Hello @Eric Campbell
March of this year I finished rehabbing a house that is both close to a very large high paying White collar type of employer and also our local University.
Had some interest from employees moving to town for the local employer however none wanted to pay the rent I was asking - we didnt have a yard in at the time and the driveway will need to be replaced, however that will happen in the next year or so (driveway is not horrible - just not appealing to the eye) -- however the interior was extremely nice.
Had interest from 3 groups of college students - ended up going with 4 female student athletes -- Ran background/credit checks on them all, naturally none of their incomes supported the rent, however each had to compose an email with the supporting documentation on how they would afford the rent -- parents emails were included as well (Combo of scholarships, student loans, jobs, parental support etc) -- I had my lease amended by an attorney to be air tight on the joint/several liability that was discussed earlier. I only accept online payments - include the lawn service and snow removal at my discretion on the driveway.
I've come to the conclusion that the type of rentals I'd like to maintain - most will not take care of the yard properly so I build the lawn care cost into the rent -- I may end up paying for some of it - however including that is a big selling point to many people. I'd rather give up a tiny bit of cash flow to have the most qualified tenant(s) in place.
House is a 4 bdrm 3 bath around 2500-3k finished sq feet - dont remember exactly - but sounds possibly similar to yours.
So far so good - all the girls were members of the same sports team and on scholarship -- they stayed in the student dorms the first year of school and state they'd like to stay for 3 years in our house. We shall see if they stay that long - but do have a year lease in place.
I did throw in a washer/dryer - only cost $400 for a used set as that helped seal the deal on the lease.
I also cover all utilities and have a separate flat rate utilities charge so they can budget their money easier. Have it built in to the lease that if it exceeds what I charge them on a monthly basis they would be responsible for the overage -- Charge an additional $375 for gas/water/trash/electric -- I will only provide a rebate if the utilities are less than $325 per mo.
So far so good -- the only mistake I may have made is not having the parents sign as guarantors, hope it doesnt bite me in the butt, however based on all of the information I was provided I was satisfied everything would be paid and on time - so far it has and I spend quite a bit of time trying to analyze someones character on the phone, in person meetings, following directions etc...they passed all of the tests.
Monthly rent is $1495 (actually $1545, however to force online payments - a $50/mo online payment discount is applied so they feel they are getting a "deal" by paying online)
Deposit was $1795 which they are paying installments - They have 2 more installments left.
Then utilities charge of $375 per mo. Include Lawn/basic snow removal.
You might also try to tailor your advertising to see if you could attract some younger professionals as well...not sure if that would be a viable option where you're at. I honestly wasnt even planning on renting to college students, however when advertising the house, thats where I attracted quite a bit of interest. $1495 is a higher end rental in our area - so it was a bit of new niche I was diving into -- had always stayed mid tier before in the $800-$1k range before.
Not sure if any of this helps - but I'd definitely pay a local real estate atty a couple hundred or whatever their fee is to make sure your lease is airtight and when including the joint/several terminology -- make sure to emphasize quite often - either all of the rent is paid or its considered late by everyone and eviction proceedings could/would start on everyone, not just the person who did not pay their share.