All Forum Posts by: Lori Greene

I agree that the way for you to start out with a 9 unit complex as a beginner is to partner with someone who has experience with multi-family. Do thorough home work on the property.

Go to the city and county records and do a title search to find any liens or issues with the property and a deed search to get an idea of the equity and find everything you possibly can about the property. Talk to code enforcement to see if there are any code violations with the property.

Have an inspection done and include those costs. I can't tell you how many times I've seen investors skip this step and end up with a property that has a huge unexpected cost.

Talk in-depth to the seller about the rents, the vacancy rates, the expenses, the repairs. Do research on area rents. Get rents comparables.

Ask to see the books. Sometimes owners of commercial properties want a Letter of Intent before they'll show you the books. Give them one if they ask.

Ask them if you can talk to some of the tenants to get their feedback about the place.

Have a local realtor who has experience with multi-family units help you assess both the As-Is Value and the After Repair Value. Accuracy on those 2 values is the key to running good numbers.

Also presentation is very important. If you can create a great presentation on paper or power point with all of that research it won't be hard to find another investor to partner with.

Great places to meet investors to partner with are local investor meetings and auctions.

But make sure you have potential partners sign an agreement of some sort before you give them the address or tell them too many details. Have an attorney help you with that.

I can help you with a good agent who knows multi-families and rents comparables if you need.

Best of luck!

Even though my first deals were wholesaling deals because they required no money to start out, my first real experience in real estate was building a house.

When I met my husband and moved in with him 25 years ago, he lived in a tiny 500 sq ft, 1 bedroom house he was renting. It was ok for just the 2 of us, but then after we had kids and his mom moved in with us it was unbearable.

Luckily by then, a house cleaning business I had started shortly after moving in with him had grown into a large enough business that allowed us to build a house. We were literally starving for space so we decided to go big.

We found the lot we wanted, 40 acres with a spectacular panoramic view and no neighbors for $100k. The problem was that the secluded canyon the property was in had no phones or utilities and the entry to the property was a steep cliff!

Everyone we talked to everywhere we went said it would be impossible to build a house there.

The realtor said the owner would never accept our intended offer of $70k. The loan officer said we wouldn't qualify for a construction loan. The planning commission said we wouldn't pass a perc test for a septic tank or be able to find water drilling a well because others had failed or be able to get utilities up that canyon or be able to cut a driveway through that cliff. And worst of all they said they wouldn't give us a building permit.

But we are the kind of people who don't take no for an answer because we know that if you are creative enough, there is always a way and we were determined to find it. So we started chipping away at every obstacle.

It took about 6 months but we did end up overcoming all of it. The owner did accept our offer after several negotiations. We did qualify for the loan. We did get a perc test to pass. We did find an excavator who said he could cut that driveway. We did drill a well and after a few tries coming up dry, we tapped into a gushing underground river! We did finally get the building permit and we built a 7,500 sq ft house that we designed ourselves to quench our thirst for space.

That was our first taste of real estate and it turned out to be a great experience because we didn't give up.

A few years later, after I sold the house cleaning business, I tried my hand at wholesaling and then later various other strategies with my sister who is now my partner in our online comps service. And we've had fun with real estate ever since.

It just goes to show what you can accomplish if you are determined to do it. So don't take no for an answer. Find creative solutions instead.

We have more agents, investing students and comps customers from TX than from anywhere else and we are in Utah, so it's obviously a competitive market. But a competitive market means it's a good one. You just have to be a little creative to stand out.

I can help you with rental comps if you need.

@Jay Hinrichs Thanks for your feedback. I'm sure lots of other investors have thought of or heard of or used this kind of strategy. But I myself never had never heard of it when I thought of it and I didn't learn it from anyone else.

And after sharing it with hundreds of my mentoring students, not one of them had heard about it. So, I feel it is a beneficial strategy to share.

BiggerPockets is a great place to share strategies.

