How to determine was a property will rent for

[Tony Otis]

I'm considering buying a buy and hold rental property. It's already in good condition, although small; 2BD/1BA. 

Looking at craigslist and padmapper, there just aren't that many apartments in the neighborhood currently listed.  I think it'd rent ballpark $1000 to $1200 a month, but $1000/mo gives me a 7% cash on cash return and $1200 gives me a 14% cash on cash return.  A very important difference.

This will be my first rental property.  Should I only stick to neighborhoods with plenty of rentals listed so I can be more confident in the income it will bring in?

[Tony Otis]

Originally posted by @David S.:

If you sign up for Zillow, there are old listings of what a unit was advertised for in the past. There may also be pictures and amenities in the profile.

You could try local PM's for rental data.

I know it may be difficult to find data, but it must be done.

 How do you use Zillow to see rents for units current not listed for rent?  I'm logged in, but not seeing any option to do something like that.  That'd be really helpful though!

The neighborhood this house is in is only 10% rental units so the large majority of the houses have never been rented.