As a mortgage professional I'm constantly asked to determine if a property will cash flow. This is always a hard question to answer without knowing what the rent is or could be. If it's rented what would the market bear? In the past it's always taken a Rent Survey at a cost of around $250 to find out.
Another issue with the rise in property value's is what will the market now bear for existing rental properties. As an investor renegotiates a rental agreement what should he/she charge?
Now there's a tool that can help! I'm not sure how accurate it is yet, but it looks pretty close. As with any online service it cannot take into account the specifics of a particular property but averages similar properties. If your property is better then average, it would be in the top tier. If below average, then it would be in the lower tier.
Here's the link. http://www.rentometer.com/ Simply type in the address, number of bedrooms and your current rent, or the amount that you think it could rent for, and a chart will show how your rent stacks up against others. It also has a map with nearby rentals. Pretty cool!!
For those of you who are renting and being faced with a rent increase, you should look at what it would cost to buy your own home. Here's a link to my website for a "Rent vs. Buy" Calculator. Keep in mind that it will not allow you to factor in "seller concessions". These are closing costs taht the seller agrees to pay on your behalf. If you have insufficient cash to close add the difference to your cash to close so that you can make the calculator work. Make sure that you discuss with your Realtor and Loan Officer that you have minimal cash to close and that the seller would need to contribute to the closing costs.
While low down loans are harder to get, they are still readily available for buyers with adequate credit and fully documented income. If yu don't think that you qualify, you might be pleasantly surprised.
Larry Morris is a loan Officer with Equipoint Financial Network in Newberg, Oregon. He specializes in relocations and Sherwood, Oregon neighborhoods. He can be reached at larry.morris@equipoint.com. His website is www.PDX-Mortgage.com. This material is copy protected 2007 by Larry Morris, Mortgage News that Matters. All Rights Reserved
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Neat site!
Cool site. I'll definitely start using this. I hope its accurate for my area though.
A good way to find out how accurate it is would be to talk with a few appraisers and have them check. Also, look at any recent NOO appraisals and see how they compare. I'm going to do that next week myself. I checked my own home and the rent seemed fair for my neighborhood.
Thanks for the site tip. Since I work primarily with investors I use another tried and true method. I walk the street knocking on doors. Not every door, mind you. Just a few to see how "in line" we are with the reality of the neighborhood.
Cool site. As a Landlord I scan the Sunday paper for prices. This site is faster. Thanks.
Wayne, let us know how accurate it is based on your experience.
Also, I'd love to get together and talk.
Larry
This could become an essential tool for Realtors as they show investment properties. It will show the number of rentals in a neighborhood as well as the highs and lows. It's then easy to look at what needs to happen with financing to make it cash flow.
This could be a very good tool! Thanks for sharing with all of us : )
helpful site , thank you. I can use this to help gather information for myself and direct my clients to it.
Timothy
As much as I'd love for you to hire me to do a rental survey, that is pretty cool :-)
Well, you never know...