Understanding the market value for your rental property is important, and a lot of owners are not charging enough rent. If you’re charging below market rent, you are basically giving charity away. A lot of our owners are only charging $1,100 or $1,200 in rent, and when we run comps in the neighborhood, we find that they could be charging $1,400. Some owners don’t want to raise rent because they have good tenants in place. But in reality, you’re giving that tenant $200 per month, which adds up to $2,400 a year. That’s a lot of money over time.
Market Comps
We run comps by looking at the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS). We can see the similar properties with same number of bedrooms and bathrooms, similar amounts of storage and located in the same neighborhood. The MLS also tells us how long it takes to rent the property in a certain price range. We can access historical records of how long it takes.
Property Management Comps
Some landlords will look at sites like Zillow and Trulia, but they are not accurate. You want to use data that reflects what people have actually rented their properties for. At McCaw Property Management, we do this for our clients. If you work with a property management company, they will have additional comps that are not public access. We use a good software firm called Appfolio, which works with other property management companies, so we can see other rental properties that are not in the MLS. This gives you extra data when you’re pricing your own home.
If there’s an o
pportunity to make extra money, we want you to make it. Get every penny for your property, and your investment will be successful. Remember that the MLS is the best place to find true market comps because Zillow and Trulia are estimates only.
We manage properties all over Dallas and Fort Worth, so if you’d like to access some of our resources when you’re pricing your rental property, please contact us at McCaw Property Management.