re: Comparable sales

You are pretty savvy, I wouldn't worry about not having an agent. Most everyone that tells you that you must have an agent is an agent, mortgage broker or has something to gain by you using an agent. Anyway they are desperate to get clients right now. Call them up and tell them you are looking. Make them do all the leg work, and present it to you. you will have to field their calls, but you will not be on the hook for them. You have the complete upper hand with almost any agent at this moment, use it to your advantage.

I have had a buyers agent take me to visit 20+ houses without signing anything. And this was when the real estate market was in much better shape.

The one thing that you may miss by not having an agent is a steady hand. It will probably be a very large financial transaction, and someone to keep you balanced is good. But the problems with agents are their interests are not aligned with yours. At all. They want to get you in the most expensive house as fast as they can.