South Bend, IN · Member since 2014 · 318 posts · 156 votes
I have been using rentometer pretty much as a default first stop for rental comps but I was a little skeptical about the accuracy of their data.
A few days ago, I re-checked the rental comps for a property we had listed with a PM around July 2014. It has already been leased through the PM but they have not taken it off their website yet.
What surprised me is that this particular property appeared in the rentometer results as a "current listing" with the correct address and the correct rent amount we were asking.
I don't know how often rentometer crawls and aggregates their data from wherever they get it but it seems to be often enough so that the data is not outdated.
I tried the pro-version which is free for a couple of searches and then you have to subscribe and it gives you more details including the last list date so you can see how old a listing is.
I was wondering what other users think of rentometer and what their experience has been?
Rental Property Investor · Northern, CA · Member since 2012 · 5k+ posts · 5k+ votes
12y
It's okay to check Rentometer as ONE of your sources, but you should have many sources (i.e. Craigslist, Zillow, local property mgmt company, etc) because not one of these sources by themselves is entirely accurate.
Specifically, with regards to Rentometer, keep in mind that it does not even factor in how many bathrooms a home has, the condition of the home, size of the home, or even type of home (apt vs SFR). It's mainly just comparing properties with a similar number of bedrooms in a given area. Hardly an accurate way of determining "comps".
However, Rentometer can be helpful in identifying other rental properties around yours, which you can then do more research on and make your own comparisons/adjustments to determine if they are truly accurate comps.
I have not adjusted the bedrooms in my searches so far but thanks for the heads up.
How bad has the discrepancy been in your experience? Do you still get the same comparables regardless of whether you input 1, 2, 3 or 4 bedrooms or is it limited to a +/- 1 bedroom from your subject?
Rental Property Investor · Northern, CA · Member since 2012 · 5k+ posts · 5k+ votes
12y
It's okay to check Rentometer as ONE of your sources, but you should have many sources (i.e. Craigslist, Zillow, local property mgmt company, etc) because not one of these sources by themselves is entirely accurate.
Specifically, with regards to Rentometer, keep in mind that it does not even factor in how many bathrooms a home has, the condition of the home, size of the home, or even type of home (apt vs SFR). It's mainly just comparing properties with a similar number of bedrooms in a given area. Hardly an accurate way of determining "comps".
However, Rentometer can be helpful in identifying other rental properties around yours, which you can then do more research on and make your own comparisons/adjustments to determine if they are truly accurate comps.
South Bend, IN · Member since 2014 · 318 posts · 156 votes
12y
@Naveed Q. Good point on the lack of bathrooms as one of the metrics. I agree that using rentometer alone is not going to give you the whole picture. I have found it useful though as a quick first stop when I need some numbers within a few minutes.
Maybe in future releases they will include other data points to make the comps more accurate.
Real Estate Investor · Abilene, TX · Member since 2008 · 13 posts · 1 vote
12y
Get a realtor to check what people are actually paying in that specific neighborhood. I used the MLS data for my neighborhood to price my lease, and the rate was much higher than what showed on rentometer. This actual data is much more valuable than an estimate. I was going to price my rental at $1750 and then after checking the MLS, I realized houses in my neighborhood were going for over $1900. I listed mine for $1975 and leased it ASAP.
I just ran my house in rentometer and it says $1975 is way too high and the scale is pegged. The median is $1100, but it uses homes from surrounding neighborhoods that are of lower quality. It is missing many of the homes that were leased in the last year that I found in the MLS. If I would have priced according to this I would have lost thousands in annual income. I highly recommend you get your real estate agents license, the data you have access to is amazing!
Correct me if I am wrong on this. The assumption is that I am doing this in your area.
If I am a property owner or a property manager with a vacant unit, I can approach a licensed agent and ask them to list on the MLS as "for rent" or "for lease" instead of listing it as "for sale". There will likely be some kind of Listing Agreement that will stipulate the commission to the Listing Agent. If another agent brings a qualified tenant, the commission is split between the them and the LA.
Is that how the lease/rent data gets on the MLS as part of the disclosure rules of the specific MLS?
That said, any "off market" lease and rent data (i.e. from properties that were advertised "for rent" or "for lease" through other methods but were not listed on the MLS) is not going to be part of the MLS data since in that case there are no disclosure requirements, right?
Real Estate Agent · Cary NC & Walnut Creek, CA · Member since 2009 · 99 posts · 84 votes
12y
Regarding rentometer - I'm not very familiar with the site, but I just ran a search and it included results from 2008 in it's calculations. Considering how dynamic many markets are, this is an immediate red flag. Unless you have the Pro account and can see the listing date, I would hesitate to put much faith in the results being a reflection of your current market.
Regarding the MLS - I'm an agent in the SF Bay Area and only a small fraction of our rental market actually goes through our MLS. If a licensed agent didn't represent the landlord, the listing will not be entered into the MLS. In addition, even if a licensed agent did represent the landlord, it's not guaranteed to be entered into the MLS.
I agree with @Kyle J. - you need to combine a number of sources. For me and my local market, that means craigslist, property managers, the MLS and doing my own rent surveys.
Rental Property Investor · Douglas County, MO · Member since 2014 · 1k+ posts · 1k+ votes
12y
In my area the rent ranges are so large the data is useless. The "comps" range from apartments to homes with acreage where the value is in the land, not the home. It tells me that rent of $450 to $750 is "reasonable" for a 3 bedroom! That is simply not helpful at all!
Investor · La Habra, CA · Member since 2014 · 38 posts · 6 votes
12y
I use a combination of rentometer and craigslist. From my experience, rentometer has been fairly accurate, but as @Steven Fowler mentioned, you do have to see what the other listings look like. For that, I'll take the address from rentometer of competing rentals and enter it into google maps for a street view. That will give you an idea of the neighborhood and the age/quality of the competing rental. From there, along with your craigslist data, you can price it accordingly.
Developer · Philadelphia, PA · Member since 2013 · 1k+ posts · 902 votes
12y
It's a good starting point and great for SWAG estimates, however, as previous posters suggested, it doesn't take into account bathrooms, roof decks, repair of units, etc. You have to use some "common" sense with it. If your unit has an upgraded kitchen, 2 baths, tons of natural light as well as a roof deck, it'll be worth quite a bit more than the average unit. If your unit is stuck in the '70's with no amenities, 1 bath and a funky layout, it'll be worth less. It's a great tool but you still need to go on Craigslist or the like and see what comparable units are asking.
Investor · Narragansett, RI · Member since 2013 · 8k+ posts · 4k+ votes
12y
For our area due I think to the mix of furnished and unfurnished, year round and 9 month leases it is somewhat inaccurate. It doesn't figure those things in. I wish it was better on that point.
Specialist · Toronto, Ontario · Member since 2012 · 2k+ posts · 891 votes
12y
@Account Closed
I just noticed sometimes when I search for 2 and 3 beds in the same intersection I notice it has the same price. It could be a glitch or maybe its a duplex/triplex with the same address that just happens to be the same price (i doubt it)
Aside from this overall it is usually really good and my main source for comparables.