Your main competition is the dorms and the apartments on the north side but housing in general is still sparse for college students.

@Anna Brown you have 2 factors that give you a competitive advantage right now - low interest rates and a low tax basis.

We had a project which has hit several bumps in the road due to contractor reliability or rather lack thereof.

I personally would stay away from Yardi, unfortunately their system is outdated and their customer service is sorely lacking. 

I also have zero debt (student loans paid off, bought and paid off multiple cars, etc), but my credit score isnt amazing just mostly cause of lack of accounts (lets call it around 620 fico 8, higher on credit karma).  

My competition ranges from 15-20% but I have some value adds that allow me to be at the higher end. 

In addition, Airbnb is getting more and more competitive since the number of listing are going up and many are not getting filled as fast as in the recent past.  

Keep your loan approval process quick and flexible, build strong industry relationships, and offer competitive rates.

Here what they pay really isn't competitive although some places I understand they pay a premium.

Hey Ruth, my company offers a competitive service, but we also include effective SMS campaigns and consistently generate 2-4 leads per day for our clients.