Rent question

[hinestro]

I am looking to buy a either a single family or a condo/townhouse as a rental property. Does anyone know of any references ro websites that has informaiton regarding the rental market, e.g  vacancy rates, demand, avg rent price, etc..? Any help will greatly be appreciated!!
Thanks ???

[Money-Money-Money]

Hey Hinestro,

Where is your farm area your looking at? You need to know your area on rental market before you dive in! First thing I suggest is get to know your area your looking in. Get all information you can possibly get on it! than dive in!

Good Luck!!!

MONEY!!!

[hinestro]

Hi,

Thanks for the reply. I live in S. Florida which I beleive has been pretty good for the rental market. It is seasonal and the winter months are the best because of all the snowbirds. I have spoken with real estate agents and have done lots of research. Just wanted to know from anyone with the rental exp. if there are good references or sites that I should refer to?

Thanks

[Money-Money-Money]

What you might want to do is get some RE agents in your network. Network out with them so they could tell you what the going rates are for rental properties.
Another good thing to try to do is ask them for a list of all their properties that might be in their market...

Just a few things you could do. Maybe even try the county website, they might have going rates for rentals in your area!!


MONEY!!!

[sestep]

i only have 1 rental property, but to determine all of the above I collected the sunday real estate section and made spreadsheets of my target area.  I looked at the deposit amont & rent, and how long they were listed in the paper.  I was able to rent my house out before my 1st payment was due.  I am clearing $150 amonth, I am charging VERY slightly under market rate but I have a great tenant, who doesnt trash things & pays on time.  I hope to keep her for years to come.  Hope this helps

[travistane]

If you wanted to buy condos or apartment try approach property agents who can help you determine some good options and areas that suits your convenience. Most likely you just have to gather data that can support your preference.

[Estrogen Hostage]

I find other landlords to be very helpful in telling me stuff like that. Last night my five year old and I went for a walk in a neighborhood that I was curious about. I saw several signs for rentals and called them. It was a very easy conversation:

me: "Hi, I'm calling about your rental house listed on Elm st."

them: "I actually just rented it and haven't pulled the sign yet. Sorry."

me: "That's OK. I'm actually another investor that is doing some market research. Do you mind telling me a little about the place?"

them: "no, it's a two bedroom that rents for usually between $650-$675. It's nice inside with a large kitchen and open floor plan. It has one garage."

me: "Would you say you have a hard time getting and keeping renters there?"

Them: "no, not at all."

Me: OK, thanks a lot for your time!"



That's all I do. I've only rarely found someone who won't talk to another investor. Sometimes they take the opportunity to ask me about my rentals in the area, and I'm happy to share the same information and offer comparisons to their property.

In my case I determined that I would not be interested in that neighborhood and that it didn't fit my criteria. Those were $70-$80k duplexes and I'm not interested in owning property at that income level.

Plus I had a blast with my daughter!! She did too, she was busy telling her mom about it this morning (she got cold and I gave her my coat and then she had two on. I put my hand backwards through the sleeve so we could still hold hands).

[Ann Menam]

Hi,

I used a great site www.rentometer.com.  You would enter the address, or city, or zip where your property exists, number or bedrooms, and what you'd like to charge for rent.  It will pull up a map showing you all the rental properties in the area and how much they are charging for rent.  It really helped us a lot.  Best of Luck.

[WinaltHome]

Well, other than this forum, I recommend you to use redfin if you have on your area. Visit their website to make sure. 

[CalRehabber]

Rentometer may not be that accurate since in some neighborhoods, only a block or two away become very ghetto and you rental income can drop by 30 - 50%

I've found that the best thing is to hang out in the neighborhoods your interested in, talk to people and any cops you see around.

Also look for "For Rent" signs, call and find out what that property will be renting for.

Cops are really you best resource if you can charm one enough to divulge how often they have to go into any given neighborhood.