“I’m looking to rent out my investment property but I’m not sure how to price it. What aspects are usually involved when deciding rental rates?” – Jose of Woodinville, WA
Rental rates are very market and neighborhood specific, but also depend on: bedrooms, bathrooms, square footage, the type of property, parking, and if it has views. The rental rate is also affected by the length of your lease (I never recommend more than a 12 month lease). After you have generally determined rates based on the square footage/size of your unit you will need to get more specific and look at your property’s details. For example, is it newly renovated or currently in need of updates? Is it clean but not as nice as some of the new buildings? Once you determine where your property fits on the scale, you can look for comparable properties to see what those are renting for. A couple of other places to look are apartments.com, Craigslist, or rent.com. To ensure you’re getting a good rental rate for your property, it is a good idea to hire a property manager to help with pricing if it’s not something you want to do yourself.