Hooch what tools are you using to determine market rents for an area?

As a landlord what tools would you suggest a person could use to determine market rents for an area? Could these be found online, or do you have to really get out and drive the neighborhoods and call houses for rent?

Either a realtor or some local property managers can give you local market rents.

Why don’t you check out the newspaper and craigslist. That ought to give you a good idea.

As a landlord what tools would you suggest a person could use to determine market rents for an area? Could these be found online, or do you have to really get out and drive the neighborhoods and call houses for rent?

It is real important to me that my numbers are accurate. I never take risks. Everything I do is in a highly educated manor. I want the market rents for the same block if possible. If not, in a comparable house very near by. But, I am wholesaling to myself so I am not going to screw myself. If I was wholesaling to someone else I would overestimate the rent and not be that concerned about it.

I bought a duplex yesterday and searched Craigslist for houses for rent near by prior to purchase. I couldn’t find any. I then went to Rentometer.com. I don’t know why I bother because it is not accurate. I then searched the Roanoke Times (local paper) online classifieds. Nothing either. I then went down to Books A Million and got a Sunday paper which is when most of the for rent ads are here. I got a few that were relatively close, were also multifamily houses and same number of BR’s, but I want absolute confirmation. Save your Sunday papers to review.

I then went to the house and knocked on other multifamilies around it. Fortunately there are many. I asked tenants how much they pay and how many br’s they have. I told them that I am thinking about buying the house down the road and have to know because my offer is going to be based on it. In the process I found out quite a bit of information on the seller and stories of the various people who used to rent there. I also got confirmation now in two sources, the paper and people. I always take what the surrounding people say with a grain of salt as they can be complete idiots but usually full of useful info. I now was positive that each of the 2br units will rent for $525.

So, I figured $1050 in rent X 30 = $31,500 and I have about 7K in repairs (jackleg doing it) so I wanted to pay 24,500. I told the seller I will buy it right now for 20K and explained the “”“21K”“” in repairs that are needed. Jackleg X 3 = licensed contractor price. No, I didn’t get a licensed contractor to bid on it. I just know my jacklegs can do things in jackleg manor for a third of the price. And it is my objective to show the seller how much of a dump they have and how they are breaking me by the extreme cost of repairs. I then reminded him that the fixed up value of that house in this crappy market is going to be around 40K and I am already in it for 41K (20 from me and 21 for repairs). He hummed and hawwed and I let him WORK ME up to 25K. So I paid $500 more than I wanted to. Big deal. He actually felt like he pulled one over on me with all of the complaints he heard from me about how he was twisting my arm and all I wanted to do is buy the house from him for a fair price :biggrin

He walked away with a smile on his face and so did I since I knocked him off his horse, smacked him around a little and he didn’t even know I was doing it.

So there is the answer to your question with a little walk through on a Hooch deal so you can get an idea of WHAT I am doing too.