Investing in College Towns

[Joseph S.]

My wife and I are considering investing in Auburn, AL and renting out by the room. This was before COVID-19 started and changed everything. Now I look at investing in a college town where the university drives the economy as a high-risk high-reward venture. It is still in our wheelhouse of possibilities but I wanted to get more input from those more experienced than I. The town seems to be over-saturated with college housing with enrollment remaining flat; however, the appreciation in the area is great. Would anyone consider investing in college towns at this moment? Do you think market prices will drop in those areas if they college is closed in the fall or the pandemic continues and foreclosures are not allowed and/or vacancy is high? Do you see colleges changing completely after this pandemic (ie Cal States are shutting down for the fall)? Side note: our rent by the room strategy is hard to get across to real estate agents and property managers. Has anyone else ran into this problem?