Why I Built offer.guide: Turning House Hunting Confusion Into a Product

I'm currently in the market for a house, and let me tell you—it's overwhelming.

Not the fun parts like touring homes or imagining where the couch goes. The stressful part: figuring out what to actually offer.

Every property is different. Some have been on the market for 71 days (motivated seller?). Others need a new roof ($15K). The kitchen is outdated ($8K). Market comps say $450K, but should I offer that? Less? More?

My realtor is great, but I found myself constantly asking: "What should I offer on this one?" for every single property. I wanted to understand the numbers myself before making the biggest financial decision of my life.

The Problem: Too Much Data, No Clear Answer

Here's what I had access to:

Zillow estimates
Recent comparable sales
Days on market
Listing price history
My walkthrough notes about condition

What I didn't have: A specific number to offer, backed by all of that data.

Most tools stop at showing you the data. They say "here are comparable sales" or "the market is balanced" but they don't tell you what to actually do with that information.

The Solution: I Built My Own Tool (Using Claude)

I started using Claude AI to help me calculate offers. I'd feed it:

The listing URL
My walkthrough observations (roof condition, HVAC age, cosmetic updates needed)
Market context (days on market, competition level)
My priorities (am I trying to win or get the best deal?)

Claude would analyze everything and give me a specific offer recommendation with full reasoning:

"Offer $395K. Here's why: 71 days on market suggests seller motivation (-$14K adjustment). Roof needs replacement (-$15K). HVAG aging (-$12K)..."

It worked so well that I thought: other buyers probably need this too.

Enter: offer.guide

I'm building offer.guide to package this exact workflow into a simple tool anyone can use.

How it works:

Paste the property listing URL
Answer 9 questions about condition, repairs needed, and your priorities
Get a specific offer amount with full breakdown and negotiation strategy

It's not replacing your realtor. It's giving you an independent second opinion so you can walk into negotiations informed, not anxious.

Why This Matters (Beyond My House Hunt)

For first-time homebuyers: You're making a massive decision with limited experience. Having your own analysis helps you feel confident in your offer.

For investors: You're looking at multiple properties and need to run numbers quickly without bothering your agent every time.

For anyone who hates guesswork: Market data is great, but what you really need is "given THIS property in THIS condition in THIS market, here's what to offer."

Current Status: Validating Before Building

I'm launching the waitlist now and manually running analyses for early users to validate the concept. If people find it valuable and would pay for it, I'll build the full product.

Target launch: January 2026

If you're currently house hunting or planning to buy soon, join the waitlist at offer.guide.

Building in Public

This is my first post documenting the journey of building SelfCEO ventures. I'm also working on Mory (an SMS accountability tool) and planning SelfCEO Production (meditation music).

I'll be sharing updates, lessons learned, and behind-the-scenes progress here. Follow along if you're interested in solo founder stories, product validation, or real estate tech.

Want to follow the journey? Subscribe to updates or connect with me on Twitter / LinkedIn.

Currently buying a house and need help with offers? Check out offer.guide and join the waitlist for early access.