Pulling comps on a prospect home

Bird Dogs, Wholesaling
1

Hello to all;

How do I go about pulling comps on a property to determine the ARV.

I know there are some free websites that offer this service. Are they reliable??? How about asking a licensed Realtor???

I need some help on this one fast? :help

2

Where do you live?

There are many factors that affect the accuracy of online comps:

  1. Some states such as Texas are non-disclosure states, so online comps are mainly estimates and not accurate.
  2. Free vs paid comps, Free sites may not have accurate information or up to date. Paid comps might be better, depending on the state

Best way to get comps is through the MLS, so build a good relationship with a realtor or get your own license.

One quick way is to lookup listed houses in that same neighborhood and see how much they are listed for. You can base your guestimate on that since the listing realtors pulled comps.

3

Thanks, fadi

I live in Phila, PA.

4

I don’t know what free sites you know about but I would try www.Domania.com as well as the old stand by zillow for a “general idea”. Your best bet is to network with a local realtor and have them pull comps for you and do a market analysis on the perspective property.

5

That would be a quick way, but I’d be very careful doing so. If the home was priced to sell, then why isn’t it sold? Some agents like to list the house at whatever the homeowner wants(just so they can get the listing), even it is say…30% overpriced.

6

Use caution with online services. Having or Getting MLS access is the most trustworthy way to get your numbers. Either team up with a real estate agent, become an agent, or have your significant other or close friend get his/her license.

7

What sets the market value? the active listings in an area and the desirability of the neighborhood. If you look at the listings in the area and base your numbers in that ball park, then you would be fine since you know what your competition is selling for.

Again, this is a quick way to get a value for a house… If you are buying right, you can be off by $5k and still make a good profit. Those who list their houses are not in the same position as investors.

8

Prices houses were sold at…I can understand that. Going solely off of what people are ASKING wouldn’t be the greatest idea in my opinion.

I would agree getting access and looking over “asking” prices may be easier/quicker. However, when it comes to business I would rather be accurate than fast. ($5k does matter to me)

Side note…
I am a noob(so don’t take my advice very seriously, OP). I just like to state my opinions/beliefs…so that if they are incorrect they can be correct :beer:. I hope they are correct though :smile:.

9

Nothing is as crucial as learning your own market and learning the values. Be a master of your domain!

10

Exactly Fadi…if homes in your area have a long turn around time, then you WILL need to look at the listing prices in your area and determine a value based on the condition of your subject and your comps. In San Diego, the actives are DRIVING the market, so you would lose your shirt if you looked solely at solds in my market. So, don’t be to quick to shoot down the advice, especially from Fadi, he is the man. What state are you in? Like Rich said, it is crutial to learn your market and know the prices up and down…cannot emphasize this enough!

11

I found another good place for comp. Its bofa. :cool

12

It is much easier to determine the ARV of houses in a predefined neighborhood since most if not all the houses would be built by the same builder and some would be of the same model home. The tricky ones are the older homes that vary from street to street.

I was trying to pull comps on an older home near downtown San Antonio, and the construction and values were varying from one street to the next. That is why some recommend for new investors to concentrate on couple of neighborhoods and study them well then expand from there.

I love having access to MLS

13

Computerized systems are often inaccurate. Your best bet is to either team up with someone that knows the market (a realtor perhaps) or become knowledgable yourself by watching the recent sales, looking at the listing prices, etc. In my area every Friday the local newspaper publishes all the recent home sales, if your local paper does this read it over and study the trends.

14
looking at the listing prices, etc.

Just for clarification, looking at the listing prices is a sure way to overpay for a property! Real estate agents, who do the listings, work on commision which is based on the sales price of a home AND are very well known for ridiculously overpricing properties!

15

I agree that a Realtor that has a ton of local knowledge and acess to MLS is a good start. Now in a lot of markets such as some area’s in CA, comps mean nothing! Average day’s on market “DOM” is critical as well!

With 9 months DOM in a lot of areas of CA, and few recent sales to go on, combined with the strict lending regs now, an accurate CA comp is tricky!
The value based on a comp can be 10% lower within 30 days or less!

As an investor, My “comp” is unique. The amount I can DUMP the house in 5 days, less all repairs and sale cost, is my comp. No comp is as good as knowing the market in your area very, very, very well.

Fidelity title solutions, as well as 1st American will let almost anyone pay for on line access to title, deed and transfer information. They both offer extensive tools on a tiered level.