If it was me, depending on travel needs I'd just go for some bonuses and then maybe pay rent to meet min spend.

Perhaps something related to their job, hypothetically reflected in their end-of-year bonus?

We discuss this with all prospective tenants and 99% of the time, they view it as a bonus, they don't want me knocking on their door either.

You may also want to add a "bonus" for tenant satisfaction i.e. his responsiveness to calls and promptly sharing issues with you.  

Thank you all so much for generously sharing your knowledge with me!

Bonus #1: When you started investing did it originally start as pocket money, but turn into a full time career?

If you can still achieve 93% occupancy or more AND you've got that added bonus that nearly all student's leases are cosigned by a more financially stable parent or guardian, I think student housing can still be a good niche.

Yes, those of us that work in the Bay Area are fortunate to make a generous income, but so are our expenses.  

  ( and I may be generous on the rents.) or $3,700 -$3,800/month totalIF the place really requires $100K in repairs...puts you all in at $449K. 

Can he advertise and promote referral bonuses or finders fee's for distressed properties?