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How accurate are sites like Zillow, ReMax and Trulia for house pricing?


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Sites like Zillow and others like it are a Guestimate. Sometimes realistic and sometimes not. Your better bet is to try House Canary which is available to REIA members right here on Uniting Investors. It lets you answer questions that help determine the value of a property.

Disclaimer: A really nice house in a really bad neighborhood will not sell for top dollar. No matter what the cost calculators say.

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You have experience using HouseCanary and previous experience investing as well; would you saythat HouseCanary takes the quality of the neighborhood into account when calculating or not?

If not, how do you personally get a feel for the neighborhood then?

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In my opinion House Canary in combination with RealFlow make a terrific marketing team. 

The new way to prospect.

1. Get your leads or more leads using RealFlow.
2, Use google maps to view the property and the neighborhood.
3. Check Zillow or some other free app to get a feel for the property leads developed.
4. Drive by your list of properties and do an exterior inspection. Look for distress, realtor signs etc.
5. If it has your interest use House Canary to nail it down and get information for making a good offer.
6. Contact an experienced realtor who is a member of you REIA. and get their feedback
7. After getting their feedback make the offer using an experienced realtor who is a member of your REIA. 

The old way.
1. Drive around looking for signs and properties you are interested in.
2. Team up with a realtor and drive around with them looking at MLS listings.
3. Check recent sales
4. Make an offer.

Things to look out for.
1. Do groups of teenagers roam the streets.
2. Ratio of boarded up houses / Vacant houses / Abandoned houses.
3. Age of community
4. Sales at copurthouse steps.

These are all great tips but must be used in a real world scenario. Do you want to rent section 8. The boarded up houses may not be a problem. Do you want to rent to executives, buy in a better neighborhood.

Everything depends on your comfort level and the niche you wish to tackle.

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