I rent to college students in SC. Here's my approach: Rent to a group but they sign individual leases. If one of the students leaves/graduates at the end of the lease I put it on the students to find a replacement or I will not renew their leases. This removes issues with students not knowing each other and getting along (this won't eliminate this issue but it definitely reduces the chances of issues). Get parental guarantees. So far this has removed any payment issues. Look at students grades (good way to weed out the issues). I love the idea on furnishing the common areas (I've actually thought about doing the bedrooms). It's all about making the experience easier. I pay the utilities and they reimburse with the monthly rent. Again this is all about removing friction from the house (students chasing each other to get paid). The biggest concern I had was walking into my house and finding the place trashed. I resolved this by paying for a house cleaner to clean the common areas every two weeks. She's my eyes on the ground and I've been able to head off a couple of issues. Lastly, I make it clear to the students that this is my house. If they take care of the house I will take care of them. I do this with sending cookies to the house before finals. I invite them to a tailgate prior to the biggest football game of the year. If there is a maintenance issue I take care of it immediately.
So far so good!
Good luck!
