All Forum Posts by: Elliot Adkins

William Carroll I appreciate the friendly words and I do agree with much of your assertion, especially your point about the long-term trend towards Ohio State taking more and more control of the University district. Great university but even greater business entity!

Oh and one additional comment: There is no way Ohio State could make all full-time students stay in dorms or Ohio-State-owned housing. They've been building brand new dorms non-stop for the past few years, and there are still sophomores who will get around the Sophomore Rule because there isn't an available slot for them in any dorm. Ohio State only has so much room to build dorms, so I don't foresee anyone older than Sophomore age being required to stay in a dorm anytime soon.

I have to slightly disagree with @William Carroll here regarding Ohio State's sophomore rule.

I do agree Ohio State will continually make efforts to keep students paying them for housing, and of course I agree there's greed involved. However, I don't feel the sophomore rule has affected landlords very much yet. This may change. In my experience working in property management with the largest manager of "student" properties in the area, occupancy remained essentially the same. With over 1,000 units under management, my company saw 2014 and 2015 occupancy of about 94-95% drop to about 93-94% in 2016. I'm not saying there won't be a further effect in the future, just my two cents on the matter!

If you can still achieve 93% occupancy or more AND you've got that added bonus that nearly all student's leases are cosigned by a more financially stable parent or guardian, I think student housing can still be a good niche. The main concern I've seen personally is high maintenance and CapEx.

I certainly agree that one should tread with caution, just wanted to offer a slightly different perspective on the matter.

And to reference the sophomore rule (good article), the company I worked at this summer saw a drop from 99% to 95% occupancy.

I am a student at Ohio State and have experience with property management that dealt almost exclusively in students. I can tell you that here you will find limited inventory and will pay top dollar for what you do find, as previously mentioned. Additionally, rent prices are already highly inflated so you may not have as much value-add ability as desired in regards to immediate rent revenue. Should you look to increase rent through renovation, furniture provided, etc. you will then likely need such an increase to recoup capital expenditure that you move to a price point that brings you into competition with brand new furnished apartment buildings being built last year, this year, and in coming years along High Street. By no means do I look to dissuade. Just something to think about. Go Bucks!

@David Faulkner thank you for the honest advice!

Fellow BP members,

Doing some surfing and reading on BP and thought of a question: Is it better to invest in the place you know (for example, a place you spent the last 5 years living) or the place you live (for example, a new city in a new state that you just moved to but will be living for the next several years)?

Which is better? Where you know or where you live? A combination of both? Strictly dependent on each market's current performance? What are everyone's opinions about investing from states away?

Just interested in what people will say. For the sake of the question, lets assume by "invest" we mean mostly buy and hold multifamily but there is also the possibility the hypothetical investor will also do some SFH rentals or even a few flips per year. Thanks!

@Aimee Sowards-Mounts thank you for the referral! I was born and raised in Ohio, but I list SC in my profile because I will be moving there immediately upon graduation. Although I live here in Ohio as of now, my REI career will begin in South Carolina.

Brandon Borah thank you for the reply! I forgot to mention in the above post that I am also looking for book recommendations, so the list you gave is much appreciated.

Hey Everyone,

I am a student at The Ohio State University (please view my profile to see more specific information about myself and my REI goals if you wish to do so) and I hope to learn as much as I possibly can before I graduate, as I will be jumping immediately into my real estate career and I hope to accomplish immense growth in my portfolio the first several years.

I am looking for any investor meet-ups or clubs in the Columbus area. I am also interested in any opportunities to meet investors in smaller group or one-on-one. I would also be more than willing to discuss the idea of working with, helping out, or shadowing investors in any way I am capable.

I have a relatively flexible schedule, a commitment to learning this industry, and an extremely strong drive towards my real estate goals. I am ready to take any steps I can to establish a strong network and strong base of knowledge to get the most out of real estate. Please reach out if you have any information, tips, or even just to say hello!