Doing "Comps"-A Quick Tip For Newbies

[Larmon Cummings Jr]

Hello BP Community, I wanted to post a quick tip for the newbies out there trying to figure out where to start on doing "comps", or comparable sales, in order to get an idea of the value of a property. I have been contacted numerous times by newbies trying to figure out how to do this while they do not have access to the MLS. Before I became a licensed agent and had MLS access, I would use the free public sites like Zillow, Realtor.com, Redfin, etc, and I still do use them at times as tools. While using Redfin, i found a feature that the site had that was very useful in helping me to start learning how to do comps for any particular area. When you go to Redfin.com, on the home page in the upper right hand corner there is a drop down menu titled "Tools". Click that and go to the tab "What Is My Home Worth". You will then put in your particular property address, then it will take you to another screen. On this screen is where you will go through the properties and pick your comps. When choosing comps you want to keep a few things in mind. You want to find properties that are very similar to your particular property, so similar sq.ft., beds, baths, construction type, etc. After that, look for sales within at least the last 6mos, and sometimes depending on the area you may go as far as 8mos to a year. Also, when looking to put a value on a property, go through the picture galleries and look at the condition of the comparable properties and compare them against the subject property you are looking to value. This gives you an idea of current value and also the ARV, or after repair value. They also have a drop down box on the bottom of the page titled "sort" and there you can choose different filter types. This is not the end of the road, as you will have to make adjustments for differing amenities within the properties, but this will give you a pretty good start. This is also helpful in learning the market values for different areas you may not be familiar with. You can go through the properties that have recently sold and look at the pictures, and this will give you a good idea of what properties are selling for and in what condition in areas you aren't familiar with. Hope this helps....