I still need to work with traditional agents a lot of the time, however, and thus it can still be difficult to get even the best deal to stick if it’s non-traditional.

For our area, market rent prices are comparatively low and don't even come close to the 1% rule  (the rent to value ratio here is often more like  .5%, causing it to negative cash flow).

Comparatively I think the market rate would of been $3800 normal rental so assuming 5% vacancy $3610 then 5% management = $3429.50.

I usually get 2-3 bids per project to compare.

Then I'll pay back the HELOC as opposed to paying a traditional mortgage.

It wouldn't hurt to price it out with another lender just to compare.

This holds true when comparing all styles of real estate investing. 

We put it on FB and Craigslist with an aggressive weekly price compared to the competition but wanted to know if there was anywhere else someone could post it to get traffic.It has great space, on the biggest lake in West Michigan, dock, good parking, nice yard etc.

Wish I had BP at my fingertips when I was starting out - let me know if you're coming up this way (Plymouth....) and we can compare notes......

Good stuff up there.With me, especially because I've only accrued about 12 months experience in Chicago where we are buying right now, anytime I cannot identify true, apple-to-apples comparables, I might just pass on the deal altogether.Especially in Chicago where you have several types of homes (bungalows, ranches, cape cods, georgians, etc.), you really cannot comp one with the other unless it's the same style.Here are some general tips when comping homes:Never cross any major highways, and try not to cross any major streets if you can.