Renting to students at colleges or universities

[Jason Bruning]

I am currently looking at a few houses near a university or college with the likelihood of the tenants being college students.  Is this type of property worth the aggravation?  What is the landlords responsibility regarding parties or illicit activities by a tenant?

Thanks,

Jason

[Jenifer Kynor]

Hi Jason,

From working in student housing in the past, I found there were many pros and cons. 

Pros: 

1. Parents are most likely paying their rent or signing as guarantors, so it unlikely that they will miss a payment. 

2. You can get away with charging more for convenience. If you include furniture, washer/dryer, and/or utilities in your rent payment, it is easier for the students and they (or their parents) are more than willing to pay the premium. 

Cons: 

1. Lots of repairs. Unfortunately, many college students (not all of them) do not keep up with preventive maintenance and are very destructive.

2. Turnover. More often than not, I saw students wanting to move out in summer months or at least after one year. This is due to students graduating, traveling, or bad roommate situations. That can be frustrating. However, we always had in the lease that they must find someone to sublease to get out of their lease and are responsible for a $250 sublet fee and $50 turnover fee. (which can easily make up for the inconvenience) Another thing we did was to offer a $200 gift card (or some sort of incentive) for resigning their lease, and for many that was enough to keep the same tenant another year.