College Rental Questions for Beginner

[Joseph Ambrose]

Hello everyone, I am a new investor and am strongly considering focusing on college rentals. I’ve been reading through the forums quite a bit and have listened to the podcasts which have focused on this topic. I’ve also narrowed down about a dozen potential areas and have it narrowed down to 3 college areas. My search has included analyzing the prices of homes in these markets, driving around the neighborhoods, checking on occupancy restrictions, student permits if required, college enrollments, crime statistics, etc. Here’s a few of my questions: 1. It seems that some owners charge rent per room. The rationale is that your rent will be higher per room than what would be typical for the market rent for that house. How does that work? Do you have each student sign a lease per room? Or do you have one lease signed by the students and their parents as co-signers? If this is the case, why would these students pay an inflated rate (per room) when rents are typically lower? 2. Those with experience in these rentals, what type of colleges (large\small, private vs public) and/or towns have you had the best experience? 3. How long are your leases? Thanks in advance!