Cudahy, WI · Member since 2013 · 16 posts · 0 votes
'I am new to real estate investing and have a question about ARV. When you get a properties value from MLS, Zillow, or Trullia, is that the current vallue or the ARV'.
Residential Real Estate Agent · Cookeville, TN · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 948 votes
13y
Values from Zillow and Trulia are often worthless, and shouldn't be trusted in my opinion. Zillow's own data disclosures indicate that the are often 20% or more off target.
The "MLS values" are the actual asking price or "sold" price for a property. Even then, the MLS numbers may not represent a true fair-market value. And the MLS numbers are the numbers for the condition of the property at that time. But, what if someone needed to sell fast? That MLS property may not represent a true fair-market value, because they may have intentionally priced the property below market.
ARV is the "After Repaired Value". You have to determine that number using "comps" which are comparable properties. We often use comps from the MLS. You want to look at comparable properties (similar) that are near your property of interest, and that have sold recently. I often also look at current comps that are listed, but not yet sold.
There's a lot that goes into this, and you will get better with practice and experience. You need to spend a lot of time looking at houses in your target neighborhoods and in your target price range.
New York City, NY · Member since 2013 · 11 posts · 1 vote
13y
another source I use that is not MLS but I believe to be more accurate than Zillow and Trulia is Redfin.com. Their basic free service provides you with two comps of similar and recently sold within a 1/4 mile...
I am not sure how the rest of investors feel about Redfin but it will be interesting to see on this thread.