Valuing Property Remotely (part 4)

Online Valuation Sites

I know my next piece will be at odds with what a lot of investors believe, but there are good, valuable resources on the internet to help you ascertain value. They are useful IF you put them in context of all that I’ve mentioned, and don’t try to use them as a substitute for something like a true appraisal. Sites like www.zillow.com can be inaccurate, and they have their limitations. But, don’t overlook their usefulness in giving you ballpark information…just don’t rely upon them for professional opinion. As of now there is nothing available online, free, paid, or otherwise that substitutes for a professionally-crafted appraisal where an individual is scrutinizing the property face-to-face. It just doesn’t exist.

With that caveat, I’ll recommend four valuation sites:

www.zillow.com is the most widely known, and probably the site that gets the most criticism. But, if you understand it’s an estimator, and doesn’t replace a true appraisal, it’s a very useful tool. One thing that’s really useful for the remote investor are the birds-eye views that allow you to look at the property from a satellite photo, and see the surrounding area. I’ve come across more than one property in Arizona that otherwise looked good, but ended up backing up to a highway – or worse, a junkyard, which I caught on the Zillow aerial view.

www.domania.com by lending tree is another good site. The free “solds” listing is really a good tool. And, for $30 you can get a reasonably complete property report that borders on being an appraisal, or can be automatically put with a realtor to get comps.

www.Cyberhomes.com by Fidelity is another really good tool. What’s particularly helpful with this site is the valuation map which gets pulled up automatically when you input data. So, not only do you see estimates for the property in question, but also for all the adjacent houses as well.

The national real estate firm of Coldwell Banker (www.coldwellbanker.com) has a good valuation tool, and a unique “Live Market Data” interactive map where you can zoom in to an area and it will pull up the listings for sale in that map coordinate. It’s a fantastic visual way of seeing what’s going on in an area and its surrounds. Trulia (www.trulia.com) is a similar service.

Also, if you are not using something like Zillow or Cyberhomes which provide a map, Google’s satellite map tool is really useful for getting arial views. That helps with locating the unit in its environs. For example, you can see where a house is located in proximity to a community lake or whether it backs up to a freeway.

All of these recent blog entries on valuation are a lot to consider - if you have any questions, email me at william@thecoasttocoastinvestor.com and I can help you with anything or answer any questions you have.

My next series of blog entries is going to be absolutely vital for you - they are about property financing, and given the current credit situation in the country, you need to learn how to finance properties using traditional and creative means. Financing is the one thing that is going to make or break deals over the next couple of years, so you'll want to get these postings.

So, until next time, I’m Bill Flood; this is the Coast to Coast Real Estate Investor…live your real estate dreams!