Can I charge more for rent If my property is close to the downtown area of a large city?

[Cory Mickler]

I am looking to buy out of town property. I am familiar with the area and travel their frequently. I looked into the average rental price and I found that it was around 600 month plus utilities at the minimum.

I cannot locate any rentals in the immediate area on craigslist but rent-o-meter reports that the properties will rent for 850-900 a month.

I am nervous because I haven't rented any properties in this location before but It seems reasonable that I could fetch 850 a month plus utilities except water and I could easily make a tidy profit even renting as low a 550 a month.

Is the property worth investing in or should i stay away from it?

[Christopher Leon]

a wise man once said invest in what you know. Respectfully, Sounds like you don't know. You can't rely on rent O meter to determine what fair market rent is. Also, it's not about getting top rent. It's all about the NET! Rent the unit at a fair but competitive price and your unit will stay rented longer and turn over quicker. The difference your talking about renting it out for can be lost in single month vacancy most of the time. I'd prefer to have the rent just a little lower to be competitive as to keep the unit in play longer. So keep it simple, don't be greedy, do your homework to determine what you can rent it for quickly while still attracting the right tenant. Good luck