All of the data is shown right in front of you, and you have to apply your own heuristics for selecting the appropriate comps including their age, distance from the subject, counts of rooms, size within of each other, lot sizes, etc.We can discuss all day long about how good or bad Zillow data is, and honestly, it depends very much on the market, and how quickly a sale gets reflected in the public record.In my SoCal market, it's actually pretty quickly, and I often end up using a blend of suggested comps from Zillow and my own comps that I import from other places such as Redfin, your free MLS alternative.

The most basic and logical explanation for something is often correct, but proving it can be a whole other ballgame.

The tenants often end up having to break their lease.

Landlords often feel they intimidated or too nosy if they ask too many questions to a potential PM. 

You will usually spend more than building the property new from scratch.Having said that, let me suggest you look into a couple possibilities.1) Historic tax credits - you can often make a project that makes no sense financially work by applying for tax credits so you should look into that.2) Why do the windows need replaced and can you do it over time?

As an engineering firm we find very often that even though a property is in a flood zone on the map, the structures are built sitting above the flood level. 

As an investor, we often lose out to “homebuyers” because we won’t pay the same price.

She suddenly remembered wires that she had forgotten for her TV (she had 2x 5" holes cut out of the feature wall to hide her cables, without asking) so it was easier to have her reputable painter guy pop in and cover up the holes and remove her last items without me having to see her again.My fault for not just getting it done myself I suppose but she is the sort of tenant that uses Court Action in seemingly every sentence and was seen taking pictures of everything when she left and even took a picture of her notice taped to my front door so I was trying to minimize any court action by at least keeping her in the loop of all the damage so I could get her replies by text to use if she decided to challenge my return deposit amount.She did admit to the burns in the carpet (stupidly putting hot coals from the fire in a plastic home depot bucket) and argued that it wasn't cat urine but vomit as her cat had cancer (but obviously didn't think to clean them or have them professionally cleaned).  

ALWAYS BE TESTING (BUT NOT TO OFTEN)And that's mostly it.

This happens quite often with young tenants or people recently divorced.The Property Manager should be able to show you most information in the office.