Not a bad book for someone starting out, definitely gives you a basis for comparison.

Even if the material only inspires you to do something different that could be good enough.In comparison to what most people watch on TV I would not be all that concerned about many of the seminar folks.

Also, you might consider properties that require less intensive management, what I mean is apartments require a very intensive management in comparison to shopping centers or office property.

There are too many factors that go into why one property is higher than the next, and it isn't always a reflection of what the property is actually worth.In your situation, I would look at the different properties in the neighborhood to see what their tax values are for comparison sake, but that's about it.

Zillow compiles their data from several different sources, and it is not always the most accurate data.Good to know--I figured as much, but the comparisons _I_ had made here--Zillow vs what the agent had said,-- were the same, just the agent had given me much more, and zillow didn't have it.

There is the Sales Comparison Approach which is based on similar recent sales, the Cost Approach which is based on a value of the land and the cost to replace the existing improvements minus depreciation, and the Income Approach which is based on market rents and a Gross Rent Multiplier which is detemined through market research.Your other statement that banks will appraise the property right around the sale price even if the price is 200 and it's worth 500 is really disturbing.

By comparison, when I started I studied hard for one solid week and then bought my first rental.

Things like paying closing costs, funding a interest rate buydown, etc. greatly enhance your offer in comparison to similar properties on the market.

If you haven't seen it HGTV magazine has done some of the work for you in the "Highs/Low" comparison article every month.

Brad Dornish, and now we would like to gather more lawyers for price comparison.