How Much Should Your Minneapolis Duplex Rent For?

Many long-term Minneapolis duplex owners and first-time duplex investors have one question in common: How do I know how much to charge in rent?

For owners, this question often comes on the heels of discovering the long-term, low-maintenance tenant they like pays their rent on time because they are getting the deal of a lifetime.

On the other hand, new investors and owner-occupants  aren’t sure where to turn or which resource to trust.

So here are four places to turn if you’re struggling:

1. Rentometer.com. This is my absolute favorite. It allows you to put a property address in, as well as whether the property is a house/duplex or apartment/condo. It will give you a range of values, the property addresses that went into the calculation, and what type of property it was. Houses rent for the most, followed by duplexes, then townhouses and condos, followed by apartments. I typically cross check the average with other resources, and most often, end up taking several hundred dollars off the average as it is most often weighted toward single-family homes.
2. The MLS. While access is restricted to licensed Realtors who are members of the service, most agents would be happy to offer guidance according to comparable properties. The upside of this is it’s possible to find comparables of a specific property type and close geographic location. The downside is while rentals on the MLS has gained traction in the Twin Cities over the years, there are nowhere near as many rentals on it as in other markets.
3. Zillow. This will give you a broad range of what’s available for rent in your area. The trouble is, it does not have the option of searching for rentals in duplexes, triplexes or fourplexes; even though it allows for that if you’re looking to buy a property. Do your best to click through and find comparables, then try to compare your property to the competition. Do you have more amenities and are you in better condition? If so, ask more rent. If not, adjust accordingly.
4. Facebook Marketplace – Frustrating and not very intuitive. You can’t search by property type, and not even putting “duplex” in the search field narrows it down. You can, however, search by zip code. You will just have to click through the photos in the for rent ads to see which vacancies are in duplexes, triplexes or fourplexes.
5. Craigslist – While it isn’t as popular as it once was, Craigslist can still be a great resource for determining what similar duplexes in the area are renting for. While you can’t click a box to narrow results to small multifamily properties, adding the word *plex, duplex, triplex, fourplex or double bungalow may produce results.

And, of course, if you’re still puzzled about what kind of rent you should charge, please give me a call. If I don’t know the answer, odds are I know someone who does.