Determining comps when there is nothing comparable??

[Kyle Gregg]

I am currently estimating what i could rent a 3/1 in my area of Baltimore. It is a side by side duplex on a small piece of land. The immediate surrounding area is somewhat rural but its not too far from more populated areas with large multi family buildings. 

My problem is that the comps are all condos/apartments in these large multi family buildings. Is it right estimate my rents based on these comps? There isn't many duplexes in this area to appropriately base monthly rent. 

Could this property be a potential problem, seeing that it is somewhat 'unique', when it comes time to find a tenant? 

[David Midgett]

Kyle- I too would prefer to have a duplex comp instead of a nearby condo/apartment.  As you suspect, a duplex and an apartment are apples and oranges to most tenants, and the difference in maintenance/repairs/management can be significantly different on your end.

One way to get a baseline is to look at other parts of your city where duplexes and apartments are both plentiful in a single neighborhood, and look at the ratio of rents between those two asset classes.  Then apply the ratio to your nearby apartments.