Hi Marlin,
We have 2 daughters living in Lynchburg, one just graduated and the other is a junior. We also just bought our first investment property there. Our thinking was that we would buy a property that our girls could live in and then when they were done we would keep it as a long term rental. However the property we bought (2br/2ba at Cornerstone) came with a tenant who has a lease until 7/17 and has indicated that she wants to renew the lease. She is a great tenant( not sure if she is a student, may be a young professional) so we are going to keep her and we are currently looking for another property for our girls to live in. We really like the Cornerstone area, it has the advantage of having a Liberty University busline for students so if someone does not have a car they can still live there. It is very close to campus.Also there seems to be a lot of developement going on in that area (coffee shops, restaurants etc) and some nice amenities such as walking trails and a health club.
When we bought the place it was being managed by Priority One and since we are out of state investors we decided to keep them on. They told us that they have a waiting list of people wanting to get into that area. That was also a big draw for us. Our one daughter was living in a 4br/1 ba house over on Fort Avenue and paying 450.00 for the room, which I felt was overpriced( she was renting month to month so she was paying a premium for that) however when the landlord rented out one of the small rooms to 2 girls and there very mean dog and then had another person sleeping on the couch( 6 people, one dog. ..4br ,1 bath) I thing the landlord paid about $90,000 for the house. It is an older property and in my opinion not a great area...I dont know if parents of students would feel great about having their kids live there...I certainly did not like it much for my daughter...and I know that the landlord had a hard time renting out the 4th bedroom for the price she wanted, it was empty for several months( that is why she finally allowed 2 girls to split the room ) As always in Real Estate, location , location , location...We felt it was time for her to find a new place....she is now renting at the Vue at Cornerstone, completely furnished with her own bathroom for 510.00 per month plus utilities(40.00) at the other place she was paying $100 for utilities so she is now in a much better place for about the same amount. We are hoping to buy a place for her to move into once her lease is up in July.
We really like Cornerstone and there is one that is for sale now that we are considering...our Realtor thinks it is overpriced, so if we did make an offer we would come in quite a bit lower than they are asking( they are asking 129,00.00 we might offer 119,000.00 or less.....)
My other daughter has a very good deal, living in a 3br/3ba condo at Cornerstone for 290.00 plus utilites( about 50.00) She has 2 roommates who pay the same so the landlord is getting about 870.00 per month for a 3br/3ba. I think one could get more per room...maybe 300.00 to 325.00 more if it camed furnished...
We are currently getting 850.00 for our 2br/2ba and although the property management said that they usually raise the rent every year, we are going to keep the rent the same for at least one more cycle as the tenant is so good.
Have you thought of buying a 3br place and then renting out 2 of the bedrooms? You could perhaps get a first time home buyers loan with a lower down payment...
We were not super happy with the Realtor we used for our first purchase and we are now working with Micky Herzing... he is very good and also has about 40 of his own investments...If you connect with him I am sure he will have some good advice.
I will send you a colleague request...we are planning to come for a visit next month, perhaps we could get a cup of coffee and discuss all things real estate!
