Probably a Familiar tale for parents of students.

[Tania Buchanan]

Our son will be entering his junior year at college. His first year was on campus requirement, his second year was a Fraternity House but in August it's time for the rental market. After touring some rentals, which are really really nice and provide a multitude of amenities, the average cost per rental (which only includes a bedroom in the unit) ranges from $600 to $900 per room. The range depends on how many bedroom in a unit. Interesting option of renting just the room. I could see how this would prevent roommate disputes over rent due arguments. But we did the math quick a three bedroom would be in total $1800 per month or $21600 per year $7200 for just him in a year or $14400 for his next 2 years. So we decided to purchase a condo/co-op and rent it out ourselves and rent out the other rooms. Already have 3 renter including him. I guess the Fraternity connection worked out. We can afford to purchase unto $200,000 in an All Cash deal. With the cash flow, even if we just flip it in two years when he graduates we could suffer a 20% depreciation and still come out even. But more likely we'll appreciate the property and make money minus his rent. This seems like a win/win because we can offer them a great deal on rent, cover all our expenses, and still come out ahead. The math works, BUT we're missing something. If it was that easy, everyone would do it. Question is, From all your experience, what are we missing... The numbers are great, but that is what scares us. We set up a company for liability reasons (college students you know).