College students as tenants - off-campus housing

Member since 2025 · 2 posts · 3 votes

I’m completely new to rental investing and currently exploring where to purchase my first property. I’m an alum of Binghamton University and remember that many off-campus houses typically had about 4-10 students living together.

I’m wondering if anyone here has experience renting to students in the Binghamton area or to university students in general. I’d love to hear about your experiences and any insights on what to expect from this type of investment.

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Denise SuppleeBusiness Member

Realtor · Willow Grove, PA · Member since 2017 · 991 posts · 646 votes

11mo

I’ve rented to students before, and it can work really well with the right structure. The key is having parent co-signers, clear house rules, and reliable maintenance contacts since turnover and wear could be higher. Demand will be stronger near campus.

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Emily Koelsch
Rental Property Investor · Memphis, TN · Member since 2022 · 48 posts · 43 votes
11mo
I'm not familiar with the area, but have done some renting with college students. They can be great tenants. One thing I usually do is use a co-signer agreement for the lease. If the student isn't able to cover all financial responsibilities, you want the party who is able to cover the expenses to be part of the contract. If a parent is paying rent or helping with rent, you can just have them sign the co-signer agreement for some added security and peace of mind.
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Stephanie JacobsonBusiness Member
Real Estate Agent · Ithaca, NY · Member since 2016 · 429 posts · 324 votes
11mo
Hi Danielle! It's great that you're an alum, you've got a head start on understanding the market and a tenant's perspective.
I've been a student housing specialist in Binghamton for almost ten years and have seen a lot of changes over that time. Many things, though, have stayed the same. What are some of your specific questions? There's a lot to address, from local zoning shake-ups to lease structures and timing, to financing and actual numbers. Student housing can be very lucrative, but it's also a hands-on clientele, so be ready to pay some "tuition" during the learning curve.
Let us know where you'd like to start, and I'll offer what I can!
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Denise SuppleeBusiness Member
Realtor · Willow Grove, PA · Member since 2017 · 991 posts · 646 votes
11mo
I’ve rented to students before, and it can work really well with the right structure. The key is having parent co-signers, clear house rules, and reliable maintenance contacts since turnover and wear could be higher. Demand will be stronger near campus.
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Website View Page
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Alecia LovelessPro Member
Member since 2019 · 3k+ posts · 2k+ votes
11mo
@Danielle Solovyeva My insurance won’t allow me to rent to college students. So you may need to shop multiple companies.
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Arman AhmedPro Member
Real Estate Agent · Columbus Cleveland Dayton, OH · Member since 2024 · 2k+ posts · 951 votes
11mo
@Danielle Solovyeva
Hey Danielle,

Renting to students can be profitable but comes with challenges like higher turnover, potential noise issues, and more wear-and-tear. Setting clear lease terms, requiring co-signers or guarantors, and screening carefully helps protect your investment. Another approach to consider is exploring Midwest markets, where you can often find undervalued, off-market student rental opportunities with strong cash flow and more predictable management.

[email protected]614-418-6081
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Marc Winter
Real Estate Broker · Northeast PA · Member since 2017 · 2k+ posts · 2k+ votes
11mo
@Denise Supplee and @Arman Ahmed gave good advice on leasing w cosigners, and making the leases individually/severally.

Keep in mind: there are two separate and distinct types of student housing tenants: undergrad and post graduate.
What I've found over the years:
If you want to deal with adolescent, underage, first-away-from-home students, be prepared for more hand-holding and maintenance issues. Many are there to party ;-)
Graduate students are there to study and move forward, get out and start their careers. We've found significantly fewer maintenance calls and neighbor or police-related complaints with graduates.
As long as you are well prepared and act to properly manage your property and tenants, you'll do just fine.
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Nate Monson
Real Estate Agent · Albany, NY · Member since 2017 · 309 posts · 149 votes
10mo
In my experience with student housing there are really two options:
1. Be prepared to treat it as a part time job. You will likely need to show up 1-2 times per week to ensure things are kept up and to enforce the rules that you've set.
2. Hire a top notch management company who specializes in student housing. They are tough to find but can make a big difference. We have one in our local area in Albany, NY.
Best of luck!
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Sotiria Kri
Member since 2020 · 1 post · 2 votes
10mo
Landlord to college students of 17 years here! Let me give you the lowdown.
My property is in Stony Brook, NY so we get a lot of international students (tend to be better as they are there to study). When I first started, I did room rentals. I had them all sign leases. I quickly realized these leases are useless. Students do not take them seriously. I learned what worked as I went on. My biggest headache was handling garbage. Raccoons would tear it up and students would not clean up the mess caused by the raccoons. Every year I came up with a new strategy on how to handle garbage.
I never, ever, ever, let me stress, ever, had a problem collecting rent. Most of the students I rented to were international and so their parents were not here to sign (even if they were its useless because they will move out and I will spend my time finding new tenants instead of suing someone). Everyone paid on time. This last year was the biggest headache because I rented to non-international students who ended up hating one another and I became their house mom (but they still always paid).
The wear and tear on the house is serious. They all leave some type of furniture behind and everything was dirty. I have renovated the house over and over again. Be prepared to have high turnover since they move out at end of semester and be prepared to have a cleaning crew and dump crew.
I rarely visiting my property. I had a group chat with everyone and any issues or repairs were posted in the group.

I say do it and hold onto the property for years. Financially it was great but of course it was a headache. Most people focus on the lease and be strict with the lease, etc. I will tell you to focus on garbage rules and be prepared for the wear and tear. DO NOT get expensive appliances or fancy tile or marble counters...all of that doesn't matter and will de destroyed over time. Good luck!
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