{"id":4796,"date":"2026-11-10T20:38:34","date_gmt":"2026-11-10T20:38:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myrealestatedojo.com\/subto\/?p=4796"},"modified":"2026-11-10T20:38:34","modified_gmt":"2026-11-10T20:38:34","slug":"how-to-run-comps-off-market-house-cash-offer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myrealestatedojo.com\/subto\/how-to-run-comps-off-market-house-cash-offer\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Run Comps for an Off-Market House Before Making a Cash Offer"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>To run comps for an off-market house, find recent closed sales that a buyer would have considered alongside the property. Compare their location, condition, and features, then use the evidence to build a price range. When you turn that range into a cash offer, subtract the costs and margin your plan requires. The seller\u2019s asking price can tell you whether a conversation is worth having. The comparable sales tell you whether the proposed price deserves further work.<\/p>\n<h2>Watch the DOJO lesson<\/h2>\n<p>In this DOJO case study, see how Mr No FluFF describes buying below market value. Use the guide below to build your own comparison before making a cash offer.<\/p>\n<p><iframe width=\"960\" height=\"540\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/OPK2C-Ve5eo\" title=\"How to Run Comps for an Off-Market House Before Making a Cash Offer \u2014 DOJO video lesson\" loading=\"lazy\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Off-market means the property is being discussed outside the usual public listing process. It says little about value on its own. A house can be off-market because the owner wants privacy, because they have a preferred timeline, or because they have never tried listing it. The useful question is what similar properties actually sold for and what this property will cost you to own, repair, and eventually sell. If you are still at the prospecting stage, start with the Dojo guide to <a href=\"https:\/\/myrealestatedojo.com\/subto\/how-to-find-off-market-properties-without-a-marketing-budget\/\">finding off-market properties without a marketing budget<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Write down the property you are actually buying<\/h2>\n<p>Start with the parcel and address, then record the property type, above-grade living area, bedrooms, bathrooms, lot, parking, and major improvements. Add year built, obvious condition issues, and any features that could narrow the buyer pool. A house on a busy road and a house with the same floor plan on a quiet interior street may attract different buyers. Two homes can also share a street address pattern while sitting in different subdivisions, school boundaries, or taxing jurisdictions. Make sure you have the correct parcel before collecting prices.<\/p>\n<p>Distinguish what you saw from what a record or the owner told you. If a converted garage accounts for the difference between advertised and recorded square footage, check the building records and ask a local professional how it should be treated. Until you have that answer, run the analysis using the supported living area. An attractive spreadsheet built on the larger number can disappear the moment a later buyer\u2019s lender, insurer, or appraiser evaluates the conversion.<\/p>\n<h2>Build a set of closed sales from the same buyer pool<\/h2>\n<p>Look first for closed sales of the same property type in the immediate market area. Prioritize homes a buyer could reasonably substitute for the subject. Compare home size, age, condition, layout, lot, and any feature that matters locally. In a subdivision with repeated floor plans, a similar floor plan can tell you more than a home a few streets closer with a very different design. In a rural market, you may need a wider search and a clearer explanation of why those homes share a buyer pool.<\/p>\n<p>Give priority to reliable closed prices. County records, where they include useful sale information, and local MLS data obtained through an agent or other authorized source can help verify dates, prices, property descriptions, and reported concessions. Public listing histories can add photos and condition context. The availability of sale prices and concession details varies. If you cannot verify a reported sale price or learn enough about the transaction to interpret it, give that sale less weight and say why.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/selling-guide.fanniemae.com\/sel\/b4-1.3-08\/comparable-sales\">Fannie Mae comparable-sales guidance<\/a> describes how appraisers look for similar sales in the relevant market area and consider transaction details. It is a useful reference for asking better questions about your own evidence. Your investor worksheet is an estimate for your decision. A formal appraisal follows its own professional requirements and can reach a different conclusion.<\/p>\n<h2>Separate as-is comps from repaired comps<\/h2>\n<p>Use one set of sales to estimate what the house could sell for in its present condition and another set to estimate its resale value after a defined scope of work. A renovated house with updated systems and a finished kitchen belongs in the second group if your property currently needs that work. A dated home with working mechanicals may belong in neither group if your house has water intrusion or a failed electrical system. Take enough notes to explain those differences without relying on one price-per-square-foot calculation.<\/p>\n<p>For each comp, keep the close date, verified price, distance or market area, condition notes, and any concessions you know about. Add a line explaining why you kept it. A sale with an atypical buyer-seller relationship or unusual terms may deserve less weight. A current listing can show competing inventory and help you test a proposed resale price. A pending sale signals that a buyer and seller reached some agreement, but the final price and terms may remain unknown until closing.<\/p>\n<p>When possible, photograph the subject with permission and use a contractor\u2019s written scope to define the repaired condition. If your resale comps have replaced roofs, updated bathrooms, and a better floor plan, a quote for paint and flooring may leave your finished property in a different tier. Adjust your resale expectation or your scope. If adding more work barely moves the supported sale price, keep the budget focused on what the next buyer will actually pay for.