Using appropriate comps for multi-family analyses

[Chris Troutner]

Hi, I am a new BP Pro member and I am committed to making my first purchase in the next couple of months. I am analyzing as many properties as I can. I am very interested in small multi-family units (2-4) as an initial investment. Over the last few weeks I have only been analyzing SFHs. My question is about finding the right comps to evaluate the asking price for a multi-family. I am looking in the Largo/Clearwater, FL area. For example, I am evaluating a duplex with two - 2 BR 1BA units. There are not many duplexes recently sold or for sale in the vicinity. Should I compare with a SFH that is 4 BR with similar SF? Or is that comparing apples to oranges?