I am new to real estate investing and I have not attempted my first wholesale yet. I wanted to know how can I determine the ARV or how much the host will sell for so I can know if I have a wholesale deal?
Hi,
Only with realtors MLS system comp's!
Without the realtor comp’s you have no accuracy which will cost you as data bases have old, out dated, incorrect, partially correct, data which is undependable when your risking your cash and reputation!
GR
In NJ you can use http://www.njactb.org to get recent sales data. Its not as easy to use as the MLS but it will post ALL sales, not just realtor sales.
Go to the site I provided and click on “Record Search”. The rest is up to you.
Another way to access sales is to access county or city sales data. Much of the time the sales information is available online. But this will not tell you any basic information as to size of the home etc. You need to get that information from the tax assessor’s records. Sometimes this is online. In other cases you would have to contact the assessor directly.
My experience with this method is that it is slow, time consuming and more than often the data is not right on. But, if you cannot get into the MLS then this maybe another option.
I could be wrong, but couldn’t you just use recent sales on Zillow or Trulia to get an idea of comps?
Hi,
Zillow and Trulia are independantly operated data bases, they do not recieve information in real time and the information they recieve is not correct because of the way these site's set up there parameters to recieve and discern data.
You can put your money at risk using anything including a tarot card reader, a physic, flipping a coin or simple because the property looks pretty, my favorite but for me and anyone else who want’s to make money instead of lose money real MLS comps are the only way to absolutely know for sure the real absolute value of any property! Period!!!
Now some data bases like one of the other posters presented which are area specific there again there not recieving data in real time and the way a data base sets parameters to recieve and record information is specific to the data base design which can be harder to use and may be scewed as what is recieved is set up outside of the realtors MLS system.
Use a realtor with real comps for any real deal, if there is money on the line it is the only dependable resource!
GR
As sales go, real time data is not all that important since the transaction is finished. Of course, you want to use the most recent sales that you can find.
Sites like Zillow and Trulia do have sales data but you do need to take them with a grain of salt. If the data is coming from a real estate MLS (i.e. this is a listed sale performed by a realtor) then the data should be accurate since the sales data was recorded in their MLS and uploaded to these websites.
You should factor in a margin of error of I would guess + or - 10% based on data from these sites. Of course you could always call the real estate office to verify the information that you received off of these sites. This will increase the accuracy of your market value.
I’m in Texas which is a non-disclosure state so I desperately needed mls access. I cold called brokers until I found one who was willing to give me my own password to access the mls. In exchange, I help him with his quarterly MLS dues and let him list the properties that I flip. I would recommend considering this option. FWIW
Colby
Get access to the MLS since this is what your cash buyers will use plus I use comps as a negotiation tool since home sellers use zillow/trulia and look at active listing, not SOLDS.
When I started out I was a realtor assistant and had my own access to MLS. I went to networking events and found an investor that was a realtor and they made me their assistant. Now my business partner is a realtor and we both have access.
Hi!
You can use Zillow, Trulia, and Redfin to get comparable sales in the area if you don’t have access to MLS yet. Still, I strongly recommend that MLS would be much better if you have access to it. You can access recently sold properties, currently listed and pending properties, as well.
If you base your comps from the other sites other than MLS, I think you would do well talking to the seller by making them understand the benefits of selling their house to you.