All Forum Posts by: Dan P.

Thank you for that link. I will call that number.

An inquirer asked if I would accept 2 german shepherd service animals. Two dogs are fine with extra deposits. German shepherds are on my restricted breeds list (but of my choice not because of an insurance requirement).

At this point there is no proof of them being service animals but I am wondering what is the legal response? If provided with documentation to being service animals does that waive my restrictions on breeds, numbers, size etc.?

Thanks for the link. The shortcoming I had with padmapper and the like is that it is only lists current rentals. So the likelihood of finding several rental properties nearby a place I am considering buying was low.

By collecting rentals into a SS as they pop up I then have a historical database of rental properties. With batchgeo I can map all of those and if I am looking at a house on 123 Anystreet I can see that 3 months ago 124 Anystreet rented for $900 a month. I wouldn't know that from padmapper unless 124 was still for rent.

I have been collecting rental listings on CL for a few months so I have a data set to do rent analysis on when looking at potential properties. The pain has been sifting through my spreadsheet to find nearby rentals that I have recorded. Than I found this tool:

http://www.batchgeo.com

You load up a simple spreadsheet and it maps everything on a google map. I give it the address, the rent, the beds/baths, and sqft. Once you save your map it gives you a link to it that you can search like any google map. So once I have all my historical rental properties loaded I can search for an address I am looking to buy and easily see every rental nearby that I have recorded.

Makes it very easy to do rental comps.

Thank you all for the great responses. Its always good to keep in mind that a house rental is a product and needs to differentiate itself like any product.

Shanequa J., I believe that accidental landlords are guided by different decision criteria than income investors and their decisions may therefore appear economically irrational. As an example, if I bought during the bubble and then encountered financial trouble I may very well rent out at a rate that just covers PITI, or even less, and then downsize. I would be thinking that my rent is covering the mortgage and once my personal situation improves I can move back into my house.

Dale Osborn, that is a great point since as the above scenario shows that just covering PITI is probably not going to be a viable long term strategy.

As Steve L. points out, income investors have always operated next to accidental landlords. So I guess my OP is about the times we live in today in which (I think) there are more accidental landlords out there given the housing bust and consequent recession. How has that trend changed things since 2007? More competition in the higher rent ranges? More opportunities to buy houses from accidental landlords? etc.?

Hi all. I have been considering investing real estate (renting) and have been stretching my legs through the neighborhoods to get a sense of things, reading these awesome forums, and generally noodling out my business plan. In thinking about my market I have a question for the collective knowledge of this forum.

One thing I have noticed in my area is that the rents cap out at 1100-1200. But within that range there is a huge span of value. At those rents, SFRs range from 3bd/2bt 1500 sqft to 5bd/3bt 3000 sq ft on a wooded acre with a free horse.

In looking at sale records you can tell that the top rental range is composed of people buying at low prices and immediately renting (i.e. professional landlords) and people who bought their house at peak price before the bust and are now renting it out rather than selling.

So if you're a landlord in your top rental range and competing with accidental landlords what affect does that have on your business? As a consumer, why would I rent the 3/2 1500 sqft when I could get so much more for the same price?

In particular, since I have no skin in the game yet I am wondering if I should target properties that would cashflow at the 800-900 range where there is much less competition from mcMansion rentals.