All Forum Posts by: Noralee Deason

I have a 2 BR / 1 BA condo in a college town.  My daughter has lived there while in college, but is about to get married and just moved into her own place.  I'm going to rent it out for the next couple of years.  It seems a lot of students / parents are looking for an all-inclusive lease, especially since it could very well end up being rented to unrelated roommates.  What are the pros and cons to all inclusive?

I have the rent listed as $500 / $500 security deposit.  I know when my daughter was there internet was $54; Water around $50, and electricity from $70 - $120.   How much would you increase the rent by to ensure expenses are covered?  Does keeping the deposit at $500 and charging $700 / month all inclusive seem reasonable?

Thanks for the replies! I like the suggestion for googling and checking Facebook.  I know teenagers today seem to think they are anonymous online and post everything :)  

I work for a public school district and I know there are many teenagers who have criminal backgrounds.  May I ask on the application if there are any minor children who are under suspension / expulsion status from a public or private or have been found guilty of a felony or an act that would be considered a felony of committed by an adult?  Can I use that information to reject an application?  I just don't want drug dealers or sex offenders in my property, whether they are 14 or 114....

I am in the process of converting the condo my daughter has been living in while in college to a rental.  I spent a good bit of time yesterday putting together an application and lease, but was struggling with how to deal with the parent guarantor piece since I will likely end up with college students.  

• I was going to collect a $30 application fee per tenant, plus the HOA requires a separate criminal background check only from the local sheriff's office. This will cost the applicant another $20. In the event of parent guarantors, I'm assuming I need to at least check their credit... Would you just accept the $30 per applicant, but actually ONLY check the parent's background and just let the criminal background check suffice for the student, rather than trying to charge an application fee to the applicant and guarantor?
• Do you have the parent guarantor complete a quasi-application with the same employment history, residency history, credit history, etc?  Or, is it a separate section on the regular application?  Any language used would be helpful.
• At the time of lease signing, do you have the parent sign a section on the actual lease, or a supplemental form?  Again, language used would be helpful.

Thanks so much!

Thanks for the advice!  I was very fortunate to get this unit.  It happened to be owned by a friend that teaches at GSU and he sold it to me when he moved.  These units rarely come up for sale and are usually grabbed quickly by one of the property management companies in town or investors with more of an inside track.  It is directly across the street from the stadium, right across the street from a Campus bus stop and an easy walk to the heart of campus.  I hope to have this unit for a long time, as I don't expect I will have any problems keeping it rented.

@Jaclyn B.

@Jaclyn B.

I have a small condo that my daughter and her fiance have lived in while attending college. They are getting married soon and just went under contract to buy their own condo in a more family friendly area on the other side of town. They are scheduled to close on July 23rd. They have a pre-approval letter from the bank, but they are young, fairly low credit, etc, so I am just a bit worried that even though their bank said "yes" something could fall through during the underwriting process. I hope not, but I know it's possible.

My issue is that the 'Operation Move-In' date for on-campus housing is August 15th, so I assume most students will be moving in on or around that date. If I could find a temp instructor or graduate student, they may want to come in even earlier than that.

So, my question is -- Should I begin my marketing efforts here soon and just explain that I won't be actually signing the lease until July 23rd when my daughter's financing is formally approved? Will that scare people off thinking the deal might fall through? Or, should I wait until after July 23rd to even put the 'For Rent' sign up?

Glad to have revived the post! As a person who owned her first home at 18 and has a 20-year old now, I have a soft spot for these younger folks just starting out! I agree, work hard to get started young.

@Genus Powell I'm also new in the real estate investment world. I live next door to you in Effingham, and I did purchase a condo for my daughter to live in during college at GSU (much better than paying rent!). She is about to get married and move out and I will have my first rental. I am hoping to acquire another in 6-8 months.

My daughter's fiance' works in Claxton and she is still in college to become a teacher. They are both only 20, and don't have much credit. Actually, her fiance's is really messed up because of choices of his mother (long story). My daughter doesn't have much credit either and very little income, but at least payments have been made by her father for student loans in her name, which has helped her credit.

I was actually surprised that they were able to work with BB&T to get something called a CHIP loan for a condo that only required 3.5% down for owner occupants. The biggest catch was that the condo association had to certify that at least 50% of the units were occupied by owners. They found a very inexpensive condo that they are hoping to close on soon that met this requirement and they plan to hold on to as a rental unit after they save enough to build a home in a few years, after she is full-time employed.

I don't know that you can get into anything without income OR credit, but this might be a program you want to look into when you are able. The interest rate is a bit higher but they don't require PMI, which largely offsets that. I can honestly say that I got married at 18 and bought a house for $28,000, spent about $500 on paint, and sold it 3 years later for $32,000. That was in the mid-90s. It was a tiny little house, but it did appreciate and a good chunk of my tiny house payment was going to principal. If you can purchase young, I think it is a good idea, especially in this market that is just beginning to hit an upswing. Good luck to you!

I think I'll give this month's meeting a try. Have you by any chance gotten any good advice on accountants or attorneys in the area? I am probably going to be renting my condo in the next couple of months, as soon as she gets into her own. I'm going to work on a lease, but would like to have an attorney review it that is experienced in dealing with leases.

@Joshua Neimetz -- I am from right next door in Effingham. I have one investment property in Statesboro that my daughter and her fiance have been living in while in college that will soon be a rental (Go Eagles!). I am looking to acquire rentals to supplement retirement income in about 8 years Honestly -- I'm not that old. I just started everything, like career building and child rearing, really young :-) Have you been participating in the Savannah REIA meetings? I would love to meet you and your wife sometime. I'm looking to get involved with some other folks in real estate in the area, whether pros or newbies like me!