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The legal use of the property sounds like it is a single family residence. This means it can only be appraised and financed as such. Look the address up in the public record for LA county.

Blue—If a property sold in March, it could not be foreclosed upon in May. The process takes longer than that. In the public record you can see if the recent transfer is between people or banks. Sometimes a foreclosure is listed as a sale. Say you borrowed 1,000,000 for the purchase. If the bank forecloses, it might look like like the bank purchased the property for 1,000,000 when it is just a foreclosure. If you are buying a foreclosure, the bank that owns the property has probably had a recent appraisal on it. Ask the agent to get the appraisal. Maybe there is a Broker’s Price Opinion also. Ask for that. The real estate agent should be able to get these things for you.

I’m a national review appraiser and am familiar with the Atlanta market. In some zip codes there are over 700 homes for sale at this time. That is way too many. There are tons of foreclosures and banks are wary of mortgage fraud in that area. Your appraisal for 245,000 means nothing at this time. Prices are falling dramatically as is evidenced by your sellers willingness to sell $55,000 below that appraised value.

Also go to Realtor.com and see what the active listings are in your zip code. Those homes will be your competition. Don’t buy this property yet!!!!!!!!! :protest:

There are lots of real estate agents who will list your property for a flat fee on their MLS also. You can offer a selling bonus to the agent that brings you the buyer on your MLS advertisement. You are selling a rehabbed property and you will advertise it as remodeled. Make sure you elaborate about what has been done. New kitchen, roof, new baths etc....

I'm a national review appraiser and I'm familiar with Baltimore. There are alot of row houses in Baltimore and only other row homes can be used as comparable sales. The range of value is very wide on these properties and vary block per block. It's all about condition. You see row homes on the same street that are the same age and size. One sold for 25,000, one sold for 80,000. The lower end is original and needs repair. The high one has a new kitchen and bath and is fully remodeled. Other factors also come into play--commercial properties nearby, major traffic streets, on street or off street parking etc. How you can determine value is by getting the most recent sales as close to the subject as possible. They need to be similar in age and size (+/-200 square feet). You will probably get a range of value. If your subject is in good condition, your property will be near the high end. If not--the low end. Make sure you also check active listings. (free via Realtor.com) With market conditions as they are, active listings pay a major role in getting an accurate value.