Practice by doing.

[Jason Rhine]

I am so new to REI that I don't even own a rental property yet. However, I feel as passionate about it as my wife does about pottery; with that said, I feel that it is time for me to exercise what I'm learning so that I am ready to take advantage of that first opportunity when it arises.

As of now, I am deployed but anxious to be home soon. Before driving around my local neighborhoods and practicing valuation techniques on local properties, I want to practice such techniques on my own VA-guarantee financed home that I bought last year; I'm going to pretend that I'm about to put the property up for rent and make a cash flow prediction.

For my question, would it be wise for me to get my personal property appraised? I do not trust the online appraisal estimates from sources such as Zillow. If you do recommend an appraisal for accuracy, what's the best way to find an appraiser? If not, is there a reasonable alternative? Or is an SFH valuation even relevant to an SFR valuation?

Thank you all in advance for your valued opinions and input.