Buying rental property near a college?

[Marty Gold]

I'm searching for my first rental real estate property and an agent sent me a few options near a college (about an hour from my house).  The enrollment of this college has been 9,000-10,000 annually over the years.   

I plan to view these properties this weekend.  And I wanted to do a bit of research on here before that time. 

Are there any negatives or positives to renting a property near a college (which historically only rents to college students)....different from positives and negatives of any rental property?

Are there any unique calculations or factors which I should take into account, different from what people use on a typical property?

And for those who may do this quite often, are there any favors which make one college better than another in terms of owning a rental property nearby?  I don't mind researching other colleges if this one isn't ideal by some data points. 

Thank you to all in advance for your help. 

[Alexander Zurn]

@Marty Gold for college rentals you'll want to consider a few things.

1. The size of the college relative to the location of the property. Is it within walking distance? How many minutes? If not, how long is a drive? Are most student houses the same distance?

2. $500 a bedroom can be considered high or low but the numbers are likely better run considering each bedroom to be x amount. You can figure that out by searching local rentals and dividing by the # of bedrooms.

3. Consider the colleges off campus living policies. Do they allow it? Are they increasing it? Cutting back on it (i.e. making it harder for students to be approved off campus)? Search the schools "off campus living policies" and something will come up

4. If the college were to dismantle, would the town itself support the rentals? i.e. is the school the only thing in town?

College rentals are certainly different and they can be either good or bad, depending on how your manage the property. I suggest listening to a BP Podcast on college rentals. I forgot which number it is but a simple search should suffice.

Good luck!