is there a way to determine the percentage of rented homes in a neighborhood

[Steven Horvath]

I am very new and learning as much as a i can, i wondering if when looknig at properties there is a way to determine the percentage of rented homes in a neighborhood vs. owner occupied.
Also i was wondering what yalls thoughts were on trying to aquire the junkers in the neighboorhood i have a rental in and fixing them up for rentals. i would think that would bring up the value of everyones home but maybe the effect is to small to outway finding better deals elsewere.
any info would be great, especially on determining the rental percentage in a specific neighboorhood, past and present. Also what a good percentage is. 40%
Thanks A lot!
Steven

[Account Closed]

If there aren't too many junkers, and if you can pick them up for a good price, I say it is a good idea.

It only takes one really bad house to ruin the value in a neighborhood. If you can clean up the bad ones, and make your tenants take care of them, then you will improve the value of all your property in that neighborhood.

It is sometimes also possible to attract a better grade of home buyer into the area if they see the area being cleaned up and they can get a house for a good price. That brings you some better neighbors.

The tax assessor's record is the best way to determine how many renters in an area. But I can tell a lot just by driving through. If there are a lot of neglected yards, the area is full of either renters or alcoholics.