Leasing strategy to child w/ roommates?

[Bob Dale]

I am purchasing property that my child will live in with roommates during college. After that it will become a pure investment rental property. Should I have my child on the lease as a rent paying tenant or simply rent to the roommates for 2/3 of fair market value? I'm assuming there are tax consequences to be considered and I don't want to find out at the end of the year that I made a rookie mistake with the rental agreements. Thanks for any help.

[Daniel Soileau]

We had our son sign a lease for his half of the condominium. We've been advised that separate leases are better so that if/when the roommate vacates the lease process is simpler. We were concerned about whose name to put the utilities in, and requiring a utility deposit was the only way we knew to ensure last-month coverage. The only problem we face now is the cable/ISP company not allowing two hookups to the same address, and individual preferences for TV/Internet can vary a lot.