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Short Summary
Main recommendation: Value a property by running comparable sales ("comps") using the appraisal rules an appraiser would apply, since lenders rely on appraisers and your ability to predict that value is what makes you money on the buy. The video lays out eight rules covering location, size, property type, age, sale recency, and adjustments for differences between properties.
Key Points
- Stay within the same subdivision by not crossing major roads; a closer suitable comp will always be preferred by an appraiser over one farther away, and Jamil notes he's seen comps within a quarter mile used in the same subdivision.
- Only compare properties within plus or minus 200 square feet of your subject property's size.
- Compare like property types and construction styles (single-story to single-story, flat roof to flat roof, brick to brick), because stairs and construction differences change value and demand.
- Use comps built within about five years of your property, since construction technology shifts between build generations affect value.
- In a market shift, use comps no more than three to six months old.
- Apply dollar or percentage adjustments for differences in features and surroundings, including bedrooms, bathrooms, pools, garages, carports, traffic, and commercial or multifamily proximity.
Details Worth Noting
- Concrete instructions:
- Confirm same subdivision by checking that no major road separates the subject from the comp.
- Compare only homes within 200 square feet of the subject's size (for a 1,000 sq ft subject, use comps between 800 and 1,200 sq ft).
- Match property type, number of stories, roof style, architectural style, and construction materials.
- Choose comps built within about five years of the subject's construction year (e.g., 1970 subject: use 1965 to 1975 comps).
- Use comps sold within three to six months of today during a market shift.
- For homes under $500,000, adjust by $10,000 per bedroom, bathroom, pool, or garage, and $5,000 per carport.
- For homes over $500,000, adjust by $20,000 per bedroom, pool, or garage, $10,000 per bathroom, and $10,000 per carport.
- For homes under $500,000 backing or siding traffic or commercial/high-density multifamily, subtract $10,000; fronting them, subtract $20,000.
- For homes over $500,000 backing or siding those, subtract 10 percent; fronting them, subtract 20 percent.
- Count only above-grade square footage; basements or guest houses may be valued at up to 50 percent.
- The speaker says stairs lower demand because mobility-limited buyers, often older, prefer single-story homes, which creates a value difference.
- Build-generation differences include construction quality and updated electrical, plumbing, and roofing materials, so homes from the same era need similar updates.
- The adjustment figures are presented as the speaker's appraiser-sourced rules of thumb, not as universal standards.
Bottom Line
Strong comp work depends less on finding any sale and more on matching property type, location, size, age, and recency, then making disciplined adjustments, especially as the market shifts.
