How to estimate ARV for a house with no Comps?

[Steve Pratt]

I have an opportunity to flip a house located in the countryside (complete interior renovation required). Unfortunately, I cannot find any comps on the MLS, RPR, or Zillow to ascertain the ARV. I am apprehensive about acquiring this property due to the possibility that it won't sell for a profit and that it won't make a good rental property. Is it worth getting an appraisal? Would it be better to list the property as-is (I hold a real estate license in NC)? What other solutions are available to maximize profitability?

[JD Martin]

Well, if you can't find anything in the reasonable vicinity to compare it to, either you have a unicorn, live so far from everything that there's no market, or your market is completely dead. In most areas, anyone with reasonable RE knowledge can give you a ballpark figure of what houses are selling for per square foot, per bed/bath, or other metric that's used in your specific area (those two are common here). Then you make your best guess adjustment based on positives and negatives (view of the Pacific; 50 miles to a grocery store) and you should be reasonably close. 

If you can't do any of that, best answer is don't bother. I would not ever buy a house that I had no idea what my exit strategy and price was before I bought it.