How much is that York, PA home really worth?

By far the most important and sometimes the most difficult question when it comes to real estate investing in York PA or anywhere for that matter is trying to figure out exactly how much a home is worth. Seasoned investors will pretty much always rely on their relationships with industry professionals like appraisers or realtors to find this out. As would real estate wholesalers like myself.

However, as times have gotten more difficult, it's harder and harder to find professionals who have the time to go out of their way to help you when sometimes it doesn't benefit them financially at all. It's sad when this happens but it's understandable.

So when it does and you can't get the information you need from either an appraiser or realtor, where should you turn?

You're probably well aware there's lots of places on the internet to turn to. Some require money and some are free but how do you know which are the most accurate.

Well, if you're buying homes in York PA or investing in York PA real estate or anywhere for that matter, here's my "opinion" and why you should listen to it.

Over the last decade, I've been involved in real estate investing and the mortage business and have seen a lot of appraisals over this time. And what I've been paying attention to is comparing the actual appraisal value to the FREE estimates available online with numerous sources.

By doing so, I've noticed a trend and seen first hand which one of these home value estimators comes closest to the actual appraisal value consistently. This is extremely important information for you.

I'll start with the worst and end with what I feel is the best source for you right now.

First off there is:

http://www.zillow.com/ (consistently is off target from the actual home values. The value indicated at http://www.zillow.com/ typically comes in lower than the actual appraised value.)

http://www.realestateabc.com/ (used to be pretty good a little while back but now the values match that of Zillow and in fact Zillow is referenced on their site as well.)

http://www.cyberhomes.com/ (this is a good one and the value estimates on this are pretty close to actual appraised values. And, they will also provide you pictures of the home and the surrounding area which is a nice feature.)

And by far...the best source I've found lately is.

http://www.reversemortgageguides.org/reverse_mortgage/property_value_search (it's a long one I know. It's something I stumbled upon one day in my search but belive it or not, the value estimates on this are very close to actual appraisal values. This is the one I now turn to first.)

Now, of course they're not 100% accurate but the closer you get, the better. And also, some addresses don't get found on either of these sites. Depending on where you are, there just might not be enough data.

Enjoy. Mikk.