Anyone have experience renting houses around a college?

Question

There are some houses around my local college that sometimes pop up for sale with good prices. I imagine these are easy to rent to incoming college students with some staying multiple years. Anyone have experience with this? Worried about the house getting trashed by college students, parties, etc. I also imagine they may not be there during the summer months or in-between semesters.

Ben Bolingbroke · Answer

Hey @Travis Reed.  I own two duplexes in Salt Lake City near the University of Utah.  I have rented them out by rooms to college kids for a few years now.  I think the key is to just find good tenants, because that will solve 90% of your problems.  I developed good relationships with church ministers and professors on campus who constantly refer me really good quality tenants.  I have also heard of some people reaching out to school coaches, counselors, administrators etc to find good tenants.  I think doing things that way will help you find good tenants instead of just blasting out ads on facebook, Craigslist and rentler.

Dave Poeppelmeier · Answer

I wholeheartedly disagree with everyone who says College kids will destroy a house. I've been investing in Student Rentals since 2017, and I have yet to have someone destroy a house. With that being said, I give kids good houses to live in, houses that look like the ones they likely grew up in: all walls have fresh paint and no holes, kitchens with cabinet door that are all working and not half hanging off, original wood floors or LVP, etc. If you give kids a bombed out party pad, of course they're going to destroy it more. I also agree with @Ramandeep Sidhu in that you need to have a good management plan in place. I manage my properties myself, and we literally have a discussion of the expectations I have for my tenants, as well as my responsibilities as the owner, before they move in. When I have done that, they report maintenance issues timely, and have done a great job taking care of the house. The student renters that I inherited that didn't have this kind of discussion with are the ones that leave furniture everywhere, oil soaked garages, freeze out the AC units, etc. @Travis Reed Student Housing is a great niche, but just know that it does take a little more hand holding with the college kids on how a house works, how to be a good renter, and the leasing process is usually a lot crazier than a normal LTR. But, the returns are nice if you do it right. Good luck!

Reid Chauvin · Answer

@Travis Reed - I rent out a property near LSU (definitely a party school) and my tenants are generally college students. While the house in some instances has been pretty dirty upon them vacating, I wouldn't go so far as to say it's ever been 'trashed'. I have a cleaning fee in my lease, and if anything were to go beyond that in terms of damage I would withhold the necessary portion from their security deposit. I actually generally feel better about renting to college students than individual families as the burden of rent is split across 4 individuals (and their parents) instead of 1 family.

Will Gaston · Answer

@Travis Reed this thread may be helpful: Nearing 1,000 College Students: Here's What I've Learned

The TL; DR version is this.

Financials are strong. But a lot more work.

Eliott Elias · Answer

It will get trashed, don't get your hopes up or think college kids will take care of your property.

Travis Reed · Answer

Thanks for the response. That is about what I figured. It is a mid sized school, UT Tyler with some good programs. It is not a big "party" school but it does happen!

Leo R. · Answer

@Travis Reed the house getting trashed and parties is pretty much a guarantee for most college rentals--it's the nature of the beast. Also, keep in mind that college rentals have a certain seasonality to them. That being said, they can be good investments when done right...especially if you're renting to undergrads, you probably want to have their parents co-sign the lease...

How large is the college/university? If it's a big university with graduate students, you can sometimes reduce the trashing/partying stuff by trying to find grad student tenants...most doctoral students are too busy to party all the time, and they tend to be more mature than the undergrads. At larger universities, many of the academic departments have a coordinator for incoming doctoral students to help them find housing--connect with that person, and you might be able to tap into a source of tenants...

Good luck out there!

Ramandeep Sidhu · Answer

I have experience renting properties near colleges. It can be a great opportunity to tap into the student rental market, but you are right to be concerned about potential damage to the property. To mitigate this risk, I always screen tenants thoroughly and have a solid lease agreement in place with clear expectations and consequences for breaking the rules. It's also helpful to have a reliable property manager who can handle maintenance and issues as they arise. Also, I make sure to factor in potential vacancy during summer and holiday breaks when determining my rental rate and financial projections.

Nicole Heasley Beitenman · Answer

BP has a nice number of podcasts on student housing:https://www.biggerpockets.com/...

Anyone have experience renting houses around a college?

Most Popular Reply