The City of Boston’s new website lets  renters see all of the housing and service complaints for a property filed within the past five years.

From Green Street Advisors report
The single-family rental (“SFR”) market comprises ~13% of all occupied housing and ~37% of the
total rental market.

http://www.rentalhomecouncil.org/media/Green-Street-Advisors-Single-Family-Rental-Primer.pdf

“The Atlanta area had the highest concentration of rental homes owned by five of the largest single-family-home companies in June 2017”

Bloomberg news reports home prices have doubled since 2008 causing a shortage of rental units, even for those with excellent credit.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2017-08-02/renting-an-apartment-toronto-is-a-total-nightmare

Downtown West Palm Beach is set to have 800 new luxury apartments, which some predict will drive rental prices down.

https://therealdeal.com/miami/2017/08/03/west-palm-beach-is-set-for-a-deluge-of-new-apartments-what-will-that-mean-for-the-rental-market/

The Iceberg Report is primarily an analysis of the single-family residential properties market and investors that buy, flip, own and rent these homes.

This year’s report suggests that “just over 81% of all rental properties are owned by individuals with fewer than five properties, with 48.7% or 8.6 million SFR rental houses owned by an individual with just one house”.

The Iceberg Report tries to determine what is the profile of the ideal real estate investor.

Here’s the link:

http://icebergreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Iceberg-Executive-Summary-1.pdf

Buying, maintaining and managing rental properties are one way to accumulate wealth gradually – a ‘get rich slow’ portion of your portfolio.

How to determine the right rental property for you can be challenging, depending not only on your financial situation and risk tolerance but the also on the amount of ‘hands-on’ time and skill you have to invest.

Here’s Forbes suggestions for picking your first rental unit:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesrealestatecouncil/2017/06/22/how-to-select-your-first-rental-property/#539ebb5866f8

Vacation rental properties along the East Coast are reported to be garnering increased weekly rates.  The highest summer rental rates in the country are in the Hamptons and Martha’s Vineyard with slightly more modest rental rates along the New Jersey Coast.

http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2017/06/23/vacation-rental-price-comparsion-cape-may-rehoboth.html

A six-story transit-oriented development with 138 “micro apartments”, has been given the green light to demolish adjacent properties and begin construction. The apartments will be located at 2342-48 N. California Avenue in Chicago.

https://chicago.curbed.com/2017/6/22/15854674/chicago-development-logan-square-micro-apartments-tod

Some in Charlotte NC are starting to worry about a glut of apartments as developers rush to open new high end units uptown.

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/business/biz-columns-blogs/development/article157499064.html

Any investment comes with risks but owning rental properties is one part of a diversified investment portfolio for many investors.

Rental properties often come with a required ‘hands-on’ approach, including contact with tenants, dispute resolution and awareness of local and national rental regulations.

Here’s a link to an article discussing five of the common risks involved in investment rental properties.

https://www.inman.com/2017/06/09/5-potential-risks-you-face-with-rental-properties/