Just want to clarify on the student housing issue that the City of East Lansing has expressed no intent to push students out of the rental market. I work as a consultant and interact with the City of East Lansing and I recently asked (last Thursday) if they were pushing student rentals out of their family neighborhoods into the fringes. Their response was an affirmative "No." They said the student rental communities that have cropped up around the fringes were developments outside the city limits in the adjacent township, which they had no control over. They also said, "We are a college town!" They said it makes sense to have student rentals in the neighborhoods, especially close to campus. They want to accommodate all residents, and students are part of the mix. They've been trying to provide housing opportunities for other markets besides students, but that doesn't mean they are trying to push students out.
Would they make it tough to set up new student rental houses? I don't know. They might. I know they have pretty tight rental regulations in a lot of neighborhoods, and some of the local neighborhood associations have rid themselves of the ability to rent altogether (save the one's with that option grandfathered in). But the city itself isn't going to force existing rentals to go away. So if one comes up for sale, buy it!
I use to also tell people the City was pushing student housing out, and I've heard the same from others. Seems to be the commonly held belief in the area. Just wanted to shed some light on the issue since I just talked to the city about it.
