All Forum Posts by: Jaclyn B.

@Colleen F. 

I think you're absolutely right. A parent who won't cosign because they don't trust their own kid is definitely a huge red flag. I suspect my own experience as a student colors my opinion. I paid for college myself relying on a combination of income and financial aid. My parents never co-signed for me because they couldn't afford to, not because they didn't want to. 

I got turned down by several landlords who wouldn't sign a lease without a co-signer until I found a great landlord who took the time to understand my situation. I was never late with rent and took really good care of his property.

I guess my main point is that there are many types of students and it's helpful to take in the whole picture when deciding who to rent to.

Can someone define for me the difference between A, B, C, D neighborhoods? I've seen these terms used throughout the forums and I'm just curious how people define these different types of neighborhoods.

Intuitively I understand the difference between an "A" neighborhood and a "C" neighborhood. But what's difference between "B" and "C"? Any input is greatly appreciated.

Jaclyn

@Derek T. 

Sometimes the easiest way to open an ASCII file is to open it in a text editor like Notepad, figure out how it's delimited (comma/tab etc), and then import the data from Excel (where you can specify how it's delimited) rather than just opening the file. It's a tad onerous but it's worked for me in the past.

The map data is the raw data, you're just able to map it. Which can be very helpful if you're targeting a specific area. If you can put the map data (usually in geodatabase format) into a GIS system (I use ArcMap) you can run a query on it and extract the specify cases you're looking for. It might take some manipulation of the raw data (for example, creating a new column that flags a certain purchase date range), but querying the data isn't too complex. If you don't have access to a GIS system, I would definitely look into it. I will say that many of these systems have a steep learning curve. Depending on how you value your time, you can learn it yourself or find someone who has access and pay them to do the work for you.

Jaclyn

@Colleen F. @Lori Marra 

I would add that you shouldn't totally write off students whose parents can't or won't co-sign (my parent's never did). Many times these students don't have the financial backing of parents but are working their way through college instead. They likely have a financial aid package that will help them pay for rent. Any student with financial aid is usually required to maintain a certain GPA to keep that aid as well.  

Instead, ask to see their financial aid statement. Most colleges create a budget for financial aid that includes housing. Unless you live in an expensive market, off-campus housing is generally less expensive than on-campus housing. However, schools base their finaid budget for students on on-campus housing. This means that students with financial aid are generally receiving more than enough to pay rent. 

I hope this is helpful.

Jaclyn

@Noralee Deason 

I would try to catch some graduate level students. Grad students are serious about their studies and have made it past the partying undergrad days. 

If you must rent to undergrads, take some time to get to know them. Find out if they're in a fraternity or a sorority (red flags for me). Find out their major, some majors require more time and effort than others meaning your tenants is more likely to be studying than partying. Ask them what they do in their spare time (if they have any). Do they volunteer? What are their extracurriculars? 

Are they on financial aid? Financial aid students are my favorite. They're required to maintain a certain gpa in order to keep their aid and they can frequently use their financial aid to pay for housing. In order to verify their 'income' ask to see their financial aid statement. Most colleges include housing cost when they make their budget for financial aid. Unless you're in an expensive market, living off campus is generally cheaper. However, colleges base their finaid budget on on-campus housing. This means if a student has a total financial aid package they generally have more than enough to cover rent.

You could also check with your daughter and see if she has any responsible friends who will be looking for off-campus housing. 

Best of luck to you! :)

Jaclyn

@Jon Klaus 

On another note... what size lots are you looking for Jon?

@Brian Banks 

Welcome to BP! Are you managing only your properties or do you manage other investor's properties as well?

@Derek T. 

Hi Derek,

It sounds like what you need is a GIS (geographic information system). Your county should provide full data files of property records and tax data. Although usually you do have to pay for these. The files are quite onerous to maintain. I did a quick perusal of the Prince George's County website and it looks like these are located under the planning department. With these files you can load them into the GIS (the program I use is called ArcMap, made by ESRI) and then map all the properties in your county. If you are able to download data from your MLS (say into an Excel spreadsheet), you can then load that data into the GIS and join the two separate pieces of data (MLS data and county property data) to create a complete database. After that all you need is a couple of precise SQL queries and you'll have what you need.

I'm a bit of a mapping/GIS nerd so let me know if I can help you at all.

Jaclyn

@Aleksey Vinogradov 

Thanks!

@Dawn Anastasi I loved how you used peer to peer lending to finance your purchases. It's something I intend to pursue as well.