Rental Income Estimator

[Henry Derbes]

Good morning BP crew! I am curious to know if anyone has recommendations regarding which tools to use for estimating rental rates for investment properties. I am new to the game, and trying to figure out what set of tools I'm going to use going forward in my analyses. I am familiar with Rentometer, as that has been discussed several times in the podcast. That said, here are my specific questions: 

1. Is it worth paying the subscription fee for the professional version? (assuming that I use it regularly, and am aggressively researching various markets) Does paying the fee and including more information significantly effect it's validity? 

2. How much faith do you have for its estimates in local markets that you know well? (is it accurate?)

3. Are there similar tools which you have found to be better? Especially if there are similar tools that I wont have to pay for. I have no problem investing money if it's a good resource, but I'm naturally interested if someone else can do the job for free! 

Thanks in advance for the discussion!

[Roushel Asuncion]

One way I use to estimate rent to is to look on Zillow or Realtor.com, search similar homes for rent as the one I try to rent out (on the same street, with the same number of beds etc). I will then have an idea how much to charge.  Also the best way is to reach out to a property manager in that area and just have a discussion, let them know you are looking for an investment property and are curious as to how much rent you can charge.