Ohio Rehab Budget Builder.
Get a realistic starting estimate for your next Ohio fix-and-flip, BRRRR, or short-term rental conversion. Pre-built templates with metro-specific cost benchmarks — Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo, Akron, Dayton. No signup to use it.
Property & project
Three ways this tool earns its place in your workflow.
Walk the property with a number in mind.
Open the tool on your phone, pick a metro and a template, and you have a starting budget in 30 seconds. Tune it as you tour.
Pressure-test a deal before submitting.
Plug in real loan terms and timeline to see how holding costs eat into your spread. Build a contingency you actually believe.
Hand contractors a real scope of work.
Email the breakdown to yourself, send to your GC, and use it to validate quotes line-by-line. No more guessing whether $42K is high or low for a Lorain BRRRR.
FAQ
What's MAO?
MAO stands for Maximum Allowable Offer — the most you should pay for the property and still hit your target profit. Standard investor shorthand. Formula: ARV (the home's value after rehab) × 75% (a buffer for selling costs, holding, and margin), minus your rehab budget, minus your holding cost. If the seller's asking price is higher than the MAO, the deal's math is thin or negative. Some investors use a 70% rule for a more conservative buffer; the calculator lets you toggle between 70% and 75%.
How accurate are these numbers?
They're starting estimates pulled from public 2026 cost data (Remodeling Magazine Cost vs Value, HomeAdvisor, Ohio contractor pricing) with metro multipliers tuned to Columbus / Cleveland / Cincinnati / Toledo / Akron / Dayton. They're meant to get you in the ballpark and into a contractor conversation — not to replace real quotes. Every deal is its own thing.
Why is each metro's number different?
Labor markets and material logistics vary across Ohio. Columbus carries a slight premium because of demand. Toledo runs cheapest. Akron and Dayton sit in the middle. The multipliers are public RSMeans-style adjustments; if your local contractor base disagrees, override the costs directly.
What's a realistic contingency for an Ohio rehab?
10% for clean, predictable cosmetic work. 15% for most fix-and-flip and BRRRR projects. 20% if the property is pre-1950, has unknown systems condition, or you're converting use (e.g., SFR → STR). Older Ohio housing stock surprises investors who don't budget for it.
Why include holding cost in the total?
Because every day your money is in the deal costs you interest. Investors who don't model holding cost underbid their margins and end up with surprised P&Ls. The calc uses straight-line interest on your loan amount over the project duration — taxes, insurance, and utilities are extra.
Do I have to give my email to use the tool?
No. The calculator is free and unguarded. The email field only triggers if you want the budget emailed to you for later reference.
See the loan program that maps to your project.
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