Binghamton Investment Property for Collegw Students

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Binghamton Investment Property for Collegw Students

Raquel Knoell
Real Estate Agent · Member since 2019 · 4 posts · 5 votes

Hello Bigger Pockets!

I have been super inspired by you all and am considering my first investment property in Binghamton.

Background-I am a licensed real estate agent on along Island. About 15 years ago (before being an agent)my husband and I took my father in laws low rental property by St. John's University and rented it to college students for 5x the rent.

We have 4 kids, a few businesses and our oldest in his 2nd year at Bing.

Been reading the BRRR book and really thinking of trying it. Our thought is to work this year to learn the market up there, gather some great contacts and buy a distressed property. We would take a loan out on our house or refinance (although we did do that about 7 years ago).

If we were to buy a property and have it ready by next fall, my son and his roommates could live there his JR and SR year and hopefully develop a following for future student rentals.

My questions are since we live 3.5 hours away, who would handle issues like initial renovation, snow removal, maintenance and any issues that arise? Since I am an agent and know the rental laws in NY have just changed, I am not sure if we can market to students only. I am also wondering if it's a good idea to use my own property that I live in to finance the deal.

Any thoughts, advice or comments are greatly appreciated!

If I can assist anyone with questions on the Long Island Market, please don't hesitate to ask, I'm always happy to help!

Raquel

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  • Stephanie JacobsonBusiness Member
    Real Estate Agent · Ithaca, NY · Member since 2016 · 427 posts · 323 votes
    7y

    Hi Raquel!

    You've got a great plan here. I have another BU dad who is looking for property where his son will live with roommates, manage while he's in school, and as you said create a following for others after he goes. He called it "BRRRRing by proxy" and I thought that was pretty funny. Using your money this way is far better than paying a thousand dollars a month for the dorms!

    For taking care of the day-to-day, even overseeing your renovation, you'll want a good property manager. Property management can make or break a long-distance investor. You'll want to use someone you trust and work well with. Once you find a good fit, using them for all of your properties will save you a lot of cash and headache. I have a few people I'd be happy to recommend.

    Rental laws upstate are in total flux at the moment. There are groups of landlords in various places getting together and protesting, even some lawsuits. As you probably recall from your Ethics class, advertising regulations for realtors are tricky. You can't mention the type of person you're renting to ("students", "families", etc.) or deny any source of income (like DSS or Section 8). When I'm leasing to students, I have a hard time because I can't actually turn anyone away just because they're not a student. The best way to filter if you're doing your own leasing is to rent by the bedroom, because most market (non-student) tenants don't want to pay that way. When asked if an apartment is for students, I always say "the landlord will take anyone, but the price is per bedroom and we need a group of X people." 

    A property manager who works with students regularly will solve this for you, though. They will be up on advertising regulations which will limit your liability. Managers also have a running list of students looking for housing; kids who were with them the year before, or who just called to see if they have anything open. I can't stress the importance of hiring a good manager enough.

    As far as financing a purchase, be sure to shop around. You already have that option available, so why not check in to some other solutions and see if something is a better fit? There's a credit union in Binghamton (I don't think I can name names in the forums) that offers great rates on second/investment homes, and will accept out-of-towners as long as they're doing business in Bing (and buying a house here counts!).

    I'll send you a PM to give you some more details. :)

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  • Raquel Knoell
    OP
    Real Estate Agent · Member since 2019 · 4 posts · 5 votes
    7y

    @Stephanie Jacobson thank you so much for all the information, I greatly appreciate it. I'd love to have a cal one day next week

    1Reply
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