House vs Apt. Rent

[Renee R.]

I've used www.rentometer.com to get an idea of median rent for my target properties. I've found it pretty much on target, until today. Is this tool reliable for houses or just apartments? Is there a comparable tool for rents of houses? I've also checked Craigslist, but it's hard to find enough comparable properties to draw a meaningful conclusion. Suggestions?

[Kyle J.]

Rentometer can be on target, or way off.  You just never know because the only criteria that it weighs when deciding if your rent is low, reasonable, or too high, is how many bedrooms there are. It gives no weight to the number of bathrooms, size of the house, condition of the house, or even if it's a house vs apartment. Those variables simply cannot be ignored when trying to determine an accurate rent amount.

I do check Rentometer, mainly to get the locations of other properties that it's comparing mine to.  And then I do additional follow-up on those properties to see if they really are appropriate comparables.

I also check Craigslist, Zillow, and "for rent" signs in yards around my properties.  I use all of these methods every time because no one source is completely reliable or without flaws.

Here's another good resource right here on BP: The Ultimate Guide to Fair Market Rents