Easiest way to find comps?

Question

I know that I can get comps from agents but is there any other way for me to get them? I am researching several properties that I have found driving for dollars. And I don’t want to keep asking agents over and over for comps. Do I have any other recourse?￼￼￼

Lydia R. · Answer

@David Carpenter First of all to answer your question, you can use a service like propstream to run comps yourself. Second, why are you running comps before you even know if the seller wants to sell? I only run comps on properties where I have spoken to the seller and they have an interest in selling. Otherwise whats the point? If you have 20 properties and it takes you 20 min to run comps on each one and then you call them all and only 1 wants to sell...well now youve wasted about 6 hours. Im sure you couldve spent that time doing something more productive right? My advice is put a process into place that uses your time as efficiently as possible! Spend more time marketing to sellers and only analyze the properties that have the potential to become deals.

Corby Goade · Answer

Agents are the best place to find accurate comps. You don't have to keep "bothering" agents for them. Find an investor friendly agent and develop a relationship with them. I pull comps for lots of wholesalers- sure, most of them are a waste of time, but I've done many deals with and for them by just being available to help.

Be sure you are providing value to the agent- give them leads that you can't work and connect them with your end buyers, buy them lunch, that agent will be happy to help you any time. If you just "use" them for comps, they won't help you for long. It'll probably take some effort to find the right agent, but they're out there.

Barry Pekin · Answer

@David Carpenter,

I'm a big fan of PropStream.  It has built in comps when looking at any property, and you can manually do comps if you prefer.  I like to sometimes refer to their comps and then do my own and see how accurate they are.  They're pretty good.  You can even print out a nice comp report.

Joe Aiola · Answer

Hey @David Carpenter - You can compare the subject property on sites like Zillow, Redfin, Trulia, etc. These sites are not as good as the MLS, so I would collect data from at least 3 of these sites and see where they differ. You'll get the best comps from the MLS, but I'm assuming you don't want to use an agent because you don't want to pay commission if you're going direct to seller. What if you paid an agent just for their time to run a handful of comps for you? It shouldn't take the agent awfully long to put comps together for you.

Best of luck!

Salvatore Lentini · Answer

@David Carpenter - Also, once you get to know different areas you will be able to recognize deals when you see them.  You'll get to know that the average house goes for say $250K ARV in some towns and $175K in other towns.  It doesn't take very long to get your finger on the pulse.  You just need to pick a few towns and focus your efforts.  In the beginning you can't be an expert in all areas but you can be in 1 or 2.

Barry Pekin · Answer

@David Carpenter,

Just like @Lydia T., I thought you were running comps on properties before you had identified them as a motivated seller.  Your original post lacked much in the way of details, and so that's what it sounded like.

Regarding it being difficult to find a good supply of properties, it sounds like you have a pretty good system with driving for dollars.  Using PropStream can augment that by helping you target properties.  I search through PropStream first, and then I drive by the properties to assess if there's any physical distress I can see.

There are a lot of ways to find properties.  A quick search on here or online in general should give you lost of ideas.  Pick what works for you, and go from there.

As you work on growing your business, even if you only get a contract once in a while, you're building up steam.  Buyers are more than happy to take something off your hands even if it's a rare thing as you start.  You're still building up those relationships.

Ian Walsh · Answer

Get your license and get the MLS.  It is worth it.

Kenneth Garrett · Answer

@David Carpenter

I use Redfin and Zillow to calculate a properties value based on comps.  You can do it yourself.  Yes, a broker can do it, but you still need to analyze the data.  Look at the comps used by a broker they are not always good comps.  Mixing two stories with one stories, comps out of the area, not same number of bedrooms, square feet, etc.  It still takes analysis. You will need to apply deductions for comps that are not good comparisons. I have compared my comp analysis to the CMA provided and I feel my comps are more accurate.  I will agree it depends on the agent.  Don’t blindly rely on the value, analyze what goes into the value.  Most importantly don’t rely on the Zestimate or the Redfin estimate you will get hurt using them.  Analyze everything.

David Carpenter · Answer

@Lydia T.

Your enthusiasm is appreciated but I think you’re a little ￼off course on your answer. My question was the easiest way to find comps. I never said anything about locating them before you have a motivated seller. Not really sure why you felt you had to explain that but I would not waste my time on a property that I have not already found out that the owner ￼was interested in selling. Then my motivation is to have the ARV pre-prepared before I see the property so that I can make him an offer right away. But again I do thank you for your enthusiasm.￼￼￼￼￼

David Carpenter · Answer

@Salvatore Lentini

I agree with what you said mainly because I understand that in order for me to create lasting relationships with end buyers (investors)￼ I have to supply them with profitable investments. This is hard to do without having access to an MLS￼￼￼. And I have integrity concerning how I do business so I’m looking for the right agents.

Easiest way to find comps?

Most Popular Reply