All Forum Posts by: Liam Cardenas

Just a side note: if you are going to wear a suit, please make sure it fits. Also, make sure you are wearing it properly. Just because it's a suit, doesn't mean it's a good outfit. I would much rather see someone in a nice casual outfit than a bad suit.

I do not know the specifics, so take what I am about to say with a grain of salt.

I think you should definitely go for it. If it is still sketchy, but showing signs of revitalization, this means it is most likely undervalued. I don't think most real estate investors would be willing to go in and do what you are doing (since you said you don't mind living in a "dangerous" neighborhood), and therefore the competition for these properties is much less despite likely future appreciation.

I don't see why you shouldn't rent it as long as you screen your tenants well... although I'll admit I don't know anything about that process.

@Levi Painter

Marketing to college students is very easy since they are plugged into technologically and all congregate in one specific area.

The easiest first step you can take is to post it to Craigslist, and apps like Lovely (although I don't know if Lovely is used by students at your target university). So if you want the students to come to you, you can just keep posting it there and hope that you can fill up your apartments.

If you want to engage in a more aggressive marketing policy, you can try Facebook/Instagram ads. Log into your Facebook and navigate to the Ad Manager. From there you can target students based on a large array of criteria. For instance, if you were renting out high-end apartments, you could find "Students of ________ University who often make expensive purchases" (I am paraphrasing the exact category titles). There is a bit of a learning curve to this, but with some experimentation, you could get really good results.

Lastly, you could physically go on campus and either set up a booth or hand out fliers. This is a great way to reach students. Especially if you offer some sort of reward like a free slice of pizza, students will definitely check out what you have to offer. This is definitely something you should consider.

As for how nice it needs to be, that is up to you. Students are often on a budget and are willing to live in an absolute dump. That being said, they will only do so if you are giving them a really good deal. I suggest that you look at competing apartments before you buy to get a feel of the market.

As for leases, students prefer shorter leases. As @Jon W. said, 1-year is good. But I suspect you could charge more for a 6-month or month-to-month if you can deal with the insecurity that brings. As @Matt Vogt pointed out, however, you often will have a much harder time renting out during summer. So shorter leases could, in the end, be less profitable. Again, I recommend checking out what your competition is doing to see what is standard in that area.

Let me know if you have any questions about college students or online marketing, as I am glad to help! Good luck!