Tools that you wish you had

[Jama Mohamed]

Hi all,

So earlier this year I was pretty set on buying a SFH, but decided to drop it at the last moment after realizing it was a bad deal. Before that I had thought I did all of the research necessary and figured out whether I wanted it, but I guess there's always something that you don't know until it's too late (or just right before). For me it wasn't anything crazy, but just some number crunching for the area that I should have been more diligent about earlier.

So my question is, what tools do you all use to crunch numbers? In any step, be it finding the deal, vetting the deal, or running it after everything is set and done. Also, I'd love to hear about any tools or services you wish existed to help you with any of these steps. Aside from learning about real estate, I also like to make sites/apps/services and if there's a need then I'd love to get on it.

One example of something I wish I had was accurate rental information. I've seen a lot of websites with average rental information for an area, for example Zillow which appears to update it month by month. But what I really wish existed was more detailed rent information for specific lots. I know that typically people wouldn't post that sort of information, but if it were available it would make spreadsheet calculations a lot easier (and certain).

Another thing that would be really nice is a tool that can flag interesting events in past/present (such as a factory being built in an area) and give real estimated numbers for the effect on house and rental prices. Not just 'this will bring in more working people to rent' but more like '+40 2br SFH, +10 1br apt estimated within 10 miles for 12345 zip'. Now this sounds like sort of a longshot, but you've got to admit that it would be pretty useful!

Anyhow, I'd love to hear from all of you who have been doing this for much longer than I have!