Rental Property Investor · cummings, GA · Member since 2020 · 6 posts · 3 votes
I am looking to buy my first investment property near Duke University for rental to college students. Is it a good idea to invest for rental near universities now because of slow down from COVID and when life is back normal, students will be back to univ. Or any other suggestions>
Investor · Durham NC (and Brenham, TX) · Member since 2018 · 302 posts · 197 votes
5y
Hi @Amarnath P., anything near Duke would certainly make a great investment, as there's always high demand for rentals. Over the past few years there has been LOTS of development of apartments in the area, but from what I've seen and/heard there is enough continued growth in Durham that the market's not likely to become saturated anytime soon. Duke has done a decent job of handling COVID, generally enabling any students who chose to be in Durham for the fall semester to do so, and the plans for the spring are similar. The main thing to be aware of is that the market is incredibly hot right now, so for most strategies it is not easy to find anything that's a particularly good buy unless you have some kind of major edge (and probably willingness to take on a large rehab). There's little chance for cash flow, but if that's not your primary interest then perhaps you could find something that works for you with the help of a great agent.
Investor · Durham NC (and Brenham, TX) · Member since 2018 · 302 posts · 197 votes
5y
Hi @Amarnath P., anything near Duke would certainly make a great investment, as there's always high demand for rentals. Over the past few years there has been LOTS of development of apartments in the area, but from what I've seen and/heard there is enough continued growth in Durham that the market's not likely to become saturated anytime soon. Duke has done a decent job of handling COVID, generally enabling any students who chose to be in Durham for the fall semester to do so, and the plans for the spring are similar. The main thing to be aware of is that the market is incredibly hot right now, so for most strategies it is not easy to find anything that's a particularly good buy unless you have some kind of major edge (and probably willingness to take on a large rehab). There's little chance for cash flow, but if that's not your primary interest then perhaps you could find something that works for you with the help of a great agent.
Real Estate Agent · Durham, NC · Member since 2020 · 16 posts · 4 votes
5y
I agree with Annchen. You can find a buy/hold but unless you are willing to do a major rehab, not many flips right now. Unless of course you have everything in place to work with wholesalers. These guys move fast and I mean fast! But again these are major rehabs. Let me know if you have everything in place and I can put you in touch with some wholesalers.
Rental Property Investor · New York City, NY · Member since 2017 · 493 posts · 386 votes
5y
@Amarnath Pallampati
I rent in U area and fortunately haven’t been affected due to Covid.. One of the reasons I haven’t been affected is I don’t rely solely on U students. My properties are close to U but my properties I can rent to students, professionals, any type of tenant. I’m also close to U hospitals which is a bonus.. My suggestion is U area are good locations but if you’re relying only on students you’re putting all your eggs in one basket.. Even after Covid I suspect Universities will continue providing more online options to students which might eliminate the demand for students being walking distance to school..
Rental Property Investor · cummings, GA · Member since 2020 · 6 posts · 3 votes
5y
Ah thank you all. I am looking for a profitable and easy to rent areas esp either closer to univ or working population in a safe neighborhood. Would be interested to get in touch if you have any properties that are up for sale
First time posting on BiggerPockets. I'm a massive podcast fan and want to get more involved on the forums. I'm moving to Durham next year to get a Master's Degree in Analytics from Duke. I'm starting to look for housing now and am interested in getting connected with an investor in the area to get some hands-on education during my grad year. I'm open to providing value in any way possible, and I think my biggest strength would be leveraging data and building automated systems using code. I have experience in Rstudio and Python, but these skills will only improve as I complete my graduate degree. I would consider myself an expert in Excel with great organizational experience in relation to both school and my current job. I also think it would be a good idea to reach out to agents/agencies to get in touch with an investor. If you guys think I should be going in different directions in addition to reaching out on the forums and agents, any advice would be greatly appreciated.