If you don't have enough time to do remodeling then you won't have time to flip houses. Why not do the least time consuming strategy: Wholesaling?

You want to start by putting out an I Buy Houses ad (only use unique wording so you stand out from other investor ads). Then people call you. That way you don't have to spend any time finding deals.

When they call, you spend 5 or 10 minutes asking questions about the property, their situation (motivation), their loan status and equity.

Then you make them an offer. If they accept your offer, you sell the contract to another investor for a fee, which you can do in several ways:

• Assign the Contract
• Make the Offer in the name of a Disposable LLC and sell them the LLC.
• Do a Double Close using Transactional Funding

Here is a link to another post here on BiggerPockets that talks all about how to find cash buyers to wholesale your deals to: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/93/topics/674...

It's in a thread where my post is about 7 answers down from the top.

And here's an article in the Innovative Strategies section of BiggerPockets that talks all about what kind of ad to put out to attract motivated sellers and what kind of offers to make to get the most offers accepted: https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/61/topics/635...

I realized that at the beginning of this article, I forgot to say exactly what the ad I referred to was supposed to say. And BiggerPockets won't let me edit it or post another article with the correct info.

So here's what the ad is supposed to say: "I Will Buy Your House for Full Market Value minus Repairs."

Once you know that, the article will make more sense.

If you have questions about any of these strategies, I'd be happy to answer them.

Enjoy.

So, I realized that at the beginning of this article, I forgot to say exactly what the ad I referred to was supposed to say. And BiggerPockets won't let me edit it or post another article with the correct info.

So here's what the ad is supposed to say: "I Will Buy Your House for Full Market Value minus Repairs."

Once you know that, the article will make more sense.

@Caleb Heimsoth, you are right about Axel being called Alex. Good eye, LOL. Guilty as charged. Sorry about that Axel.

@Lan Raby, thanks for the vote on my post!

Just letting everyone on BiggerPockets know that you can now order unlimited comps online from local investor-friendly Realtors anywhere in the U.S. And it's affordable for everyone.

Learn more at RealEstateCompsToday.com

Below is a list of Reviews and underneath that are answers to the most Frequently Asked Questions.

Mark

Mar 9, 2019

First, the customer service if amazing. I had an issue with my order, emailed customer support and my issue was taken care right away.
The agents who produce the comps are extremely nice and informative. They are working hard, and it shows.
I recommend this service 100%

Jared

Mar 8, 2019

I was very pleased with the comps that I received. I got it next day. I would definitely recommend this to anyone.

FY

Mar 5, 2019

I am very pleased with the service from Real Estate Comps.
The whole team went above and beyond what was required to give me an accurate, realistic report.
Thanks again so much!

Que Grant

Feb 24, 2019

I ordered a CMA for a property I had trouble comping due to its uniqueness. I just realestaecompstodat.com and received my CMA report in 24hr from a local realtor. The realtor confirmed that I'm not crazy the property was hard to comp but still provided some decent comps for me to go off. I will definitely use this service again and recommend to others in my group who don't have MLS access.

Stephanie Felix

Feb 23, 2019

This service is amazing. The quality is great. They're very engaged in the service as well as timing.

Doug Bainbridge

Feb 8, 2019

Thank you, RealEstateCompsToday. You are making it easier to quickly assess if it is worth pursuing a transaction.

Miranda Simon

Feb 2, 2019

Exactly what I've been looking for. Very useful tool for an excellent price. They were detailed and very helpful even with the basic package. Well worth it!

Mark McClure

Jan 26, 2019

I have used Real Estate Comps Today probably about 20 times. They have great service and are very helpful if something comes up if the real estate agent can't get the comps for me.

Schrene

Jan 17, 2019

Great site for quick and accurate information from an expert in your local market. This helped me make an educated decision on whether or not to put in an offer on a house I'd been looking at. Excellent service.

