All Forum Posts by: John Moore

@Kenneth Garrett

Thanks. When you started out, did you ask your broker / agent to send you CMA's for lots and lots of listings until you understood the market better? I understand what you mean about dissecting it yourself. I'm just curious when to ask for comps and when not to, because right now, for the most part, I don't know if a property is listed at a good or bad price.

@Bjorik Mutize

I have a spreadsheet of properties that I have looked at online but not comps. I've only driven by 1 of them so far. 

I wasn't sure where to get comps because I don't want to work my agent to death with that while I'm looking at 100 different properties in the beginning, but now, after reading the above comments, I think zillow's recently sold would be a good place to start. 

I'm not sure how specific to make my criteria yet because I don't know how much I can get financed for yet and I'm afraid if I make my geographical area too small, I won't get any deals in the next month or 2. I'm kind of waiting to hear about how much of a house she'll finance me for. She has mentioned it wil depend a little on the loan to value ratio. So I know I need to find some really good deals. 

I understand that it will serve me better, and I think I know how to go about it now. I'll use zillow for intial analysis and ask my agent for more information and comps on only the properties that look like they might work. 

Thanks for all of your advice, I really appreciate it. 

@Jonathan Dempsey

After reading all of these comments and thinking about how much money will be involved, I definitely do want to be able to know, on my own, what the ARV will be without having to rely on an agent.

Thank you for all of your advice! You sound like an excellent agent for your clients, I bet they're glad that you're conservative with the numbers.

@Christopher Lombardi

Yes single family homes. Somebody had told me that the zestimate was worthless around here and that Alabama is a non-something state. I forget what the "something" was. Maybe it was that your not required to report or disclose certain information about the sale? I don't know. So for a little while I quit looking at zillow. 

That being said, I remember seeing recently sold houses at the bottom of the page on zillow and I'm guessing that's what you mean to use for comps. And I have read about how to more accurately use those by looking at very similiar properties and making adjustments for differences. So I'll give that a try. 

Thank you for your advice! I truly appreciate it. 

@Christopher Lombardi

Thanks, for the quick reply! So do I ask my agent for comps all the time?

I guess this is why they say to pick a neighborhood or 2 instead of a large area, so that I can learn the prices better. 

My agent is sending me a lot of properties and I have no idea how to filter through them quickly. I don’t know what they’ll be worth after repair. 

Should I expect my agent to give me approx values of all of these homes in good condition?

 Thank you. Now I agree that there's too many red flags. I am keeping an eye on emails I receive about it. Today I received an email that the auction ended unsuccessfully and now that it may come back on the market soon. (Somebody did bid the minimum.) But for the most part I'm moving on. I still don't have my finances nailed down, and I don't know good contractors in the area yet. So I'll be getting those taken care of soon and I'm reading "The Book on Flipping Houses" in the mean time. 

I'll try to start smaller, maybe just a "paint and carpet" flip on a smaller home. 

Thank you for your guidance. If I hadn't had a few people tell me that there's too many red flags, I'd probably still be really intrested in it.

I've heard the same about unoccupied properties but I drove by and i believe it was definitely occupied. 3 cars in the driveway. 

@Lydia R.

Thanks! 

I think I will have to pass because there's too many unknowns for me. Wish I could see the inside. Oh well. 

Sorry for the typos, I was in a hurry earlier today. The auction ended but only one person bid the minimum. So it may come back online in 48 hours. 

I am still interested to know if you expierenced flippers would consider a property like this or not. I drove by earlier today and there was 3 cars in the driveway.