Finding a decent comp for a certain property can be very challenging. Fortunately there are many, many online tools that you can use to help expedite the process.

Perhaps the best one to use is Real Quest. Many think that this is more of a nationwide service. But actually Real Quest is almost right in your own backyard. Real Quest is deriving their data from First American. And First American pretty much has a rap on the whole country.

Perhaps one of the best things you can do is to just get to know your escrow agent. In fact, a lot of them will let you go right on line and tap into their web site for information. Instead of pulling your own comps, you can sometimes get a realtor to do that for you. As far as how much they will charge may vary from one agent to another, but sometimes you can get it as cheap as a lobster dinner. Many of these realtors will take presents. And because they do this for a living, they can get it done a lot faster.

So, when do you go for an appraisal instead of just comps that you pull from a realtor? Anytime you're going to spend your money or take any risk, you better get the property appraised. But this does not mean that you will have an appraisal done each time you make an offer. Instead, you will order the appraisal after you have the deed, after you check the title, and after you put it under contract. Whether you win or lose, an appraisal will cost you money. After all, people generally don't like working for free. So you don't get an appraisal unless you know, or if you're just unsure and want one for your own benefit and/or you're about to risk money and/or your credit. Don't even think about buying a home that takes money or credit without getting it appraised first.

Sometimes it is difficult to know just how much to offer. Here’s where you can benefit from comps because they will enable you to come up with some assumptions as to what to offer. Once you make your decision, the appraisal will only verify those assumptions and they will be based on valid information. You will still have to use comps to find out what it's worth before you figure out what to offer.