Real Estate Community Forum

I was thinking of purchasing property near a college as an investment property. It appears that the college is expanding and more students will eventually attend. As a result of the college expansion, I would like to buy a house near by and rent it to college students. My theory is, any property near a college is an excellent investment. Does anyone agree with this theory or is property near a college a liability rather than an asset. Was does everyone think?

I was also thinking of buying a few homes near a college. I was told that the college near me has so many students that they don't have enough dorm rooms for them. As a result, many are stuck looking for housing off campus.

I quickly thought of buying houses for the students! However, someone quickly pointed out to me that students only stay for the fall and spring semester. After that, they leave and the house is vacant. Finding a tenent during the sumemr months can be a challenge. That made me think twice before purchasing a house for students.

If you are interested in purchasing property near a college, I say go for it. You can easily have students sign a lease that requires them to stay for one year and if they break the lease, they can pay a penalty fee. This allows you to be protected financially if a student decides to leave.

Just make sure you get a house that is located on a bus route and with a lot of stores. Many students will be using the bus to get to school and an active neighborhood gives students places to go and relax.

College students can be a real pain. If students come from a privileged up bringing and Mom & Dad are flipping the bill, chances are they will NOT respect the property. In addition if you have several college students that are living in one place, the greater the possibility they will have loud parties. Any time kids have a party, you can expect loud music, drinking and possibly drug use. I'm not saying all kids are like this, but I've seen too many college students destroy property. Maybe they are expressing their freedom from living away from home, but at what expense? Your better off renting to someone who has a job, older, and more mature.