Investing and renting in rural communities and small towns

[Noah Carrico]

I live in a small farming town about an hour from the regional city. I have noticed that online tools are consistently inaccurate for my area, if they have any data at all. For many properties there are few comps and the few local landlords I have asked are reluctant to share their numbers (understandably). For those who invest in places off the beaten path, where do you get your numbers for things like rent estimates?

[Erin Dreher]

I ask around the neighborhood. If I can catch someone outside I ask how much other houses that rent for so I can get a gauge for what I should put a house on the market. Talk to the locals... they will likely know the going rates.