How to Estimate Rents

[Alexander Tesfamicael]

Hi BP Community - 

I'm a real estate investor looking to buy a triplex or fourplex in the Houston, TX market. I'm wondering what tools/websites investors use to quickly estimate the rental income of a MF property. My goal is to get to the point where I can look at a triplex or fourplex and know whether it'll pass the 1% rule or not (where the predicted total rental exceeds 1% of the purchase price).

As I churn through analyzing deals, my concern is that I'm inaccurately estimating rental income of the property because each property usually has its own mix of bd/br/sq ft. In comparison, this process is MUCH easier for single-family homes.

I understand that a realtor with access to the MLS can get a pretty accurate read with a quick CMA, but I'm talking as an investor without access to the MLS doing initial analysis to send the more promising deals to my realtor.

My current process is:

- go to https://www.zillow.com/rental-manager/price-my-rental/

- go to https://houston.craigslist.org/d/apartments-housing-for-rent/search/apa

Search for units that as closely as possible match:

1. 1) Location of the property
2. 2) Number of bedrooms and bathrooms of the unit I'm estimating the rent for
3. 3) Square footage
4. 4) Amenities such as air conditioning, parking, shared common spaces
5. 5) Condition of the unit

Thank you in advance for your help!