Just moved to Tallahassee

[David Ransom]

I just moved to Tallahassee and I am looking to close my first deal on a rental by the end of the year.  I am wondering if anyone has as advice when it comes to renting out to college students. Or is it best to just stay with families?  Thanks for any advice

[Benjamin Pekarek]

I'm going to second what @Karlus Henry has already stated. Though our headquarters are in Sarasota, as an FSU alumni, I've kept two complexes under management in Tallahassee. The easiest way to make money in a college town is to rent the units by the door, not by the unit. However, there is some initial headaches in setting up the structure. 

For one, each unit, be they 2/2, 3/3, 4/4, etc. are subdivided by the bedroom into individually keyed units with a common kitchen, living room, and dining room. For the properties we manage, there are common mail facilities, and each tenant has a key to the mailbox - just makes our lives easier. 

Our lease structure has no utilities built in, simply direct billed to the tenants. In other words, the bill comes in at $100 for the month, 2/2 is $50 per tenant, 3/3 is $34 per tenant, 4/4 is $25 per tenant, etc. etc. etc. 

The hardest thing to get around are the students learning to share the common areas. We've taken to the practice of a one year lease in which they have to learn to live together. We understand that personalities will clash. However, you're in college, you're over 18, you're an adult - learn to act like it! If you hate everyone's gut, we'll transfer you to a different unit next school year, and try it all over again - as the units are furnished, all the student has to do is move their clothing. 

The only two things that would deter me from taking a Tally property (or any other college property) under A.) Management, or B.) Purchase, would be the lack of parental guarantees, or fewer than one bathroom per "unit". We managed a property on Tharpe (great location, close to campus, had a waiting list to get in!), but as the units were 4/2s, the bathroom share setup almost guaranteed squabbles over the bathrooms, and thus an incredibly high turnover every single year. Now, we never had a problem refilling the bedrooms, but we had the costs associated with repairs to go ahead and get those units rent ready again. 

Just my two cents, and good luck in 'Nole country!