How cash buyers calculate offers

A rehabber starts with what the finished house sells for on that street, not what it sells for across town. From there they subtract the repair budget, the cost of holding the property while the work happens, closing costs on both ends, and the margin that makes the project worth doing.

That is why the exact same house can support a much higher number in one neighborhood than another. The ceiling is local.

A buy and hold landlord is not thinking about resale. They are looking at what the house rents for, what it costs to keep it rented, and what they have to put in before a tenant can move in. Sometimes that produces a higher number than a rehabber would pay, sometimes lower.

This is one reason a single opinion is not worth much. Two legitimate buyers can be far apart because they intend to do different things with the property.

Land is priced on access, acreage, use and frontage. Commercial follows income and use. A manufactured home depends heavily on whether the title has been retired into the land. None of these follow the house formula.

A real number comes with reasoning: here is the resale figure, here is the repair estimate, here is what is left. A low-ball comes with pressure and no explanation. If someone cannot show you how they got there, that is the tell.