Cons to Investing in a College Town?

[Tyler Mehigan]

I have not bought property yet and I am looking to find my niche for where I want to invest. I am currently a college student and realizing that the apartments/houses that my friends live in are not super nice and we are content with paying over $500/month each. I very rarely need to call my landlord and there is always demand for college town living due to school. I do understand there is risk in kids messing the property up but wanted to know others opinions/knowledge on the cons of college town investing. Thanks so much everyone!

[Cole Maurer]

Hey Tyler, 

I would say your biggest risks are lack of care and maintenance on the property and potential short or late rents. 

College towns tend to party as we all know. That can lead to a lot of issues regarding damage to the home. 

Short or late rents, as young adults will do, they move in with new spouses and friends, things happen during their time, fights and breakups. That could lead to people moving out and the ones left not being able to cover all the rent. 

I would focus on properties in the area that would target more of the staff, workers, and hospitality employees. These people may not be attending school and taking part in extracurricular activities. 

I still think student housing is a worthwhile investment, a lot of these young adults do come from well-off families and should help you get a great stable return. If you wanted to buy homes for the actual students to rent, I would just ensure that you add extra padding to your cash flow requirements to cover unexpected issues. 

Best of luck to you!