Erie Real Estate Investing & Real Estate Financial Planning™ Podcast · James Orr

Secrets of Rent Comps

·59 min·3 clips

James Orr says rent is whatever a tenant is willing to pay, not what the spreadsheet says.

1. Erie Real Estate Investing & Real Estate Financial Planning™ Podcast covers the “Secrets of Rent Comps” for Erie, Pennsylvania rentals. 2. James Orr hosts the episode and says it is a module in the Real Estate Investing Secrets course, while the series has already covered marketing, tenant screening, property management, tenant challenges, and property-manager selection. 3. The episode asks how to determine fair market rent for a property you are buying or renewing. 4. James Orr says rents change year to year and shows a chart of 100 large U.S. cities from 2019 to early 2024. 5. He points to periods when rents rise, flatten, and decline, including drops in 2020 and at the end of 2022 into 2024. 6. He says rent is usually a range, not a single exact number like $1,951 per month. 7. He gives examples of a property landing near $1,850 to $2,100 depending on season, marketing, and tenant demand. 8. James Orr says he no longer does his own property management and now calls his property manager for rent comps. 9. He says he sends the MLS number, address, and specifications so the property manager can research a likely rent. 10. He says fair market rent is not an exact science and that a $200 to $400 swing can happen in higher-rent properties. 11. He says starting marketing 60 to 90 days before lease expiration lets him test the high end of the range first. 12. He says the listing can be dropped after a week if responses are weak, then dropped again until it finds the sweet spot. 13. He says long-term rentals are the main focus, while short-term rentals need different data such as occupancy rates. 14. He says tenants ultimately decide rent based on supply and demand, not on the investor’s spreadsheet. 15. He gives the example of 14 identical properties at $2,000 per month making $2,100 difficult to get. 16. He says properties with different views, corners, street lights, utility boxes, or nearby nuisances can command different rents. 17. The tone is instructional and presentation-driven, with a chart, a poem, and repeated practical examples. 18. James Orr speaks in a course-style format that mixes broad principles with tactical pricing advice. 19. Investors comparing listings, lease renewals, and property-manager estimates will get the most value. 20. Listeners wanting short-form entertainment without rental math or comp methodology may skip it.

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from Erie Real Estate Investing & Real Estate Financial Planning™ Podcast