Best way to find property value without hiring appraiser?

[Anthony Pintaro]

What is the best way to value comps in an area your looking to buy? Any advice on finding the value of the property, without hiring an actual appraiser? Thanks guys!!

[Mike Mocek]

Hey @Anthony Pintaro, Unfortunately, the only way to get a true value is by working with an appraiser.  I would start with an Online Valuation Tool (I like PennyMacs Value Estimator, which takes the address of the home and returns an estimate of the overall price, price per SQFT, Details, Sales history and the value history).  This is easy to find just by searching online.

Next, your going to want to work with a Realtor, find out how the home value is determined, have a CMA completed, even a BPO. From there, you will want to connect with a professional appraisal. Realtors have their own techniques for determining a home's value and it never hurts to get a second opnion to go along with any estimates from an online valuation tool. I work with a few clients who tell me what they find online, and I end up finding them $10k more because the valuation tool missed the finished basement with a full bathroom and bar.

Another option would be to find a professional appraiser to learn from, some will help with tricks and trades and others will be stiff with their responses.  May appraisers use Fannie Mae's Uniform Residential Appraisal Report as a guide for conducting an appraisal.  Using this report as a guideline, an appraiser would also consider the sales history of the home and the approximate replacement cost to rebuild the home.

At the end of the day, you may not have access to the MLS, but you can still use some information on your own to do a comparison to what is selling in your area. Some things to take into consideration when looking at a "Value" would be what are the Structural components and features, Age and size, Sales history, Any upgrades or improvements (That bring value to the home). Of course there are things like the overall condition of the home, Neighborhood and location and above all: Listing price vs. actual sale price.

I hope this helps :)