Real Estate Investor · NC · Member since 2008 · 22 posts · 2 votes
Greetings- I am beginning to develop a plan to acquire my first rental property. I plan to buy, hold, and rent.
I am in a college town and most of the properties I am looking at will likely have a relationship to people working or studying at the college.
To others investing in such areas, what are the peak periods for people seeking rentals? Do people sign leases in May that start in August, etc? Or do they show up mid summer and hang around for two months prior to the start of classes?
I am trying to time purchase/rehab/open for rental with minimum time having the unit unrented. My target is to have the unit (unfound as of yet) for the fall semester 2009. Any thoughts/advice are greatly appreciated!
PM, I'm not in a college town, but a friend told me he gets a one year lease, and also the parents as cosigners to cover the damages. The kids start mostly in the fall, and while they're gone for the summer he does any major maintenance needed. His town is home to a junior college so many times he keeps the renters for two years.
I have people calling me already to line up college rentals for next August. Then again, I've rented to people coming in a couple days before school starts.
College rentals are tricky in some ways. If you don't get your properties rented at the beginning of a semester or school year, you may end up holding vacant properties for many months (unless you seriously lower the rent, or take less desirable tenants).
In my area, college rentals that cash flow are hard to find (all the sellers are hoping some doctor-daddy will buy their overpriced property for some spoiled princess).
It can be a good business (especially with parental guarentees), but you've really really got to know your market.
And if you overpay, or get over-stretched, you'll really really fail
Remember college kids today are not going to share a bathroom and live like sardines. They want granite and stainless like everyone else.
Buy in the best areas close to campus, lease in March or July (those are our best months), use Craig's LIst or the local campus website ($$$$), screen and evict individually if one share of the rent doesn't come in or is bad. Make sure you prove by maid service invoice and/or pictures what the condition of the place is before you rent to students.
Make sure your lease is ironclad. These apartment complexes designed for students have 60 page leases. There's a reason for that.