I would interested to know how the 'rent range' for my Class C houses compare to others in various parts of the U.S.

All of my rental houses are either 2/1 or 3/1, 800-1,200 sq.ft, at least 70 years old, and are all located in decent working class Class C neighborhoods. The prevailing rent range (here) is $500.00 -$700.00/month.

Also, if I could physically move any of my rental houses to a Class B hood,...the above rent range would start at $700.00 and top out at about $900.00,...just by changing the location.

Again, what is the 'rent range' for Class C single family houses where your rentals are located?

Homer,

My property taxes are the same but with one big exception. You pay it by the month,...I pay it once a YEAR.

Are you sure your rentals are Class C in Class C working class hoods?? All brick, 3/2/2's around here are mostly in the better Class B hoods. I know this because I happen to live in a house that you just described.

The lines between B C D get blurry. What consider A or B+ 3/2 are priced comparable to Homers example

Homer,

One more question for you,...working class tenants tend to get paid by the hour. To be able to afford your high rents, what hourly rate(s) do your tenants tend to get?

Most of my tenants, earn about somewhere between $12.00-$18.00 an hour (base pay),...assuming they have a union job. Non-union jobs start at min. wage and usually top out at $12.00/hour.

Class C, 2-1 condo, 773 sq ft. Golden, CO. Not a special location, but close to major roads. Approx 3 miles to Colorado School of Mines (most of my tenants came from CSM). 1.5 miles from a light rail station.

range is $1100 - $1400. I rent mine for $1125. It will go up to at least $1150 this summer (automatic raise if tenant stays. Probably bumped to $1200 if tenant leaves and I get someone new).

I will answer your question and add a little extra info:

A Class C house in my town is 2-4 bedrooms, 500-1200 sqft, built 30+ years ago. Most of mind are 1910s - 1950s.

A Class C tenant is blue collar, a student, or someone on disability only. Typically, no credit or bad credit. A few hardy, enterprising souls but not many.

Class C houses can be picked up for $20K-$50K "all in" (purchase, rehab, etc). Rents are between $450 - $650, making the "2% rule" very achievable. Most of mine I get for $20-$30 and rent for $500 - $600.

Taxes are between $250 - $400 per year. My average tax per unit is $315/year.

Some folks might consider my houses "Class D". Mine are clean, safe, and everything works. They may look dated or a tad bit dumpy on the outside, but no broken windows and siding and roof are generally in good condition. In my mind, that's Class C.

Class D are dirty, not everything works, and look like crap from the curb. Probably some code violations inside, but not obvious from the curb. Maybe some old cars in the yard. "Stuff" strewn all over the porch/lawn. People sitting on the porch all day smoking or drinking. Public intoxication is not illegal in Missouri unless you're committing some other violation like picking fights.

Class F is like a Class D in appearance but it's in a war zone hood, holes in the roof, siding falling off, roach hotels, and serious code violations like several broken windows or yards with 2 foot high grass. Drug deals going down on the curb in broad daylight.

Los Angeles, California

Single Family Homes: 3 or 4 bedroom, average 1300-1570 square feet

A class "c" single family home in a so-so area:

would rent for around $2,300 per month.

A class "b" single family home can rent from $2400 to $3000 per month.

A class "a" single family home can rent from $3000 to $5,000 per month.

3 BR 1 bath 80 yr brick row between Philadelphia and Camden NJ:

In my little corner of rural nowhere--

Most of my houses are 2/1's or 3/1.5's built around 1945, ranging from 800-1000 sf. I think my newest house is a 1400 sf 3/2/2 built in 1960-- it used to be my primary residence.

My whole town is pretty much "Class C". Very working-class. You might have a "nice block" here or there, but everything is generally very mixed up/mismatched. Even so, there's the perception in town that the north part is preferable to the south part, and the west part is preferable to the east part.

My 1-bed's rent in the mid-$3xx. My 2-beds rent in the mid-$4xx. My 3-beds rent in the mid-$5xx. Taxes are about $400-$500'ish/year, except for a few outliers, that might be about $800-$1200/year. (A few years ago, Austin told my county that it wasn't collecting enough in property taxes, so rates had an artificial and arbitrary hike. We challenged some and won; we challenged others and lost.) I try to pay less than $10k for my houses; they usually require $20k all-in, regardless of initial purchase price.

Sid (Mo)sounds very similar to mine. My photos on the picture page show most of ours. I am a little under market rent for our area. Just went up on one singlewide to 550.00, was 500.00 for a couple of years, but he has had a new electric furnace, new electric range, & new shower since he has been there. I included a local ad for a unit similar to ours for 650.00.

I just saw a Craig's List ad in our area today for a 2013, 1300 sq ft doublewide 3/2 for 850.00 with a 1000.00 deposit. I think that is too much for this area, but if they can get it & KEEP getting it, more power to them. Most of ours are HUD homes or repos. Our cheapest is a two bedroom/one bath singlewide for 400.00 (going up this year)

Roy, Most of mine here are in the heart of C neighborhoods. 2/1 no garage 750 sqft brings in $750, 3/1 900 sqft with detached garage brings in $900. Taxes are $1300 to $1700 per SFH. The problem here is two years ago, I could buy these all day long in this neighborhood for $35K, now they are going for $70-90K.

I've had to switch to a lower-end class C neighborhood that seems to be turning for the better. I've been buying in the new neighborhood for $35K and still getting almost comparable rents, hopefully it will continue to improve.

MikeA (TX)