Multi Family Property Evaluation

[Ross Richards]

I have been looking at small multi-family properties near where I live (Ashburn, VA) and they are starting in the one million dollar range. My question is: How do you determine the value of a multi-family property? I understand for commercial real estate it is based on comparable ROI's in the surrounding areas, but for small multi family properties that allow for "conventional" loans, do the same evaluations take place? Should I expect an asking price of $1.05m to be accurate? What should I be looking at to determine if this is a deal or a bust?