Getting Comps and Rents without many similar properties

[Alex Rodgers]

Hi everyone!

I'm just getting started out in real estate investing after learning and reading about it for months. I've been looking to make my first purchase in a city with a population of ~100k. The problem I'm having lately is that there aren't many good comparables out there. Both in terms of nearby rentals and recently sold properties. This is making it hard to determine both ARV and what I would charge for rent after refurbishing a property.

For example, I'm interested in a 3/2 ranch style house built in the 1960s. In the past year only 3 other houses have been sold in the neighborhood 2 were distressed and one was a 2022 new construction. The house sits on the corner of a 4 lane road, across from the road is a much nicer neighborhood with more recently sold houses but I don't think I can use them because the area is very different.

It's the same problem with rents, there are no 3/2 rentals nearby, only a single 3/1 and one 2/2.

How do you go about getting comps in this case? How do you go about determining how much to charge for rent? Any advice would be great!