Month: June 2017

(The following is a guest post from Rentometer.  Rentometer is the fastest, easiest way to compare rents anywhere in the U.S.)

The rental housing business is very local and it takes time and effort to understand a local market and all the nuances that go with it.  Many variables can impact the rent you can charge for your rental unit including: location, building structure, amenities, age of unit, market conditions, etc.  The subjective and local nature of many of these variables make it difficult for anyone to tell you exactly the right rent for your rental unit.

However, having said all that, there are some things you can do to help you more confidently set your rents. Below are a few ideas to help you set rents for your rental property:

1. Stay up to date on local economic and business activity in your market because economic activity is one of the key drivers of housing demand including rental housing.
2. Work with local real estate professionals – property managers, brokers, agents, appraisers, and lenders. Local experts are especially good at identifying the drivers of housing supply and demand unique to your market – jobs, local ordinances, zoning, etc.
3. Check local apartment listings using the local newspaper, apartment guides, CraigsList, and of course Rentometer (shameless plug!).
4. Check your local apartment or rental housing association for research and other information they may provide about local rent levels – past, present, and future.
5. Use “rent per square foot” whenever possible as a benchmark.  This allows you to encapsulate into a single number all the subjective variables of rent and provides you a basis for comparison across different units, locations, amenities, etc.

The task of setting rents can be done more confidently with good current and historical data, as well as a thorough understanding of the local market and current market conditions.

Rentometer is the fastest, easiest way to compare rents anywhere in the U.S. Rentometer uses advanced technology and data management tools to provide a thorough rent comparison analysis within seconds, for any address in the U.S. Rentometer also offers premium subscription services for professional users that need more information and services to help them build and operate their rental housing businesses.

(The following is a guest post from Rentometer.  Rentometer is the fastest, easiest way to compare rents anywhere in the U.S.)

As a landlord, there are 3 primary reasons why you should screen your potential resident:

1. To Protect Your Profitability – You want to rent your apartments to renters that will pay the rent on time and for the full lease term.
2. To Protect Your Property – You want to rent to responsible individuals that will take care of their apartment and respect your property.
3. To Protect Your Other Residents & Neighbors – You never want to put any of your residents in harms way.

Overall resident screening helps to assess your prospective renter’s willingness to pay the rent: do they have the appropriate income to pay the rent, do they have a track record of paying rent, and do they have a track record of paying their other bills?

It’s a great opportunity as well to assess their criminal background.   Do they have a serious criminal offense or a history of previous criminal offenses?

One thing to consider about criminal background checks, there are restrictions and requirements to access and use criminal data records. These records can change depending on which state you are using a criminal background check in.

A few of the folks at Rentometer were in the Resident Screening Business for 20 years before becoming rent comparisons experts!

Rentometer is the fastest, easiest way to compare rents anywhere in the U.S. Rentometer uses advanced technology and data management tools to provide a thorough rent comparison analysis within seconds, for any address in the U.S. Rentometer also offers premium subscription services for professional users that need more information and services to help them build and operate their rental housing businesses.