Leo Obodovsky

Jan 13, 2019

I needed comps for filing tax appeal on my property in NJ.
Jan immediately put me in contact with a local real estate agent whose report contained recent sales in my development and allowed me to select necessary comps. It all happened very fast, in a matter of 2 days. Then Jan provided me guidance on how to make adjustments to these comps. Everything was very helpful and professional. And very reasonable prices to boot. Their speed and efficiency will put Amazon to shame.

Robert Reynolds

Dec 7, 2018

We needed a third party opinion on property value. After researching the options on Google it became apparent that the websites offering free analysis were likely inaccurate for our needs. Real Estate Comps Today looked like an excellent service for the price so we decided to try it. Jan was very responsive to our special needs and took the time to find the right local realtor to create the report. If ever we need such a service again Jan will be the one we call. She is professional, competent and provides high value.

Frank Abbamonte

Nov 28, 2018

Real Estate Comps Today
All I can say is SIMPLY THE BEST. I purchased comps along with a phone consultation for a property I’m considering in North Myertl Beach SC. I was amazed at the wealth of information I was provided with at a very reasonable price. Keith the local agent was helpful and courteous. Jan Kerr, Operations Manager was Outstanding and unbelievably knowledgeable. She took the time to go over all aspects of the report and was patient and willing to answer all my questions. Jan, never mentioned time and surely did not rush the consultation.
Needless to say we exceeded the allotted time, but Jan would not end the consultation until she was sure I understood all the information she provided.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Joe

Nov 17, 2018

This is a great service. I have ordered 3 reports and they all came back very quickly and the local agents are great to work with! The quality of th COMPs are excellent.

Jessica Miller

Nov 2, 2018

All I can say is WOW! Real Estate Comps Today really took care of me. I got my CMA the same day and it had way more info than I expected. They even contacted me to make sure I was happy with the report. I'll definitely use them again.

Kishore babu N

Oct 15, 2018

We're planning to buy a property in Indianapolis and took help of Jan for comps and opinion about that property. The info that we got and the response was amazing. I will definitely recommend realestatecompstoday.com for 3rd party opinion before buying any property.

Yasmin Cruz

Oct 5, 2018

Service is exceptional, the in-depth service along with the consultation is highly recommended. Jan is an amazing mentor, she has played a significant role in my home buying process this year. With her help, I was able to turn the uncertain for a confident, informed buyer. This establishment is dependable –truly a one part of a connected whole. I want to say THANK YOU for all your help and support along the way.

Candi Angotti

Mar 10, 2018

Jan went above and beyond to get me some solid comps to work with! She shared knowledge and advice that will help me big time! I highly recommend using Real Estate Comps Today! You will save time, and gain the knowledge you need to help with your real estate transactions, whether you are selling or buying!

FAQ's

How much does your service cost? A Basic Comps Report is only $8.95, best for those on a budget and those who don't mind analyzing their own comps reports and property value.

A CMA Report (Comparative Market Analysis) is $18.95 and the most accurate comps report which includes side-by-side comparisons of nearby sold properties as well as value adjustments for their differences and gives you an actual best estimated value for your property.

A consultation with a property value expert is $38.95 and makes a great add-on to a CMA for the most in-depth value analysis possible.

For all of the details about our pricing packages, Visit Our Pricing Page.

Is the price per comp or per report? And how many comparables are in a report? The prices for comps ($8.95 Basic & $18.95 CMA) are per report, not per comparable property.

The amount of comparables in a report depends on how many similar properties in the area of your property have sold recently. The report may contain 3 or 4 comparables or in some cases up to 20 or more.

We do instruct our agents to include all properties sold within the last year and within one mile (unless it’s a very rural area with few houses in a mile, then we instruct them to go further out) and to include a few active listings and expired listings to give you as many comparables as possible.

In some rare cases where no results appear within one year, we will go back further and assist with any adjustments for natural appreciation or market corrections.

What information will be on the comps report? What’s the difference between a Basic Comps Report and a CMA Report? Available information varies by region based on what the MLS system of that area considers standard and the seller's willingness to make certain information available.

