I may not be able to post these (I recall recent members/low volume posters can't post urls I believe) but the Gov'ts fair market rent (ie, guidelines on what section 8 will pay) is at huduser wit a suffix of org, or http://www.huduser.org/datasets/fmr.html. Recall, that it is a gov't compilation that is partly survey based but you must be careful b/c as to whether or not it includes an amount for utilities, and the fact that it may have an above market component to induce wary landlords to accept such tenants
People also will post an ad in the paper for a certain rent/rents and see how many people will call; technically this is misleading if you dont have an apt to rent but exactly simulates the process you will go through in tenant selection. If you get 20 calls or 1 call, you have your answer.
There is usually a source of rentals in your community...someone is marketshare leader or number two..and will have a lot of info. issue is they wont work with you to give you info if you arent going to give them business. So now you may have to pose as a renter...technically an issue if you dont really mean to rent but lots of info. Your mileage may vary.
REIS and Real Capital Analytics both have broad surveys of rents, but in institutional size/quality apt buildings, often with extra amenities such as garage parking, pools, rec rooms, etc. Note, these are quite expensive and bundeld with the kind of info REITs and developers would use for location analysis so comparability would be an issue (cost is several thousand to tens of thousands BTW)
At the end of the day, just check the local paper and keep a running tab of the rents for 1, 2, 3, 4 BR apts and you will see in a spreadsheet format the average, median, etc. It amazing how tight a central tendency falls out in most markets. Even if you are 'off' you probably wont be off by more than $50-$75 or so if you've done this with 2 or 3 sunday papers. The range you see above and below the average will reflect location and condition and the occasional mispricing/desperation.
My last advice is dont necessarily undercut on rent to get a fast fill...north jersey is pretty tight and believe it or not, a number of people will just assume a cheap apt is krap...and you may actually get less calls or poorer quality tenants that adversely (from your perspective) self select
by the way i am a newbie the problem I have been running into is exactly what you said dealjunky most websites that show rents are showcasing high rise apartment ****Must Reach Freshman Investor status before posting URL's***hat is a great model and I will take that advise
I am in the philly market most of the city is going through an entire resurgance. Some row homes on one block are selling for 399g and literally a block away they are selling for 20-30g. It really is mind boggling. I think alot of it is due to 10 yr tax abatement and proposed waterfront ****Must Reach Freshman Investor status before posting URL's*** would like to buy and hold, but alot of these nieghborhoods are in transition and I am afraid rents wont cover mortgages, I thought about flipping like alot of the investors are doing but in my case I need rental income.
National averages should not be applied to a specific market. Instead, use the local resources you have.
Call a few property management companies in your area and ask them what rent they would expect to receive for your property should you decide to place it under their management. The answers will give a truer indication of market rents for property in your neighborhood.
A resource that's local to everybody is your local rental management companies.
Just stop in and have a chat with the office people, tell them you're in the rental business and thinking of acquiring some rentals in their area, and see what they're currently seeing, and getting for the properties they manage.
They'll also tell you if more or fewer are needed, whether the market is sluggish or glutted, what their big demand is, etc.
To find thse rental companies, many of whom are connected to some of the larger RE Agencies, such as CB, C-21, etc., just check your local phone book.
The Institute of Real Estate Management used to publish annually a book which broke down income and expense for a wide variety of types of buildings in a wide range of cities. Can't remember the name just now. Haven't actually bought one in years but I'm sure they are still doing it.
Also what you need is of course average income for your area, but even all this stuff is really not where it is at.
Remember housing for a full family old style, Wife, Hubby and da kids avec cat or dog. If your units are representative of the area then you try to find the average income and that figure is then times .25 to 30% and thats your rental rate.. If you vary you will have vacancies and evictions. Also you have to be aware of the economics of the area. If you are working class and the local factory takes off for lower Slobodia your tenants are in big trouble. Some can adopt, learn new things, take two jobs. Some cannot, they have spent 15 years or so getting good at just one thing like ajusting a widget. thats it.
When I had units I spent a lot of time checking the world around them. I talked to tenants and pretty well knew what was happening. If you do this you can make corrections.
In the upper levels of middle
management there are also dislocations. But the persons involved are usualy not single sticks, they have a bunch of rods in the quiver and can swing to different companies.
online newspaper (like http://www.washingtonpost.com).
http://www.Apartments.com and http://www.rent.com.
I dunno if these serve jersey or not.
