Distressed property valuation

[Kyle Carter]

Hello BiggerPockets Community! 

When it comes to determining the price to pay for a distressed property, how do you determine that? How do you know when you shouldn't pay more than the value for the land? How do you get the land assessment value?

[Jonathan Greene]

You look for comparable sales for other distressed properties that are similar and nearby and also counter that with finished version comps so you can see what your perceived spread could be. This helps you determine what offer makes sense to you. The land assessment value is on the tax assessor's site in every county, but that doesn't hold a ton of relevance in my opinion. It also depends how distressed - knockdown, full gut rehab, cosmetic rehab, lipstick flip.