Hello Spencer,
I do invest in a college town and we have been doing well with it. There are pitfalls but there are advantages as well!
Check with the city to see if there are restrictions on who can live together- in my area you can have 3 unrelated adults, I have heard of others saying only 2. Also check if this is something actually enforced, and if so, what are the consequences?
Lots of people are scared of renting to students, but I often find them to be less of an issue than some of my other renters. It really depends on the individual- our school has a lot of people working to pay for school while they are in school, and these students tend to be more responsible. You may also find there are lots that want to rent close to campus that aren't students- they work for the U, or in town, or elsewhere but like the atmosphere.
We usually do 12 month leases- students often stay for the summer or sublet, or just pay for the months they aren't there. Most of our tenants stay for another year (possibly more, our first purchase was 2.5 years ago). There is more turnover than other rentals, sure, but I generally have a vacancy filled well before the current tenant moves out.
I am not scared of old houses- our 'youngest' so far was built in 1913. Just plan on more maintenance and any projects being more involved- electric and plumbing especially since materials and codes have changed so much in 100+ years. We also have 2 in the historic district which will mean more restrictions in what we can do with the exteriors but all in all I find it rewarding to work on these old homes.
Kelly
