Does anyone out there own a college rental?

[FinnsU.P.]

My husband and I have four kids. The two oldest are in college at our local university and the third is a senior in high school this year. We're thinking about buying a house near campus that our second son could live in with 2 or 3 friends whose rent will hopefully cover the mortgage. The next two can do the same when their time comes. Have any of you done this? How's it working for you???

[springparrot]

I have a friend that did it at University of TX.
3 kids in school at the same time.

[FinnsU.P.]

Yeah, it's going to be a fun year next year! Sigh..... Has your friends said if the house thing is working for them, Molly?

[springparrot]

Yeah, it's going to be a fun year next year! Sigh..... Has your friends said if the house thing is working for them, Molly?

It has been great!
The daughter graduated and moved out, but the twin boys are still there. Some friends have moved in and out and in and, well you know college kids.

[nutmeg]

The trick will be choosing reliable room mates. I'd make sure you have the last word on who moves in.

[chippewa]

The trick will be choosing reliable room mates. I'd make sure you have the last word on who moves in.

Another trick might be getting the last two to attend the same school. Had my parents "suggested" I attend a local school, I probably would have ended up at Arizona State just to annoy them.

[sunseeker]

The trick will be choosing reliable room mates. I'd make sure you have the last word on who moves in.

DITTO!

I used to work at a college. A few students (parents) did this and I watched many friendships fall apart because of it. SOME kids don't take paying rent seriously if it's just to their friend's parents. It worked out for Molly's friend becaused the roommates were siblings. Also, be sure that you don't put your child into the position of being "landlord" or make them feel guilty if things go horribly wrong at the house (messiness, broken things, etc).

[nutmeg]

The trick will be choosing reliable room mates. I'd make sure you have the last word on who moves in.

Another trick might be getting the last two to attend the same school. Had my parents "suggested" I attend a local school, I probably would have ended up at Arizona State just to annoy them.

However, given the economy, any kid lucky enough to have parents who will send them to college and foot the bill for housing would be crazy not to take advatage of this offer. And knowing how nice Tina and Dan are, the kids will prolly want to stay close by anyway. That and they live in what I consider to be paradise!

The real challenge comes after college and finding steady, well paying employment in the U.P.

[pema]

The trick will be choosing reliable room mates. I'd make sure you have the last word on who moves in.

a lot of parents did this at my school. most of them had experience renting properties, and they followed their normal procedures for listing the rental and screening applicants.

landlords in my college town generally required a parent guarantee for all undergrad students.

[Wildh2oskier]

Friends of mine have done this @ Tuscaloosa. They managed to get one near the stadium. Those enterprising college mad a good bit of money renting out parking and charging to go in and use the bathroom on game days.

[PetalMel]

I have always thought this would be a grand idea as long as it works out. I know back in the day when I was in school (90's so that was eons ago...) many landlords offered a discount if the semester or year was paid in full. I know when I rented I got a $500 break if I paid the year rent in one payment. Many of the landlords also offered a discount if you rented the whole year rather than just the school year and then charged a perdiem if you wanted to sublet during the summer.


I guess you would have to know the area well enough to be competitive but personally I think it would be a good investment, especially if you can develop a reputation and keep the place filled even after the kiddos graduate. I like the being near a stadium and charging for parking and potty. great idea

[SeattleParrotHead]

Man, I wish I woulda been smart enuff to do something like that! My oldest daughter attended Santa Clara University and lived in the same duplex for her Soph, Jr, and Sr years, moving out of the duplex in June 2010, but remaining in the Bay area.

Little sister is now down there, she started her freshman year at SCU last September. Freshmen have to live on campus, but soon enuff she'll be moving off campus and I'll be paying rent for her too!

Between the two of them, that'll be 6+ years of rent checks that could have made a pretty good dent in the mortgage on a condo or small house!

Talk about a sweet deal, this duplex is across the street from school and has 4 BRs per side. Each side has 6 girls in it, and each side rents for $4,500. The guy is pulling in 9 grand a month on the dump! (and it is a dump!)

[CreolaInMySoul-a]

Man, I wish I woulda been smart enuff to do something like that! My oldest daughter attended Santa Clara University and lived in the same duplex for her Soph, Jr, and Sr years, moving out of the duplex in June 2010, but remaining in the Bay area.

Little sister is now down there, she started her freshman year at SCU last September. Freshmen have to live on campus, but soon enuff she'll be moving off campus and I'll be paying rent for her too!

