When to buy student rentals?

[Nick Seginowich]

I live in a good market with great potential for student housing. I have a few houses that work right now that I'm ready to put an offer in on, but i'm thinking this is the wrong time because the school year has just started and I don't want to have a house sitting empty for 11 months. So, i'm wondering if I might be able to find renters for the next semester starting in around 4 months? Or If I should buy now and try to find different renters such as families, or others which might be harder to find for a 10 month lease. I'm guessing buying in January would be optimal so I can start marketing for august and then a 7 month holding cost is just another expense? Or I can I market before I even buy a house? Any insight and wisdom would be greatly appreciated!

[Tim S.]

Know the student rent cycle for your market.  In my market students go under lease in Oct-Nov for the following fall.  It's almost time for me to start looking for students for Aug 2020-21 lease.  Fortunately it's pretty easy, put a sign in the yard and I have tons of applicants due to the great location of my property. 

I bought mine in January and it was already too late to find students.  I AirBnB'ed it to get some income until I was able to get in sync with the student cycle.   Luckily it worked out and the AirBnB income covered about 90% of my mortgage.