Advice on comps

[Conrad Legé]

Hello,

I am currently in my search for my first fix & flip. I have found & recently looked at a property that I feel has potential. I’ve been reading the BP book on Flipping Houses by J Scott as a guide. I recently had my broker run some comps for me however there are limited SOLD comps to work with however there a few strong comps that are currently “contingent.” Would like at least 3 solid comps to work with.

My question is, is it good practice to use comps that are contingent or pending or should I stick solely with comps that have SOLD? 

Thanks,

[Martin M.]

@Conrad Legé

You're on the right track focusing on sold for your comp.... but I hear ya... sometimes there just aren't that many sold comps nearby to make an accurate comp.

If you do use contingents because they're all that's available, one thing to look at with them is list to contingent time. If that's fairly short like 3 to 5 days, the seller's likely accepted an offer near asking price or higher.

Opposite applies if the place was listed 6 months before going contingent and then went contingent and so on.. but sold comps are way much better if they're available. Good luck with it