Ready to Take the Leap for Tampa Rental Property....But Self Doubt is Creeping In

[Lakeisha Black]

Fellow BP colleagues...I need a sanity check. So I started looking at SFRs as a rental property since May. I have finally found a 4/3 property in the Tampa Riverbend neighborhood and have my 69K offer accepted. I have researched the rents from various sources - rentometer, craigslist, zillow, etc. I am pretty sure that I can get at least 1200/month. I think it is a decent area - working class neighborhood with no major crime in the area. Yesterday my husband takes a look at the property and he is doubtful that it is a decent neighborhood ("in my lowest days, I wouldn't live there") or that I can get the target rent. Even if I had to lower the rent, it would still cash flow at least 300/month. I have used the SFR rental analysis spreadsheet to confirm my numbers. There are some potential issues, but I am scheduling an inspection to ensure I understand the full picture.

Question:  What am I missing? Is it possible that no one would want to rent this house since I don't see many listings in that area? Is it likely that someone will be interested?  Did I get this property completely wrong? The house is located at 2107 W Comanche Ave Tampa, FL.

Thanks for your guidance.

Lakeisha