The information that will be included on your comps report depends on the MLS system which covers the area of your property and what the sellers of the comparable properties chose to include in their property listings.

Each MLS region has its own MLS system and they are all a little different from one another. But in most cases there will be details for the subject property and all comparables usually including: address, asking price, sold price, sold date, days on market, square feet, year built, bedrooms, bathrooms, other rooms, garage and parking spaces, lot size, property features such as fireplace, deck, pool, landscaping and many other features and characteristics.

Both Basic & CMA Reports will have this kind of information but the CMA Report will also include a wealth of value analysis information to give you an actual value for your property. If you order a Basic Comps Report, you will need to determine your own property value with the information provided in your report.

How long does it take to get my report? Our goal is always for reports to be delivered to customers via email within about 1 business day. However, there may occasionally be an instance when an assigned agent can’t get the report to the customer within one business day.

The good news is that we do closely monitor the status of each and every order. In the case that the agent informs us they are not able to deliver the report within the agreed upon timeline, we will notify you of when you might expect to see it delivered.

In the case that the agent accepts the order but then isn’t responding to status requests after a missed deadline, we will then re-assign your order to another agent and monitor the status of that report delivery. We will continue this process until you have received your comps report.

How does your process work? After submitting your order form . . .

• You receive an email confirming your order has been received.
• Your order is assigned to an agent in your area ASAP.
• You receive another email with the name of your assigned agent and a timeline in which you can expect to receive your report.
• We also receive a copy of your comps report at which time we personally inspect it for quality.
• You receive another email from us about our opinion of the quality of your comps report.
• You look over your comps report and ask us or your assigned agent any questions you may have about the report.
• You go to our reviews page and leave us a review about the great service you received! :)

Do you have customer reviews I can read? Yes, of course. We have many 5 Star Reviews on our Reviews Page.

Can I see some sample comps reports? Yes. To view or download sample reports, just go to our Example Reports page. From these example reports you’ll see page after page of property details.

But do keep in mind that the information included on your comps report will depend on the MLS system which covers the area of your property. Each MLS region has its own MLS system and they are all a little different from one another.

The demo reports are only one example from one MLS system in one area. Yours may look different than these examples but should have similar information.

What information will I receive in a consultation? Every consultation is customized to suit the needs of the client. We will ask you about your plans and what you are hoping to accomplish. We will then advise you based on your needs, whether that means just translating the report into plain English for you to understand all of the data or just giving you advice as to what price to offer or ask or anything else you need help with.

We can even help with things like how to lower your property taxes, how to increase your home value or determining whether or not a property has any profit potential as a rental property or a buy/fix and sell property.

How accurate are your comps reports? Using a Local Real Estate Agent is THE most accurate way to get a property value, especially when compared to instant home value sites who use outdated public data and algorithms.

That’s why we only use only Licensed Local Agents who live in your area to help you find an accurate home value. All of the agents we use have voluntarily opted-in to our National Network of RE Agent Volunteers.

There's nothing more accurate than pairing actual MLS comps with an agent's personal knowledge of the area, except maybe a costly appraisal. And the fact that some banks and lenders are now ordering CMA's from us instead of using appraisals confirms that a CMA can often be as accurate as an appraisal.

Do I have to talk to an agent or sign a contract with them? No, absolutely not. We will contact the agent for you. After delivering your comps via email, your agent will offer further assistance. Then it's completely up to you if you'd like to take them up on their offer.

And you can order comps as often as you like. That's the beauty of our service. There is no pressure from our agents.

The goal of our agent volunteers is simply to build relationships in hopes of providing you and your friends with their services now or sometime in the future.

And again, that’s totally up to you. No expectations whatsoever.

If you can’t find any comps for my property or if I’m not satisfied with them, can I get my money back? We don’t have an actual money back guarantee because it is rare that we can’t deliver a good amount of quality comps to a customer.

