Student rentals in college town.

[James Pennington]

I live in a college town. Looking for some input on getting started investing in student rentals. Pros and cons....what to look for...etc.

[JD Martin]

I rent to a lot of students. Most of them don't check out when the semester is over in the spring unless they are graduating; it's too much work to move a house full of furniture for 2 months and then find a new place before the semester starts. My graduate students tend to stay 2-3 years while finishing their degrees. Undergrads stay until they graduate unless they continue on to graduate school. 

@Will Gaston is the student rental expert around here. He has a lot more units than I have. In my area students don't care about any of the fancy crap you see going into HGTV houses while good stuff is torn out. No carpets, be sure you have a dishwasher & central heat/ac, close to the school, as little maintenance as possible (students are notoriously lazy), everything as online & computerized as possible. You need good internet connectivity. Room for a huge TV set - every student seems to have $50 couches and $500 tv sets. An outdoor space they can gather with their friends.