Hey everyone! My partner and I are trying to do a comp on a particular property via R.E. Agents, however, they are not being of efficiency. I’m pretty sure you can perform them on your own, I just dont know how to that. Is anyone aware on how to do self comps?? I’d appreciate all responses! Thank you.
Unless you have MLS access, it can be difficult to self-appraise. Appraisals are based on recently SOLD properties. You need to be able to garner the prices nearby homes of near-vintage, near-size, near-ammenities, and near-condition sold for for the last 3 to 6 months…you need several to compare to. You can do a “SWAG” appraisal by comparing what properties are listed for and adjusting accordingly but it is not going to be terribvy accurate. You can also get appraisal-like data from friendly appraisers and title companies.
When you say the Realtor is “not being of efficiency”, what do you mean?
Keith
What I mean by “of efficiency,” I mean that they are not being fast about submitting a comp list for me. I asked a realtor this past Monday to submit one for me and she has yet to do it. I just wanted to try it by myself, but it looks like that will be extremely difficult and time consuming. I do appreciate the advice though. I will definitely utilize those methods you mentioned KD. Thanks.
They only get paid for selling houses and if they have a lot of client that have property to see then they have to choose between servicing the people who are buying from them or pulling Comps. That is why they are not fast. I would try to create a realationship with a good appraiser in town that you can use to pull your comps as well as do appraisals for you. Or refer your friends to him in return for the favor.
Good Luck
<<What I mean by “of efficiency,” I mean that they are not being fast about submitting a comp list for me.>>
…yes, understood…but what is your measure of efficiency? Are they not complying within hours? a couple of days? a week? Do you have unrealistic expections of them or are they just butt-dragging?
Keith
Thats a really good suggestion Ramona, thanks a lot.
Keith, I was just under the impression that I would hear something in abour two - three days. That was my personal expectation. I of course wasnt expecting an instant fax of the listings! Its been about a week and a half so I’m kind of moving on with the different suggestions you guys have given me. Nevertheless, thats all I meant.
I think 2-3 days for a some rudimentary comps is probably about right, especially if you have a relationship with the Realtor. I wouldn’t want you (or the newer REIs here) to have an expectaion of hours…I agree that a week and a half is excessive.
Keith
I was just about to make a topic about comps too…so basically the best way to get info four comps is either agentsand appraisers?arethere any other websites that i can go ?
Hey Hoopstar, here is a site that i found usefull the offer comps for $5.00 let me know what you think
http://netronline.com/
my realator runs my comps within a few hours…once I wholesale my first deal…imma give her some $…take her out to eat…just to keep her happy and let her know she is appreciated
There use to be a data service in my area I’d use for outlying areas…$70 a search! It’s been years since I’ve utilized their services, and I’m not sure they even exist any longer.
There’s too many other sources for information now…
Try a Title Company. The data’s usually garbage cause, their staff doesn’t know (or doesn’t care) how to comp search.
The Agent’s not getting back to you because, they probably don’t think comp searching for you is going to make them a buck.
I think your best bet (and most accurate) will be to employ the services of a qualified local appraiser. Call up several and explain to them you’d be willing to pay them for raw data. Ask how much they’d charge for such a service & see if they’d be willing to fax you the information (make sure you pay them…I should think $20 would suffice). If you want to keep the price low…you’ll have to make the value determination yourself based on the information they provide you. Tell them all you want is raw data with the search limited to the properties most similar to, and in closest proximity to your subject.
I just found this out… Does your county have an online website for property tax appraisal? Go to any search engine and type in the county name and also property tax appraisal after it. It should pull up the tax appraisals place. Then you should be able to do a sales information search. I hope this helps!
I’ve NEVER run across an Assessor’s website that offers the ability to search sales.
Typically, you’ve got to enter either an address or parcel number.
Again…find a local appraiser who’ll provide you comps. Call a number & ask if they will provide this service & if so…what they’ll charge.
Here is a couple of website that may be what you’re looking for:
http://www.homegain.com
http://www.realquest.com
I’ve heard some good responses about these site on other newsgroups.
In Nevada we have the Assessor website which will show you the last sale price and date of a particular property then you can click on all of the properties around it and see if any sold recently. Of course, this is when the sale has been recorded by the county.
The assessors office can also run a sale sheet by zip code over a specific peiod of time for you. BTW, my county assessors office does offer sale info over thier website, but you have to know the address/ and or check them one by one.
I do my own comps all the time. If you accept comps from a realtor, make sure they are sending you properties that are SOLD not LISTED. Big difference.
If you want to do your own comps, use www.homevaluehunt.com. You will need the owners name and address, so subscribing to a publicrecord site comes in handy. You can also get comps from www.nytimes.com in the real estate section. If you click on a property in a certain area, on the bottom to the right, there’s a link that says “properties sold” and it gives you a list of everything sold in that area.
Let me know if you need my help. I’ll do some comps for you and show you how to do them. 
As a valuation expert with 15 years experience…you’re getting horrible advice.
“BTW, my county assessors office does offer sale info over thier website, but you have to know the address/ and or check them one by one.”
Every county assessor I’ve run across online offers sale info under that premise. However, where you suppose to get the address? If you do have an address…how do you know if there were sales concessions? And can you imagine going address by address to see if a home’s sold in the past few months??? What a monumentous chore!!!
“I do my own comps all the time. If you accept comps from a realtor, make sure they are sending you properties that are SOLD not LISTED. Big difference.”
Again, terrible advice. Sales are important yeah, but active listings are equally important…especially in hot markets. Are there a lack of listings? If there are a lack of listings the greater the possibility prices are increasing briskly (low supply/high demand = increasing prices).
These housevalue.CON sites are not only worthless, they’ve been making the news lately. Rely on these…you could lose tens…hell…maybe hundreds of thousands of $'s.
But what do I know?
-Infowell
Hello Infowell,
So what would you recommend an investor use to determine the FMV of a home and/or the ARV of a home. Since you have 15 years I figure you’d be able to offer this advice or explain what other valuation experts use to determine this value.
I highly doubt that every valuation expert uses his own knowledge or go by paper so there must be something online available.
Please enlighten the rest of us if the advice given here and on multiple posts are “horrible”.
Thanks…
If I were to suddenly lose all my data sources tomorrow…I’d contact appraisers & ask them if I could get data from them for a price.
If I were to suddenly forget how to value property tomorrow…I’d contact appraisers & ask if they’d provide me data based on their expertise for a price.
With enough good data from an expert…even a novice could draw their own conclusions.
If appraisers were to suddenly dissapear tomorrow…I’d contact experienced real estate agents & ask them if they could provide me data for a price.
I’d choose appraisers over real estate agents, and agents over title companies (which can prove useless). I’d choose title companies over Automated Value Modules (AVM’S) which could be substituted for Kitty Litter.
BIG (costly) mistakes can be made without the right data…be willing to pay a fair price for solid data is my advice.
-Infowell
There are SO MANY real estate agents! Why worry about doing the comps yourself or paying someone to do that when realtors are supposed to do it for you for free? You just haven’t found the right RE agent. You can work with 10 at a time, if you want to, untill you find the one you absolutely like. Let them know upfront what your expectations are, and how fast you need a response. It is OK if you want it within hours. Look for RE company that works with investors, their rates are much lower, and most of them are investors themselves, so they know it is ridiculous to make a client wait for a week for comps- any good deal is going to be gone by then.
Good luck,
Lana.