Regarding the 2% rule. It seems unreasonable in my market.

[Chris G.]

Hello,

I am looking to purchase a house on Long Island, NY.  Potentially a multi-family where I would live in half of it.  I have been listening to the podcasts and they keep mentioning the 2% rule where each months rent is 2% of the total cost of the house.  If I bought a house for $400,000, I think its entirely unreasonable to get anywhere near 2% of that per month in this area.  $8000 a month for a mid-size house seems insane.  I think the most i've seen similar houses go for is around $2500/3000/month.  But then this violates the rule by a wide margin... does that mean I should not bother even renting on LI?

[Mindy Jensen]

Most "rules" in real estate are actually Rules of Thumb or rather, a guideline.

2% is awesome, but practically nonexistent in this market in most of the country.