Rental Property Investor · Gainesville, FL · Member since 2015 · 1k+ posts · 432 votes
Hello,
I use a number of sites including tapping the knowledge of property managers.
PMs know better the trends in renting; what's renting better in an area (ie 4/2,3/2,3/1) and what it's renting for but I don't want to always call them on every property. I call on the ones that I am about to or strongly considering putting a contract on.
I've been using rentometer, zillow, and realtor to get an idea of what people are asking for and in some cases zillow will show off-market and what it was listed at (whether it rented at that amount of not). Craigslist just doesn't have any organizational pages that I feel I can get any information. I search for an area and get other areas.
How do I read the rentometer ticks on the map? I found 2 red ticks, one was 'current' and the other was 'historical'. Their FAQ doesn't have anything on reading the map. The green and yellow can also have the same descriptions.
Rentometer just uses what other people put into it when searching to create comps. I would use it as a place to start, but don't take it as Gospel. I would highly recommend using the map feature on craigslist to comp rentals. That way you search the area exactly and you can then figure out whether they are comparable by clicking on them individually.
Rentometer just uses what other people put into it when searching to create comps. I would use it as a place to start, but don't take it as Gospel. I would highly recommend using the map feature on craigslist to comp rentals. That way you search the area exactly and you can then figure out whether they are comparable by clicking on them individually.
Agreed, not using it as gospel but I am trying to get an idea of area rental. Didn't know of the map on CL I'll go back and see if I can figure it out. Thanks
The colors on the map correspond to the colors on the meter, high (red) low (green) etc. Some historical some current. Not necessarily what it rented for based on my experience, just the listing they found.
I think it's pretty cool, actually. Another you can try is www.padmapper.com, but be sure to turn off the Apartments.com listing source if you own SFR's.
I think it's pretty cool, actually. Another you can try is www.padmapper.com, but be sure to turn off the Apartments.com listing source if you own SFR's.
Thanks Marc.
I've used that as well. So far I have been using rentometer and realtor.com to find what is current. Unfortunately, there still doesn't seem to be a proven method for getting good historical rents other than PMs.
And I say historical in the sense that it goes back one year. Anything further is not going to help. Looking at the last year that is essentially current, make sense. What is being rented now if I am looking at property in an area I want to know what the current/historical-2-1-yr-back. Of course what changes in the current going forward I would hope to be on target when I set my rates or look for property in an area that will be aligned with market.