QUOTE (larolargo @ Nov 23 2010, 09:18 PM) By comps I mean similar properties SOLD in the subject area so I can get a ball park.
But like you said, adjusted comps would be much better!
There`s a website called mylandcor.com. However, I don`t know how reliable those comps are. You can get the 5 most recent sales in the area for $16
and the 10 most recent sales+adjusted comps for $30. A little expensive If I do that for every prospect.
What would you recommend?
Thank you!
Mario
Doing a proper CMA (as described by Garth) will take several hours to an entire morning depending on its complexity. The Realtor doing the CMA should be familiar with the community wherein the property is located or get advise from a fellow realtor that knows the area. If you find someone to do that be prepared to pay at least $100-$200.
The other way is to ask a realtor to just pull the sales data of properties in a certain communitie(s) of a certain price range and that meets criteria such as 2 or more bedrooms; 2 bathrooms; developed basement for the last 60 days. Can be set up for you in under an hour and the Realtor may even e-mail you updates on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. Offer the Realtor a $50 set-up fee and become an expert in that area yourself. Also, when you are in the market to buy a property from the MLS use that same Realtor (he/she can set up searches for you of listed properties that meet certain criteria as well and send you listings as soon as they come out - there are certain advantages that a realtor can offer you such as listings sent to you this way that show up 1 to 2 days before they show on MLS.ca).
You will not buy all your properties ala Ron LeGrand, so ultimately you need a Realtor on your team. Why not built a relationship early? And in the end, when you become a serious real estate investor you will realize that a good realtor offers you protection, market expertise, and other services that are worth more than the money you pay him/her (especially when you only buy). If you have a good relationship with a good Realtor who understands what you are looking for, chances are that he will bring you deals before they are even listed. I got some of my best properties that way.
You can see this a bit as my stockbroker relationship: I have a full service stockbroker (now for over 25 years) who advises me about stocks and bonds. He is my devil`s advocate and provides me with numerous investment ideas many of whom made me good money. Worth every penny of the commissions. Then I have my discount broker, where I do my own stuff including transactions that would not be attractive if I had to pay full service fees such as when writing call options. My full service broker knows this and he even knows roughly the investments I have in my discount brokerage accounts so that he can consider that when he recommends me stocks or bonds. Sometimes, when I am concerned about a particular investment in the discount brokerage I tease out a comment on it from my full service broker - it is a bit of give and take. Since I worked with my full service broker extensively, we know we can trust each other and that in the end he will make his commissions from me.
You should aim to build a similar relation with your Realtor on your real estate investment business team. Obviously, you don`t have such a relationship yet, otherwise you would not have to ask where to get cheap `comps`.