Good luck.
One of the above will email you places if they think you are moving soon
I may not be able to post these (I recall recent members/low volume posters can't post urls I believe) but the Gov'ts fair market rent (ie, guidelines on what section 8 will pay) is at huduser wit a suffix of org, or http://www.huduser.org/datasets/fmr.html. Recall, that it is a gov't compilation that is partly survey based but you must be careful b/c as to whether or not it includes an amount for utilities, and the fact that it may have an above market component to induce wary landlords to accept such tenants
People also will post an ad in the paper for a certain rent/rents and see how many people will call; technically this is misleading if you dont have an apt to rent but exactly simulates the process you will go through in tenant selection. If you get 20 calls or 1 call, you have your answer.
There is usually a source of rentals in your community...someone is marketshare leader or number two..and will have a lot of info. issue is they wont work with you to give you info if you arent going to give them business. So now you may have to pose as a renter...technically an issue if you dont really mean to rent but lots of info. Your mileage may vary.
REIS and Real Capital Analytics both have broad surveys of rents, but in institutional size/quality apt buildings, often with extra amenities such as garage parking, pools, rec rooms, etc. Note, these are quite expensive and bundeld with the kind of info REITs and developers would use for location analysis so comparability would be an issue (cost is several thousand to tens of thousands BTW)
At the end of the day, just check the local paper and keep a running tab of the rents for 1, 2, 3, 4 BR apts and you will see in a spreadsheet format the average, median, etc. It amazing how tight a central tendency falls out in most markets. Even if you are 'off' you probably wont be off by more than $50-$75 or so if you've done this with 2 or 3 sunday papers. The range you see above and below the average will reflect location and condition and the occasional mispricing/desperation.
My last advice is dont necessarily undercut on rent to get a fast fill...north jersey is pretty tight and believe it or not, a number of people will just assume a cheap apt is krap...and you may actually get less calls or poorer quality tenants that adversely (from your perspective) self select
thanks guys that is great info,
by the way i am a newbie the problem I have been running into is exactly what you said dealjunky most websites that show rents are showcasing high rise apartment ****Must Reach Freshman Investor status before posting URL's***hat is a great model and I will take that advise
I am in the philly market most of the city is going through an entire resurgance. Some row homes on one block are selling for 399g and literally a block away they are selling for 20-30g. It really is mind boggling. I think alot of it is due to 10 yr tax abatement and proposed waterfront ****Must Reach Freshman Investor status before posting URL's*** would like to buy and hold, but alot of these nieghborhoods are in transition and I am afraid rents wont cover mortgages, I thought about flipping like alot of the investors are doing but in my case I need rental income.
National averages should not be applied to a specific market. Instead, use the local resources you have.
Call a few property management companies in your area and ask them what rent they would expect to receive for your property should you decide to place it under their management. The answers will give a truer indication of market rents for property in your neighborhood.
A resource that's local to everybody is your local rental management companies.
Just stop in and have a chat with the office people, tell them you're in the rental business and thinking of acquiring some rentals in their area, and see what they're currently seeing, and getting for the properties they manage.
They'll also tell you if more or fewer are needed, whether the market is sluggish or glutted, what their big demand is, etc.
To find thse rental companies, many of whom are connected to some of the larger RE Agencies, such as CB, C-21, etc., just check your local phone book.
The Institute of Real Estate Management used to publish annually a book which broke down income and expense for a wide variety of types of buildings in a wide range of cities. Can't remember the name just now. Haven't actually bought one in years but I'm sure they are still doing it.
I cheat, I call Data Quick.
Also what you need is of course average income for your area, but even all this stuff is really not where it is at.
Remember housing for a full family old style, Wife, Hubby and da kids avec cat or dog. If your units are representative of the area then you try to find the average income and that figure is then times .25 to 30% and thats your rental rate.. If you vary you will have vacancies and evictions. Also you have to be aware of the economics of the area. If you are working class and the local factory takes off for lower Slobodia your tenants are in big trouble. Some can adopt, learn new things, take two jobs. Some cannot, they have spent 15 years or so getting good at just one thing like ajusting a widget. thats it.
When I had units I spent a lot of time checking the world around them. I talked to tenants and pretty well knew what was happening. If you do this you can make corrections.
In the upper levels of middle
management there are also dislocations. But the persons involved are usualy not single sticks, they have a bunch of rods in the quiver and can swing to different companies.
Cheers Lucius