.
If the house is already updated, ARV and as-is value sit close. Then a cash offer may not beat listing. We say that. We would rather lose a clean Winter Garden 3/2 than pretend a tired roof will appraise like a remodel.
How cash home buyers make offers in Florida
People search that phrase because they think we pick a round number in the driveway. We do not. The Florida cash offer is a stack:
- ARV from sold comps we believe we can hit after rehab.
- Repair budget: roof, HVAC, kitchen, bath, floor, paint, dumpsters, permits. We pad for what we cannot see in a 40-minute walk.
- Hold: insurance, utilities, lawn, taxes, interest on our money, HOA if there is one, and the months until a resale buyer funds.
- A margin so one slow listing or one extra HVAC trip does not wipe the file.
What remains is what we can pay you. Title still pays off mortgages, taxes, and liens. You see the net on the settlement statement, not on a napkin in the driveway.
Repairs we actually budget
Florida stock has a short list that eats files. Roof age. Condenser that trips. Unpermitted Florida room. Panel. Soft subfloor in a bath. We do not need a 12-page inspector novel. We need the items a resale buyer will fail.
We buy as-is. That does not mean the work is free. It means you do not write the check. We do, after the deed records. If you want the seller-side version of that, see what as-is actually covers in Orlando.
A roof quote in your email is useful. We still walk it. A $14,000 roof on paper can be a full tear-off plus decking once we are on the ladder. We would rather price the ugly version than surprise you with a recut later.
Hold is the quiet line
Hold is the meter while the house sits empty on our books. Insurance on a vacant Central Florida house is not cheap. Lawn. Power so the AC does not cook the interior. Property tax. Interest. If we miss a resale window, that meter keeps running.
Sellers skip this line because they are not carrying it after close. We are. A house that takes 90 days to resell is a different file than one that moves in 30. We do not invent a county average. We look at how similar product has been sitting in that zip.
Rate moves change the resale side more than the purchase side. After the September hike we wrote about on this desk, financed end buyers feel payment shock. That can stretch hold. It does not change the roof.
A worked example (shape, not a promise)
Say ARV on a tired 3/2 we believe we can hit after work is $310,000 based on nearby sold comps. Repair budget we can fund: $45,000. Hold and closing on both sides: $18,000. Margin we need to stay in business: $22,000. Remainder for the purchase is $225,000 before payoff of your mortgage and taxes.
Those dollars are an illustration of the stack. They are not a quote on your address. Your roof, your tenants, your code letter change the repair line. Your zip changes ARV. We will not paste a fake "average Orlando cash offer" because we do not keep a public average like that.
If the only number that feels fair is the neighbor's retail close, you should list, if the house can show. Cash is for files that cannot wait for that path.
Who this is for, and who should still list
This math fits vacant houses, inherited keys, tenant files you do not want to manage, and stock that will fail a loan inspection. It also fits if you already listed and traffic died on condition.
People who need to sell an inherited house fast in Orange County FL often land here. Siblings, a vacant ranch, no rehab cash. We price the same three lines. We do not skip probate or liens. Split the net at the title company.
Keep listing if the house is already updated, you can wait 60 to 90 days, and you have cash for the inspector. Compare that path in cash buyers vs listing with an agent.
We buy across 19 counties from Orlando through Tampa Bay when the house fits. If it does not fit, we say no. A bad buy is worse than a missed file.
Want the three-line version on your address?
Call (407) 470-0491 or send the house on our sell page. USA Capital Group LLC, 1707 Orlando Central Pkwy Ste 410. Typical close 7 to 21 days if title is clean. Questions also go to contact.
More from this desk: how a flip runs and as-is in Orlando.
Questions about how we price a flip offer
How do cash home buyers make offers in Florida?
We start with after-repair value from sold comps, subtract a real repair budget, then subtract hold (insurance, utilities, interest, taxes) and a margin so the flip can survive a slow resale. That remainder is the cash offer. It is not a percentage off list price.
What is ARV on a Central Florida flip?
ARV means after-repair value: what similar updated houses nearby actually sold for, not what someone listed. We walk the house, then look at sold comps with similar beds, baths, and lot. A tired ranch does not get priced like a new kitchen two streets over.
Why is a cash offer lower than my neighbor's sale?
Your neighbor likely had a finished kitchen, a loan buyer, and weeks of showings. We buy current condition and pay holding costs until we can resell. Roof, HVAC, and a vacant meter are real dollars. The gap is work plus time, not a random discount.
Do you still buy if I need to sell an inherited house fast in Orange County FL?
Yes, if title can close. Inherited files often have a vacant house and no cash for a rehab. We price ARV, repairs, and hold the same way. Siblings can split the net at the title company. We do not skip liens or probate steps.
Can I see the math before I accept?
We put a written number on paper after the walkthrough. We will tell you the repair buckets we used. We will not hand you our full resale model. If the house does not fit, we say so instead of inventing a number.
This is general information, not legal, tax, or closing advice. Talk to your attorney or counselor.