Renting rookie question

[Cole Britting]

Hi all, I have a rookie question about renting.

So I have been living in a town in Southern NH all my life, until about two years ago when I went off to college. It is a mostly residential community, and I have never heard of anybody in my town that pays rent. Instead, most people seem to buy their house with a conventional mortgage. 

I have been thinking about different real estate strategies, and was wondering about buying a property to rent in an area like this. Do all towns have people that rent? Does it depend on the local economy and jobs?

I have been trying to analyze a few deals and have seen the monthly estimated rent on sites like Zillow even for houses in my town. I have some confusion as to how sites come up with the rental numbers in places where there are not many people that rent, but maybe I just have never met someone in my area that rents. I am wondering if I am wasting my time trying to analyze these deals or trying to find rental property deals if it is unlikely that I will be able to find a tenant. 

If anyone has some more information on this please let me know.

Hope everyone is staying safe!

[Martin Neal]

@Cole Britting not everyone can afford to buy and there will always be a rental market. The true question is how big is the rental market in your area?? The cashier at the local grocery store, the landscaper, the CNA, etc., they more than likely may be renting or looking for a place to rent. Some markets have people you can afford to buy but prefer to rent. I have both type of tenants. Even @Brandon Turner talked about the small town he started in and made it work. Do a little research, see how big the need for rentals are, run your numbers and see if you can make it work. Good luck!