Which is better?

Question

Trailer in a college town for sale for $10,000. Lot rent is $250-315, depending on water/sewage/trash/taxes. Condition well cared for, not moved; old but no repairs needed. 2 bedroom, 14 by 70. Renting one room in a shared apartment runs $4-5,000 per school year for that area. Room and board at the college is $8,000/school year.

Question: given the need to pay for room for (my) student attending college or purchase of trailer, how do I tell at what point one option is financially better than the other?

Thanks!

Question:  given the need to pay for room for (my) student attending college or purchase of trailer, how do I tell at what point one option is financially better than the other?

Thanks!

Bill Gulley · Answer

Many schools don't allow freshman to live off campus unless they are with a relative,

There are lending programs to basically treat another home or condo as a second/owner occupied home, 10K might get them in a 60/70K home. I'd suggest you consider a home for resale value, might be cheaper too. :)

Glen Sonnenberg · Answer

What we've done is purchase a house near the university our son is attending (ASU) and have him rent out two of the rooms to students to cover the costs of the house.  Are you planning on paying the $10k cash for the trailer?  If so, why not use that as a down payment on a house and do the same thing?  Technically we're renting the house to our son and allowing him to sublet the rooms to others to cover the costs of renting the whole house.  If you are covering your son/daughter's portion of the rent you can charge them rent and then "gift" it back to them at the beginning/end of each year.  In addition, you can pay your son/daughter to do the property management for you as a way to provide them with assistance which you can write off against the rental income as long as it's reasonable (we're using ~10% of the rent as a general rule).  They will have to declare it as income but unless they have other income it won't be enough to generate any tax liability.  Just a few thoughts...