College rental

[Sam Elder]

Hi! Looking for some perspective, specifically from those in the university housing space...but really from anyone. We own a single family home in Mnahattan Ks. We have owned it for almost 10 years. It is technically a 2 bedroom 2 bathroom house with a large basement. There is actually a bedroom in the basement but no conforming windows. Lots of storage space etc. We are at a point where we need to sell or reinvest for the long haul. We have had no luck selling...slow market time and the basement space needs some work. The other side of this is that Manhattan just landed a 4.5 billion research facility that will significantly stimulate the economy. My thought is to convert the house to a 4 bedroom by doing a remodel of the basement and then target a university renter pool. This will allow us to hold the house long term, generating cash flow while we wait for appreciation. A concern I have is that there aren't a lot of four bedroom homes in our neighborhood (ie are we pricing our home out of comparable range). We aren't on campus ( really close--like less than 1/2 mile). There will be lots of new construction to compete with. And a university market spells vacancy to me. Thoughts, strategies? Thanks