In fact, we only had 2 instances in our first entire year where we decided to refund a customer’s money because we couldn’t find good comps for them.

The first time was in Puerto Rico in September 2018 right after the hurricane destroyed the area and any many of the agents had left the state.

The second time was when an investor was searching for comps in an area where many of the houses had been demolished.

In every other case, we were able to deliver a high quality comps report within a reasonable amount of time.

If I order Basic Comps, how do I figure out my house value? You should start by choosing the comparables most similar in age, size and features to your subject property and in closest proximity to it.

From there you can narrow down the comparables by choosing the ones most similar in condition to your property. You can get an idea of the condition of a comparable property at the time it sold by looking at any available photos in it’s listing.

If the comparables you’ve chosen are all similar in condition, then an average of their sold prices would be a good way to determine your property’s value.

If conditions vary, you must decide which properties are most similar to yours in condition and then use an average of those sold prices for your property value.

Can I get comps in rural areas? What cities and states do you cover? Are you national? Yes we are national. You can get comps for anywhere in the United States. Just keep in mind that in some rural areas where houses are far apart or markets are slow, there may not be as many comparable sales as there would be in an area with many more houses per mile.

How often can I order comps? Is there a limit? There is no limit to how often you can order comps reports. You can order as often as you like for as many properties as you like. That is just one of the reasons why our service is so popular among homeowners and investors.

Do you have a monthly discount membership? We do have monthly discount memberships for frequent users. For all of the details about our pricing packages, Visit Our Pricing Page.

How many agents do you have? Our agent network is constantly growing. We can’t give an exact number because it changes everyday. But we can tell you that we do have enough agents to cover every market in the U.S. and we are always on the look-out for more.

We feel that there is no such thing as too many good agents to choose from.

Are you real estate agents? No. We ourselves are not real estate agents, but all of our reports are produced by licensed real estate agents local to the market of the subject property. We are simply a service which facilitates consumers and agents.

Because we have been real estate investors, mentors and speakers for over 20 years, we have naturally built relationships with many real estate agents all across the country. And now agents from all over are finding out about us and volunteering to provide comps reports for our customers in order to build relationships for potential future business.

The whole reason we created this service is to assist consumers by making it easy for you to get a fast and accurate house value via a comps report from a reliable agent in your area without having to contact them yourself. We do all of that for you. Your Welcome!

Aren’t you just an agent referral service? What makes you any different from other agent referral services?

We are not an agent referral service. What makes us different from agent referral services is that we do so much more than just refer to you an agent. We actually take the lead by finding and assigning your comps order to an agent in your area.

We get very involved in the whole process of making sure your comps report is of the highest quality by giving the agent specific instructions as to the content we want to see in the report and we work with them to determine a deadline so your reports are delivered in a timely manner.

We are all about providing you with a stellar customer experience. And that is why we have such high Reviews.

How do you choose which agent to assign to a comps order? We first narrow it down to the agents in the MLS region of the customer's subject property. Then we rotate through that list of agents.

This process gives equal opportunities for our agent volunteers to help our customers. And it gives our returning customers the luxury of trying out the services of several agents to see who they like best.

Can I get comps on undeveloped land lots? Yes. In most cases our agents are able and willing to do the necessary research to provide comps for vacant lots.

The agent's ability to provide comps for these kinds of parcels will depend on how much information you can provide, especially if the lot has not yet been assigned an official address.

If additional time for research is needed, we ask that you be patient with the agent as they do their best to provide you with a good report.

Can I get comps on commercial properties? Yes. Most of our agents also have access to commercial listings and are able to pull comps on commercial properties.

If additional time for research is needed, we ask that you be patient with the agent as they do their best to provide you with a good report.

I see them all the time on ConnectedInvestors but just make sure to do thorough research on these investors and their claims because that site is more spammy than BiggerPockets.

@Axel Meierhoefer Yeah there really are a lot of helpful tools here. And the advice from others is awesome too.