Properties For Sale Are NOT Comps

[John Thedford]

Just had another "wholesaler" send me a PM through BP. They have a house on Marco Island they need to sell "fast". I queried them if they have it under contract. The answer was "yes, we do". I then asked for comps. They posted a bunch of properties stating these are "active comps". I asked if these are for sale and they stated "yes". I just posted in their thread stating active listings are NOT comps. 
If you are considering dealing with any one of these "wholesalers" be CAREFUL. Can you imagine a new investor, not knowing better, and taking this claim of "comps" as a basis to purchase?
If you intend to deal with anyone of these guys here are some thoughts:
Make them provide comps...and NOT worthless ones
If they make a claim as to ARV, make them provide WRITTEN bids from licensed contractors.
Make the SHOW YOU the contract proving they have some equitable interest.
NEVER pay a non-refundable fee.
Ask for license and insurance. More than likely they don't have any..so keep in mind your recourse may be little to none. Most of these guys are operating as unlicensed brokers with no money, no education (think about his comps), no insurance, and really nothing to lose. Did I say "NO EDUCATION"? Of was this possibly an intent to just deceive. Only the poster knows for sure.

[Nathan Melanson]

I had an appraisal done 2 weeks ago on a property I am buying, and the appraiser did use an active listing as one of the comps. Technically, an appraiser can use an active or pending listing, as long as three of the other comps are sold, and there is nothing else to use. (i.e they are comps of last resort). 

And when an active or pending listing is used, there additional adjustments that are made to account for days on market,  average sale to list price ratio, average seller paid closing costs, etc.