What is the best way to determine ARV without a realtors help

[Ricky Hopp]

Hi all. I am using the BiggerPockets Rental Return tool and wanted to determine the After Repair Value of a 2 BD/1 BA 990 sq ft apt in Jersey City, NJ and had difficulty figuring out a good estimate for this value. Does anyone have tips as to the best way to come up with the ARV? I know that researching comps is important, but is there a way to do this without having to call up my realtor? I'd love to hear your strategies.

Thanks!

Ricky

[J Scott]

Originally posted by @Ricky Hopp:

I do like the idea of buying the realtor coffee. I just don't want to burden them over and over if I am searching through multiple investment options and then asking for MLS comps and recently sold comps. So you think Zillow is pretty accurate when it comes to recently sold values?

Zillow is going to be accurate, but not necessarily up-to-date.  They get their data from public records, but in some areas, it can take months for public records to be updated.

For example, in a couple counties where I flip, it can take 90+ days for sales to get recorded, which means that Zillow generally won't have sales listed for the previous 90 days.  Considering that a lot can change in 90 days -- and considering that most appraisers/buyers/agents will look for comps within the previous 90 days -- this data won't be very helpful.  And can be very misleading.