All Forum Posts by: Lucas Anderson

I am 100% out of that segment in that market, with good cause. 

SCSU has what I consider a very stupid plan for SCSU, that's going to feed continued decline. Short version is as enrollment drops, there going to cut programs to find level. Makes no sense to me because as one cuts programs, the effect will be decline in enrollment, so it's a feed-back loop. But they have a core program that makes sense and they are a-ok slashing things down until they get to that point, which would be about half the on-campus size it is now. So it's a declining market segment, with the primary controller of market size happy to decrease it. 

It's actually very easy to get student tenants in that area because the vast majority of operators are very poor quality operators, so the trick is to just be a better operator. For example, last one we did, we made sure the place was setup decent, clean. Than we added a great wifi system, put in the biggest HD tv I could get at Sams Club, x-box and PlayStation. And we offered the place with all that as "perks". We marketed units 1 time, literally once ever. Never had to market a vacancy ever again because people would reach out asking if they could "get on the list" for when a unit came available. People who stayed there had friends, who would stop out to hang, right. And via that, would want to rent there instead of there current s-hole. 

It comes down to a business mindset; Never Fight Fair. You competing with other offerings, right? So I looked at those and asked myself how I could open an artery on them. Yeah, I'm definently not a person one want's to face off against, lol, I am sociopathic in that manner, it's business, I simply don't care what happens to my competitors, I bring a bazooka to a knife fight.    So crawl into the mind and interests of your target client. They don't really cook, they microwave things. So I had 2 very nice microwaves and 1 simple stove. They hate cleaning, so I had 2 dishwashers. Rooms were small because I didn't want a bunch of people in bedrooms, right, so small bedrooms because it's for sleeping BUT big common space for "hang". There all about internet, so I got the best $ could buy. 

Others were getting $250 per room, we were at $500 and with a waiting list a mile long. We simply made it a desirable place to be, that's it, that simple. And one person would be "contracted" as House manager. People stayed in-line because they had something to loose, they wanted to be there, it wasn't just another average place to rent. They knew if they got kicked out, they were banned. 

It's more about building a community then just a rental unit. 

If someone was to go that route, I'd say follow that plan, build it as the place to be, and a place to retain. Then you'll get best revenues and best tenant compliance. The kids have to self-police because there is no such thing as "finding a good one", there kids, all of them are capable of being good or a mess. So it's about them wanting to be good, having something to loose, something to retain. 

@Fong Lee As a person heavily active in the St Cloud market I will speak from actual experience on the ground. 

As far as unit demand, it's off the charts. Everything we list available is getting dozens of applications in first week, the hard work is keeping up with demand. 

The SCSU campus vacancies have 0 effect in standard housing rentals. the campus rentals are basically bedrooms, no joke, so there could be 10,000 of those available and it has 0 affect on the demand for standard housing units because it's like comparing a glut of bicycles available affecting car & truck sales, comparing apples to baseballs. 

Healthcare employment is a major driver in the St Cloud market as it houses the regional hospital and medical facilities, people travel in from far around to receive medical services, which powers a niche STR market in the area. In addition there is also a major VA regional hospital to add to that.

There is considerable manufacturing in the area of various kinds, Capital One has a headquarters although for most part the lower wages empowers much of the larger employers in the area so affordable housing is a solid go-to. 

The new construction apartments going up are all but exclusively class A luxury apartments, I know the builders and investment group.

Rents are similar to twin cities rates although property acquisition is significantly less than twin cities rates making for considerably better return rate potentials. 

Crime rate is not an issue, nor do I believe it is going up, if anything St Cloud is far more stable than a great many markets out there right now. The areas in St Cloud that are so called "bad" areas, I would walk the dark alleys alone at 2am, the worst areas in St Cloud are comparable with an average area in Brooklyn park. There is nowhere in St Cloud that comes close to a N.Mpls area. 

The #1 job market problem in St Cloud is filling open positions, I hear business owners and managers complaining about needing to find more people almost daily in St Cloud, so how hard is it to find a job in St Cloud, it's down to fogging a mirror and you got a job, lol, literally. 

@Mason Hjelmeland unless your rents start at 1300/1400 per month minimum , I wouldn’t waste time in St. Cloud.