Total newbie: Normal to trust numbers from seller?

[Christopher Arter]

Hey everyone,

I'm a total newbie and learning everything I can. I'm currently studying for my upcoming Real Estate exam, too.

Question.. as a thought exercise, I've been analyzing deals that I have no intention of buying yet (still getting my personal finances in order), but I'm a kinetic learner so I'm doing deal analysis as practice and to learn my market.

A lot of the ads I see for properties include a lot of rehab estimates and ARV values from the seller of the properties. Apparently, every deal on the market is a slam dunk, right!? :) I'd imagine these numbers are taken with a huge grain of salt, and a diligent investor wouldn't pay any attention to them and do their own analysis, right? And if that's the case, are they there just to hype a careless buyer? What's the point?

This is my first post, and I've had a lot of questions like this that I think are probably "dumb question" but life is short so here I am.

Thanks in advance for your input! :)

[Christopher Arter]

Hi @Josue Vargas,

I'm finding these primarily on Loop Net and Craigslist. I'm avoiding Realtor.com / Zillow as that seems to be full retail. I haven't visited the properties yet. Primarily I'm practicing getting used to running the numbers and getting my deal valuation skills 100% on point. I am, however, using Google Street View to have a "virtual" drive through the neighborhood to get a feel for the area. As you probably know, you can click your way through the neighborhood just as you would driving through it in person (almost). It's a great tool that I used when I was a regular joe looking for his first house that I bought last year.

But, those images are out of date, so once I start to analyze a real deal, I'll most certainly drive it and have a look in-person.

As for the Realtor, I'm actually studying for my RE license myself now. I'm doing this mainly so I can have unmitigated access to MLS. I've found some rather hands-off virtual brokerages that will allow me to basically do my own thing.

Do you have any books you'd recommend for deal analysis? I'm currently reading What Every Real Estate Investor Needs to Know About Cash Flow. It's great!