Tips for Pricing an Off-Market Deal

[James Ohliger]

I'm looking for any tips around how investors price off-market transactions. Typically, a listing on the MLS will use comps to set an asking price and then the market will eventually settle on a final price. Given that an off-market deal never hits the market, how do you settle on a fair price? I'd assume that one of the main benefits of getting an off-market deal is that you could get it below market price, but that may be a myth? Presumably, you could negotiate a discount to market value due to the fact that the seller will save on agent commissions. On the other hand, a buyer of an off-market deal is getting exclusivity in the deal and I could see a situation where the seller would actually want to charge a premium for that exclusivity. So I was curious how people handle this process. Thanks.