All Forum Posts by: Rob Murphy

Thanks @Justin H., I just sent you a message before seeing this post. 

But just to address your comments. The going rate for student rooms around here is 400-500 (ball park). I rented as a student/working professional with roommates for about 10 years, moving every year or two, so I have a pretty good grasp on local rates.

Are your houses split level (two apartment homes)? I would be weary of renting a 7 bedroom house, thinking it would turn into a party shack. The majority of the apartments around these parts are 3-4 bedroom. 

Also, 99% of the student apartments are POU. If you come across an apartment with wifi/utilities included, you might have died and gone to heaven. This is just a given around here. 

I have a couple houses evaluated and the profit from each house (after taking into account estimated insurance/rehab/etc) is anywhere from $500-700.

 It's common practice/a given when renting as a student to sign into a 12 month lease. August to August. So even if tenants move out of province from April through August, my intent is to have them pay rent indefinitely. 

As for turnover, if I decide to go this route, I will be confirming rental/lease agreement for the following  year very early (February or April). If the lease is to cease, I will begin searching for new tenants immediately.

Just a few clips from this year.

"For a two-bedroom unit — about half of the 3,500 units surveyed — average rent is $904 in St. John's, up from $877, and in the CMA rent has gone from $864 to $888."

"The new product coming onto the market, on average, is $1,500 a month or higher for two bedrooms,” he said, pointing to Chelsea Place near Quidi Vidi Lake, and noting a planned apartment complex on Ladysmith Drive. “So that’s skewing that average slightly. … We’re not going to see rents come down because of the new product coming to market. … That’s going to have an upward effect on average rents.” 

My last apartment was $500 per room in a two room, very small apartment complex. I know my talk/info seems very biased, but I feel strongly for the growth of this area. 

Thanks Doug. (sorry guys, I dont know how to mention with the @. Yes newbie.) I'm well into a number of books now. And about 4-6 months into learning about investing/real estate.

Rich Dad Poor Dad changed my view on everything, but if you have any other book suggestions please let me know.

My goal here is not necessarily to amass an exorbitant about of money. It's to not have to worry about providing for my (future) family, and not live in an existential world of worry/fear of money like I did growing up. My real estate will be treated seriously as a business, investing rental income into rehab cost accounts and down payment accounts for future properties.    

David, I'm in agreement. The market here is inflating by the day. We have huge oil discoveries offshore, very large construction projects, and housing prices are on the up and up. BTW, I'm living in Newfoundland Canada. 

Sorry, I may not have explained myself in full. 

A few of the houses I looked at so far are:

• 2 story with 2/3 rooms per floor 
• 300-450 per room

That's $1200 - $2700 of rent per month.

My gottadoadealitius is more of, I'm going to make this work. Others in this city are doing it so I'm not letting anything get in my way. The right home, the right deal. I want to be ready for when it comes around. 

Hey everyone,

Long time listener to the podcast. New to the forum. Lots of questions and knowledge to learn. 

So really quick, I'm in the market for my first rental property. I've almost 100% set my sights on the student rental market. The city has a number of large colleges and universities, of which are surrounded by neighborhoods of around 40-60 y/o houses. 

The market is (what I and many others believe) highly inflated, so just for context, a 60 year old 2 story/2 apartment home in the school area is ~250+. Rooms can potentially rent for 300-450 each.  

I'm GOING TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN, so I'm just looking for some words of wisdom. Does anyone have a quick hitlist of what I should be looking for in a student rental. Or should I look for a live in rental (live in the basement and rent the upstairs) I'm approved for 300K @ 5% down. I'm single and work 2 weeks out of the city with 1 week off in the city.