All Forum Posts by: Scott Dixon

Hey @Jeff Cooley

Yeah, there has been a solid run in terms of building over the past couple years around the campus. With that said, there is still opportunities if you can pick up a property close to the university where the numbers makes sense by renting at $400-$500 per bedroom. Most of the new developments are not serving this need and their are plenty of grad students who are living off their RA or TA stipend and don't have the money for the new properties but are great tenants. These type of properties come on the MLS a couple times per year and most transactions are done off market so you either need to have a strong network in the area or some marketing lines in the water.

Best of Luck,

Scott Dixon 

@Ethan Atkinson

Always good to get another perspective but not sure how direct marketing would be considered a "mail scam."

Scott Dixon

Curious to see what other BP members are seeing who are active in college rental markets around the country.  Here are some of the metrics from Champaign-Urbana (Home of the University of Illinois).  

New multifamily units in Champaign (citywide) from 2005-2014:

2005: 588  |  2006: 272

2007: 591  |  2008: 245

2009: 80    |  2010: 279

2011: 292   |  2012: 226

2013: 288   |  2014: 818  (That's an increase of 284% of 2014 numbers) 

Source: T.J. Blakeman, based on city of Champaign data

University (UIUC) Enrollment 2005-2014 Total (Grad/Undergrad):

2005: 40510  | 2006: 41180

2007: 40923  | 2008: 41495

2009: 41918  | 2010: 41949

2011: 42606  | 2012: 42883

2013: 43398  | 2014: 43583 

Source: UIUC Division of Management Information

Overall the enrollment is creeping up and I would expect this to continue or even accelerate a bit over the next 5 years to help offset the decrease in funding from the state.  My take is to not try to compete with the new/high-end rentals which are renting from $650 -$1400 per bedroom.  Although I would love to get a property which brought in those type of numbers per bedroom the competition is going to get pretty intense which the increase of units over the past couple years.  Grad students look to be the bright spot in the coming years, with a good number of them living off of their Research Assistantship or Fellowship which is somewhere around $25,000/year.  You can see how most of Grad students are not going to be looking for the $650-$1400 because they simply can't afford the rent.  

*Note:  UIUC has the highest percentage of international students compared to any other public university.  This is where a good number of the students come from who could afford $1400/bedroom/month. 

What are others seeing out in the student housing space?  Similar trends?  What does the future hold, a bunch of properties going cheap when the owners can't fill the units and go belly-up?    

Scott Dixon

Hey @Zack Lofton

If you do a quick search you can find plenty of posts that dive into this topic.  Also here is the link for the full breakdown of the benefits of a Pro account.  

Pro Account Benefits

Best of Luck

Scott Dixon

Hey @Jeremy Lamb

Great idea, count me in.

Scott Dixon

Hi @Elijah Smith

Welcome to BP and congrats on taking action and picking a path forward.  I am always looking for the next property to either fix and flip or buy and hold so send over any deals you come across and I would be happy to take a look. 

Talk to ya soon,

Scott Dixon

Hey @Gavin S.

Welcome to BP and congrats on getting the ball rolling on your education in REI. I actually grew up in Tiskilwa, IL so I spent a good amount of time in small Illinois towns like Sheffield. Which towns or areas are you currently considering for rehab projects?

Best of Luck,

Scott Dixon 

Hi @John Van Uytven

Good to hear you will be coming back to the area.  We are well overdue for a Central Illinois meetup and that might be a good way to jump start your networking when you get back on US soil.  We have usually done a Thursday night in Champaign starting around 6 pm.  How's Thursday, May 14th looking for you?

Scott Dixon

Hey @Anthony Hornbeck

As you suggested going out and taking a look would be your best bet.  Something tells me there are a good number of the large ticket mechanicals (Central AC, Water Heater, Appliances, etc.) which are coming up on the end of their useful life.  If this is the case then you would probably need to negotiate a significant price drop to make sure the investment is worth your time.  I have compared this property to 2 properties I currently have and although the returns are not as good on the quad by the airport the number are starting to get close enough to take a closer look.  I will send you the .pdf I have on that quad.

Best of Luck,

Scott Dixon

Hey @Nicholas Holt

Welcome to BP and REI. I live in Savoy, IL and am always looking for good deals to either buy and hold or fix and flip. When you get a property locked up let me know and I can quickly tell you if it is something that fits my investment strategy.

Best of Luck

Scott Dixon