Any one with experience doing student rentals in Pittsburgh ?

Question

Any one with experience doing student rentals in Pittsburgh ? Interested to learn more about it and ideally get started with investing into my first property.

Liam Tennies · Answer

Hey Keegan, I see a lot of them as an agent walking rentals for investors and have rented to a few students in my own properties. Kind of depends what you're looking for. Grad students or undergrad, which neighborhoods in the city you choose to focus on will dictate which of those you'll be targeting and then also the cashflow associated. Time of year when you're leasing a student rental is important so if you're planning on getting one this year I'd start looking sooner than later just so you have time to lease it up for next school year. Lot of nuance and things to consider with the student rentals but happy to discuss more if you need. PM if you need anything else and good luck!

Max Feinberg · Answer

@Keegan Dsouza Student rentals in the city are tough due to the price of the homes in the markets where most students live. It is very, very hard to cash flow in Oakland, Shadyside, Sq Hill, etc.

It may be worth looking into some of the small schools in the surrounding areas such as IUP, Cal U (now known as Penn West), Slippery Rock, etc. There are tons of deals near these schools where the numbers make a lot more sense from a cash flow perspective.

Carly Stone · Answer

Hey @Keegan Dsouza!

I’ve been noticing the same thing with neighborhoods like Oakland and South Side being strong for student rentals, especially with the price-to-rent ratios. I think the key really is timing it around the leasing season so you’re not stuck scrambling.

I’ve also seen some investors mix in travel nurses or young professionals in areas like Shadyside or Bloomfield to balance out turnover a bit, which seems like a good play if you don’t want to be all in on undergrads.

Curious what your long-term goal is with your first place, are you thinking more about strong cash flow right away, or leaning toward appreciation and holding long-term? That’ll definitely help shape which neighborhood makes the most sense.

Jeremy Jareckyj · Answer

Partnering with a great local agent who owns or understands the student rental market in that area would help as well! Use the BP agent finder !

Nicole Heasley Beitenman · Answer

You've gotten some great responses from locals! I recommend also going to a local REI meetup. You'll either meet someone who does student rentals or someone who knows someone who does student rentals.

Matt Dingus · Answer

Keegan - Congrats on taking some first steps on your real estate journey and happy to hear you're targeting Pittsburgh.

Some areas where student rentals work well at are in Oakland, South Side, Shady Side, Squirrel Hill, Bloomfield, Lawerenceville, Greenfield. South side, Greenfield will be your best bet considering the price to rent ratios. The other areas there can get higher on purchase price so can sometimes be tough for the deals to make sense. You'll get some great appreciation on most of these areas compared to most other areas of the city.

Pros/Cons I've seen with this strategy (some being obvious) - Pros being high demand and low vacancy. High rental yields since you can charge higher rent typically than traditional. Cons I'd say high turnover/shorter lease terms (many investors absolutely hate this), high wear and tear/higher possibility of careless tenants, management intensity can be higher, seasonality.

Hope that helps. It'd be interested to hear more about what your goals are, which would help narrow in more on what you could focus on when investing here.

Any one with experience doing student rentals in Pittsburgh ?

Any one with experience doing student rentals in Pittsburgh ?

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