Frostburg Student Rentals

[Austin Whitcomb]

Good Morning!

I have been looking into buying a possible rental in Frostburg, MD which is home to Frostburg State University. I graduated from there in 2017 and many students, including myself, lived in off campus housing. I wanted to get some opinions on a few things;

• Renting to students in a college town (as first rental experience)
  
• Buying first rental 2.5 hours away from where you live
• Any experience renting in Frostburg or a similar small college town
• Buying a rental with a partner who is also a good friend

Feel free to share any experiences, good or bad, that you may think would be helpful.

Thanks! And Happy Holidays!

[Bob Chang]

@Austin Whitcomb,

In 2018, I purchased a quadplex in Frostburg. Overall, it’s been a good experience but I have some reservations about investing more in that area. Regardless of the pandemic conditions, my biggest challenge has been with finding contractors. I own a duplex in Hagerstown which is somewhat similar to Montgomery County where you can throw a rock a hit a carpenter, a plumber, a landscaper, an HVAC guy and a slew real estate agents with the same rock. Forget about Yelp, Angie’s List or Task Rabbit, I’ve only been able to find competent contractors by word of mouth. I got to know all of my neighbors and their referrals have worked out well. The problem is, the good ones are often busy.

I was quoted 12% and higher by 3 local property management companies. I ended up finding a good fit with one out of Winchester, Virginia. My advice is shop around and find a PM that you like and can work with you rather than for you.

The pace of things is little bit different. In my experience, maybe because it’s a rural area, but I do not expect people to call me back the same day. I get better results with texting and worse with email. This is probably universal but you have to figure out how best to communicate with people before settings any expectations.

All of my tenants have been really good. I inherited all of them who were also long-term residents (5 years+). I feel this actually helped when I first bought the place because I didn’t really need to update anything. In fact, I’m refurbishing the first vacant unit now with the carpenter who travels from Frederick, MD.

I hope this helps. I don’t frequent BP as often as I’d like but the information here has been invaluable.

Regards,

Bob