Considering purchasing a rental near a university

[Paul Smolinski]

I am considering purchasing a very nicely upgraded property within walking distance of a university in Utah. It is in a neighborhood that has a mix of apartment buildings that cater to students and single family properties. The property I am considering has 5 bedrooms in the main house in addition to a studio apartment in the back yard - for a total of six rooms. 

The city does not allow more than one lease on the property, which means that I would likely be targeting parents who would be willing to lease the property for their son or daughter student and then be the coordinator of the other students living in the property. This would make my job as landlord simpler than leasing to 6 students separately - but I am concerned that I may have a difficult time finding that parent who would be willing to lease the property and deal with keeping the rooms filled while collecting the rent from each student. At $350 a month per room - which is a low compared with rooms in apartments in the area - that would be $2100 a month. There are other smaller single family properties in the area that would be less expensive to rent and I fear that parents who would be willing to sign a lease on a property for their child and friends to live in for college would likely want the smaller and less expensive rental.

If the city did allow the owner to lease each room separately, the monthly rental revenue would probably be between $2400 and $2500 at full occupancy. 

Does anyone have experience with this type of rental property? Is there a chance of working with the city to get approval to lease each room separately? Any thoughts or advice from experienced landlords would be appreciated.

Thank you,

Paul