Student housing by the room vs. whole house?

Question

Hi,

Getting my first student housing ready for next academic year and wanted to hear the experience of other who rent to students.

Main question is renting By Room vs. Whole House...my place is 5BR/3BA of which 2 of the bathroom are private...so it potentially work well both ways.

I prefer renting for a group since in my mind it minimize the potential for drama plus other pros...that said almost all of the inquiries I got so far were from people looking only for themselves.

How about going Co-ed while renting By Room?

Thanks,

Tim S. · Answer

Mine is Co-Ed, they usually come to me as a self selected group. I wouldn’t want to put strangers together, they reach and find their own roommates.

Theresa Harris · Answer

By the room you will get more and stagger the vacancies.  The only problem is the common area.  You could increase the rent a bit and include a cleaning person for the common areas.  This also gives you someone in the house on a regular basis.

Do co-ed.  All the rooms should have their own locks.

David London · Answer

Thank all for the replies,

@Tim Simmons the 1000 students post is great...definitely worth to get back to it again and again if one think on the student housing path...I also prefer the whole house approach which also seem to be the norm in the university town where the house is located...this year though it seem I'm trying room by room since it doesn't seem to generate enough interest and time is running out...vacancy can become 100% with students if I miss the academic year!

Any thoughts on the Co-ed vs. single sex? if go room by room? Let's say my 2 first eligible applicants are females and then I have a guy...can/should I deny him...is it my business?...I went to university in Italy where all this issues are much more laidback and most apartments were co-ed.

Tim S. · Answer

see:

https://www.biggerpockets.com/forums/52/topics/491641-nearing-1-000-college-student-tenants-heres-what-ive-learned

Tim S. · Answer

I do it by the house, allows peer pressure to work it's magic.  All tenants are equally responsible for the condition of the house and getting the rent and utilities paid.  If one person isn't pulling their weight, the others will step in and put pressure on them.

Bill Plymouth · Answer

I agree with the previous posters.  By room is a great way to maximize profits.  I wouldn’t be too worried about drama.  These are college students.  There will always be drama.

Dylan Grant · Answer

Personally I'd go by room, many reasons however the main one would be you can maximise your profits, and if you get a bad payer you won't miss out on a complete month opposed to if it's all down to one person.

Kadeem Wells · Answer

Hey @David London I would def go with by the room. It gives you more leverage to maximize profits and it is basically the same setup as a dorm.  Create some reasonable rules and add them to each lease individually. I would also add in there monthly inspections so you can drop by once a month just to make sure everything is ok.