Between the two of them, that'll be 6+ years of rent checks that could have made a pretty good dent in the mortgage on a condo or small house!

Talk about a sweet deal, this duplex is across the street from school and has 4 BRs per side. Each side has 6 girls in it, and each side rents for $4,500. The guy is pulling in 9 grand a month on the dump! (and it is a dump!)

College ghetto (as we call it here in Burlington, VT) get $700-$800 a bedroom. The houses are in bad shape and there is a housing shortage. You have to pay first month rent and deposit in Dec for the move in date of June...no interest.

[SeattleParrotHead]

That's how it was with the place my daughter rented... "Dad, I gotta make a deposit now (in January) or it will be gone!"

Classes end in early June, but the departing kids are paid up thru month end. The new kids have to pay starting July 1st, even though class doesn't begin until the 3rd week of September!

[Skibo]

I guess it depends on the condition and location. It's working for a friend in baltimore right now, but they were willing to pay big dollars for a house in very good condition. They also did the rehab on their own, are handling the rent collection from the others and are depending on their daughter to "watch" things. College students can be hard on a house. Most homes near colleges are older and have extra maintenance requirements. You may end up putting a roof on or replacing a heater or having to deal with old water lines. I buy "projects" in older parts of town and rent them out. Old houses all have unique issues. Yes you can save money by buying and renting the excess space. You can also buy into a nightmare if you don't do your due diligence up front. College rentals do get a premium in rents because of that premium I've seen sale prices higher than any appraisal would ever come close to.

[FinnsU.P.]

The trick will be choosing reliable room mates. I'd make sure you have the last word on who moves in.

DITTO!

I used to work at a college. A few students (parents) did this and I watched many friendships fall apart because of it. SOME kids don't take paying rent seriously if it's just to their friend's parents. It worked out for Molly's friend becaused the roommates were siblings. Also, be sure that you don't put your child into the position of being "landlord" or make them feel guilty if things go horribly wrong at the house (messiness, broken things, etc).

This is one of our biggest worries about the whole thing. We know a lot of our kids friends. They come over, hang out and we feed them. I'm afraid that they might feel that they really don't need to pay the rent cause it's "just us."

[FinnsU.P.]

The trick will be choosing reliable room mates. I'd make sure you have the last word on who moves in.

Another trick might be getting the last two to attend the same school. Had my parents "suggested" I attend a local school, I probably would have ended up at Arizona State just to annoy them.

However, given the economy, any kid lucky enough to have parents who will send them to college and foot the bill for housing would be crazy not to take advatage of this offer. And knowing how nice Tina and Dan are, the kids will prolly want to stay close by anyway. That and they live in what I consider to be paradise!

The real challenge comes after college and finding steady, well paying employment in the U.P.

Ahhhhh, thanks (((Nancy))).
Our kids don't have much of a choice. With four of them we can't afford both tuition and housing. Our oldest had a great paying summer job for the last couple of years so he was able to afford his tuition so he moved out and we pay his rent. The second one hasn't been so lucky job wise which is why we're thinking about this investment. He really needs to get out from under us even though we try to let him live his own life. Number three who's a senior in high school would move out tomorrow if he could!

[JollyMon66]

My husband and I have four kids. The two oldest are in college at our local university and the third is a senior in high school this year. We're thinking about buying a house near campus that our second son could live in with 2 or 3 friends whose rent will hopefully cover the mortgage. The next two can do the same when their time comes. Have any of you done this? How's it working for you???

We have 3 in college now...a junior and two freshmen (blended family not twins). My son is at a "little ivy" and my step daughters are at the same private school. That my friends is about $135,000 per year in tuition, fees and expenses. We are very fortunate that the girls are covered by my wife's tuition exhange program and my ex-wife makes a huge contribution for my son so our out of pocket expense is minimal. To your question...I think it's a great idea...just see your insurance agent and beef up your personal and property liability coverage (not joking)

[comemonday]

There was just an article about this in Pitt's student newspaper the other day:

http://pittnews.com/newsstory/rental-gu ... buy-homes/

[citcat]

When my kids were in college, one of their biggest NON-fun things was having a roommate that was horrendous (using their things without asking, keeping the place looking like a pigsty, loud music when they were trying to study, differences in partying style, etc.). All I can say is make sure of everything UP FRONT and VERY CLEAR about what is expected.
Maybe even get it all in writing.