A buy box is the standing instruction you give the market: bring me this, and I will close. "Anything with good numbers" is not a buy box — it is a way to be ignored.
The seven required fields
- 1Geography — named counties, cities, or ZIPs. Not "upstate NY."
- 2Price range — the all-in purchase price you will pay, not the ARV.
- 3Property type — SFR, duplex, 3–4 unit, or mixed.
- 4Condition tolerance — will you take fire damage, foundation, hoarder, boarded up?
- 5Strategy — fix and flip, rental, BRRRR, or all three with different math.
- 6Return threshold — minimum ROI or minimum cash-on-cash, stated as a number.
- 7Close timeline and funding — cash in 10 days, hard money in 21, or conventional in 45.
Weak vs. strong
| Weak | Strong |
|---|---|
| "NY properties, good deals only" | "Monroe & Erie County, SFR + duplex, $60k–$140k purchase" |
| "Any condition" | "Cosmetic to heavy; no fire damage, no active structural" |
| "Motivated buyer" | "Cash, POF attached, 10-day close, 3 closed in last 6 months" |
| "Decent returns" | "Minimum 20% ROI after repairs or 8% cap on rentals" |
Publish your credibility
Attach proof of funds and a short track record to your buy box. Wholesalers route their first call to whoever looks most likely to actually close.
Keep it alive
- Review it monthly against what you actually bought.
- Tighten geography as you learn which streets appraise.
- Widen condition tolerance only when you have the crew to handle it.
- Say no fast and say why — that feedback trains your deal flow.
In RehabFlow you can save this as a buy box and get matched against new listings automatically, so the specific version of your criteria is doing the work while you are on site.
Put this to work
Browse live off-market New York deals, or list one and get it in front of verified cash buyers.