You're correct that student housing is not a slam dunk as many assume, and certainly has it's nuances. While that is true about many new student apartments going up in Tally, the market isn't flooded with rental supply - I respectfully disagree and I think that's a simple way of looking at it. Those new student apartments are asking a very high price for rent, so if your rental is priced right you will certainly get a lot of attention from students. That being said, I think many investors in Tallahassee may need to up their games and consider renovating some aspects of their properties. I can't tell you how many older houses around campus that look like they haven't been updated since the 80's.
Generally speaking, I've heard most property management in Tallahassee is quite poor and/or lazy. There are a few good ones, but you better do your due diligence and don't just blindly pick one in town.
Other general observations about student rentals (not specific to Tally):
Nice thing is you can get parents to sign off as co-signors.
Downsides are you will have naturally high turnover and must account for the costs involved in those frequent turns - I did not factor this in when I first started. I haven't had many issues with students destroying my properties - and while it would be a little pain to deal with you can always go after their parents if they were co-signors.
Another downside is some students are entitled and/or not as independent as the typical renter - thus you must account for them contacting you more often if you decide to self-manage. Also - sometimes helicopter parents become involved which is something you may have to manage at times. Ways to mitigate this is to try and target (in accordance w/ fair housing) older students and/or grad students - they are typically much more independent.