<\/p>\n<h2>Choose a price range and explain what moves it<\/h2>\n<p>Suppose three hypothetical repaired homes sold for $249,000, $258,000, and $265,000. The top sale has a two-car garage your property lacks. The middle sale has the same floor plan and similar parking. The low sale has a similar location but an older kitchen than the one you are budgeting. These facts could support underwriting a $250,000 downside resale and a $258,000 base case. Your reasons are more valuable than the average because someone else can review your assumptions and challenge them.<\/p>\n<p>Ask what would change the range before you make an offer. A confirmed roof replacement may narrow the repair estimate. A recent closed sale with the same layout can improve confidence. Finding that two of your best sales include features you cannot replicate may lower the ceiling. Document where the resale range comes from and what you would need to learn to raise or lower it. When a seller asks how you got to your number, you will be able to discuss evidence instead of negotiating from a percentage slogan.<\/p>\n<h2>Calculate the maximum cash offer from the downside case<\/h2>\n<p>Start with the lower supported resale figure. Subtract repair costs, contingency, acquisition closing costs, holding costs, selling costs, and the minimum pre-tax margin required for your plan. Use actual estimates from the people who would do the work where possible. The result is a ceiling under your assumptions. Your opening offer, if you make one, depends on the seller\u2019s circumstances and on what you can responsibly commit to.<\/p>\n<p>Here is a simplified example. A $250,000 downside resale minus $31,000 in repairs, $6,000 in repair contingency, $4,000 in acquisition closing costs, $8,000 in holding costs, $17,000 in selling costs, and a $25,000 pre-tax target margin gives a $159,000 ceiling. At the $258,000 base-case resale and the same costs, the arithmetic would support $167,000. Offering the higher figure puts $8,000 of the target margin at risk if the property sells at the downside figure. The exercise makes that tradeoff visible before you sign.<\/p>\n<p>Check the cash requirement separately. Even if you buy at $159,000 without borrowing, you need funds for closing, repairs as invoices arrive, and the carrying period. Property taxes, insurance, maintenance, and association charges can continue after a cash closing. If the seller carries a note or a subject-to loan stays in place, those structures also create ongoing payment obligations. If your plan is to buy debt-free, confirm at closing how any existing liens will be satisfied and what cash is available beyond the purchase price. See the Dojo guide to <a href=\"https:\/\/myrealestatedojo.com\/subto\/how-to-buy-off-market-houses-at-a-deep-discount-without-debt\/\">buying off-market houses at a deep discount without debt<\/a> for the broader approach.<\/p>\n<h2>Test delays and inspection surprises separately<\/h2>\n<p>Run one version with a longer holding period and another with a larger repair scope. Then combine the two if the same issue can cause both. For example, discovering a sewer problem might add a contractor bill, delay interior work, and extend the time you pay for insurance and utilities. If a repair would consume your entire contingency and stretch your timeline at the same time, the initial price ceiling needs another pass. Make sure you can carry the property during the longer timeline with funds you actually control.<\/p>\n<p>Ask what the strongest comp would look like to a skeptical buyer. Would that buyer value a finished basement the way your spreadsheet does? Would they see traffic noise or a functional issue you missed on the first walkthrough? Would the photos support the condition category you chose? A short visit at another time of day, a local agent\u2019s opinion, or a review of recent listings can reveal why two apparently similar houses command different prices.<\/p>\n<h2>Turn the worksheet into a clear offer<\/h2>\n<p>Use the supported price range, written scope, and downside budget to decide whether to proceed. Explain what your offer assumes about condition, occupancy, and access. Be precise about which closing date you can meet and what must be verified first. Work with a qualified local closing professional to review ownership, liens, and contract terms. A comp sheet estimates what the property may be worth. It cannot establish who has authority to sell or what claims must be dealt with at closing.<\/p>\n<p>Keep the comp sheet after the conversation. If a seller returns in six weeks, update the sales, bids, and holding costs before quoting the same price. If you eventually buy, compare actual costs and resale proceeds with your worksheet. That record shows whether the next improvement should be better sale selection, a tighter repair scope, or a more realistic timeline. To see how a cash offer fits alongside other deal structures, take the <a href=\"https:\/\/myrealestatedojo.com\/subto\/free-subject-to-real-estate-course\/\">free Dojo real estate course<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Use closed comparable sales to value an off-market house, estimate repairs, and calculate a cash offer that still works if resale comes in low.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[113],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4796","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-flipping-houses"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myrealestatedojo.com\/subto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4796","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myrealestatedojo.com\/subto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myrealestatedojo.com\/subto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myrealestatedojo.com\/subto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myrealestatedojo.com\/subto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4796"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/myrealestatedojo.com\/subto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4796\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4798,"href":"https:\/\/myrealestatedojo.com\/subto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4796\/revisions\/4798"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myrealestatedojo.com\/subto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myrealestatedojo.com\/subto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myrealestatedojo.com\/subto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}