All Forum Posts by: Sophie Pierce

Awesome thanks! I'm not great with Excel so I'm looking for something comparable but user friendly and not too expensive. I like what I see with RentalHero so far, thanks!

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My mom and I are just starting out in the rental property business. We are starting with 2 multi-family homes. Is it recommended to use a management software? Or do people use excel? Please let me know, and if you do use one, please let me know which one you use and roughly what it costs, as well as some pros and cons. Thanks so much for the help!

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Originally posted by @Andrew Syrios:

Originally posted by @Sophie Pierce:

Originally posted by @Andrew Syrios:

If it's a good sized college that isn't a commuter school (students usually live on campus) and the property is close to the campus, it should be fine. Although you will want to check with city ordinances. Some don't allow over 5 or 6 unrelated adults living in the same unit. This is true in Eugene, OR for example, although you can get around it by making the property a "communal living" property.

The ordinances state that only 4 unrelated persons may live together in one dwelling unit. I suspect this is why this building has been deemed a duplex. How do I get around this if the building is not a real duplex? (Tenant has to enter into living room of unit 1 to get to unit 2). Thanks so much!

Is it deemed a duplex by the seller or is it zoned as a duplex by the city? If it's zoned as a duplex, the best path forward is likely just to turn it into one.

I was finally able to find out that it is deemed a duplex by the city. Thanks so much for your help! Really appreciate it. Lots to learn but I feel better about moving forward with this property thanks to everyone!

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Originally posted by @Andrew Syrios:

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Originally posted by @Joe Scaparra:

It sounds like a good opportunity, but you need to investigate further! Usually football players on scholarship get a stipend to live off campus. Check and see if that is the case and look into the possibility of continuing on with other football players going forward. Treat them right and you might have a gold mine. I have 10 rental units I manage in a college town and several of my duplexes are very close to the Vet School. My Vet students are multi-year tenants and when they graduate I incentivize them to find replacement tenants. It is the best thing going and easiest to manage.

Since you already have football players, maybe they can give you tips and introduce you to contacts inside the football organization to help you continue on the football pipeline. Coaches have an incentive to keep their players eligible and if you were to have some insight on how best to work the coaches that might further your standing in getting support from the coaches. For example, you might let the coaches know of issues that instead of having to go to police about disturbances ect you would be willing to let them know first. Football players can sometimes get out of hand and do stupid things but you can present yourself as one who has the University interest in mind! Just some rambling, but 8 rooms at $500 a clip totals $4000 a month on a 215k property is a GRAND SLAM! Cheers!

This is great advice, thanks so much! This building is advertised as a duplex, but because a tenant would have to walk through the living room of the first unit to get to the second unit, I don't think it would work. Would you worry about having to rent out 8 beds in one house? Not all 8 beds have to be rented out to make the mortgage + misc. payments, but it still worries me some, especially as a first unit. Thank you again.

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Originally posted by @Colleen F.:

Search student rentals and college rentals on this site, there is tons of insight into this type of rental and some very experienced people in the area. The first thing I would check is your town regulations related to unrelated persons and noise ordinances. Next check it is a duplex. We had a duplex with one entrance and two separate interior entrances. There were two meters and furnaces. You may be better off preserving it as a duplex if it is one. You will have more rental options. You would need a boarding house license in some areas for 8 unrelated people in a house. Have members of the football team historically rented this house season after season?

Thanks for the advice. We are trying to get more information on the place. It's owned by an investment company. So far the realtor has only gotten us the financials and last year's leases - where I noticed that only 7 rooms had been rented out. I don't think it can qualify as a duplex because in order to get into the basement (or what they're considering to be the second unit), a tenant would have to go through the living room of the first unit. I have no idea why it's listed as a duplex... maybe to get more people interested.

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Hi. My mom and I have wanted to get into real estate for a while now and we've started looking. So far, everything is a bust. We have come across an 8 bedroom house in a college town. I was intrigued by it because it's described as a duplex - 4bed/2bath per unit. When we visited, there was only one entrance, so it's really just a big house. Right now, 8 football players are renting, and some might stay for another year. They pay $500 total per room. The house is around 215k. I think it would make great income, but I'm scared it would be too hard to rent out when the football players move out. Can anyone share some insight or advice? Thanks in advance!

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All Forum Posts by: Sophie Pierce

Sophie Pierce has started 2 posts and replied 7 times.

Post: Recommended to use Management Software?

Post: Recommended to use Management Software?

Post: Is an 8 Bedroom in College Town too risky?

Post: Is an 8 Bedroom in College Town too risky?

Post: Is an 8 Bedroom in College Town too risky?

Post: Is an 8 Bedroom in College Town too risky?

Post: Is an 8 Bedroom in College Town too risky?