REI in College Towns

[Teresa Madrid]

Good evening,

Would like to get some feedback and hear from those that have invested in college areas. When our daughter moves to Upstate NY this fall, we are considering purchasing a home in the area - partially for our daughter to live in years 2-4 of college and also for the room rent potential. Ex 4 bedroom house with 3 other tenants. NY is not considered landlord friendly, but I've heard the Upstate market may be better. Thoughts? 

[Kiernan LaFaver]

I'm in the Syracuse area, let me lead off with that. "Upstate" is a huge term that spans quite the geography of NY from the Albany to Syracuse to Binghamton areas. First and foremost, I would check into whatever city you are investing in and see if they have specific laws/ordinances relating to rental properties. For example, in Syracuse there is a Rental Registry that non owner occupied investment properties need to be on (essentially a separate Codes Inspection). I can't speak to any other college neighborhoods, but from what I'm seeing in the Syracuse University area is properties are priced at a premium as its essentially the closest thing you can get to full occupancy at any given time with steady turnover year to year for college students. If it's a multifamily, I advocate for renting by the floor. If its a single family, it typically makes more sense to rent by the room to appeal to a wider variety of potential tenants. Property management fees may be higher with college properties due to increased turnover and any potential cleanup fees.