Back HomeThings to know about renting to college students
In a college town like College Station in Texas, owning a rental property or undertaking property management can be very profitable. While you may have some apprehensions about renting to a primary market of students, it can be a seriously lucrative and easy market to set your sights on. Read on to learn about what renting to college students is like, and why this rental opportunity shouldn’t be ignored.
Why you should rent to college students
- High demand. The lure of a highly consistent demand most often convinces investors to consider becoming a landlord in college cities. A university or college typically enrolls thousands of students every school year, and most of whom will need to secure a place to live for the duration.
- Lower marketing costs. Properties in college towns are a lot more desirable because you barely have to spend anything on marketing. In most cases – especially for those located close to the university campus – word of mouth is enough to get you a pretty good number of inquiries. Sometimes, some prospective tenants may ask to be waitlisted even before your current tenants move out!
- Higher rent. Many students choose to split apartment costs to make rentals more affordable. This means you can charge a bit more per student than you normally would with a single occupant.
- Stable payment. Most students’ parents shoulder their rent. Some parents pay for a whole semester’s rent in advance, making late payments less likely to be a problem for you!
- Screening potential renters may be difficult. Students are often first-time renters, so they won’t have much experience dealing with rentals by themselves. They won’t have rental, credit, or employment histories that can help you vet a potential tenant. As a landlord, you may need to rely on more subjective factors to determine his or her character as a renter.
- They are inexperienced in maintaining property. As a landlord, you may need to deal with students who are inexperienced in the upkeep of a home. Some young people won’t care too much about things like cleaning or overusing utilities (A/C, water, lights, etc.). These bad habits can snowball into larger issues that will cost a lot to fix, like infestations. It is recommended to settle on a decent security deposit, and maybe even stipulate for the tenant to pay for utilities.
- They can get a bit too noisy. Most young people might be a bit too noisy for the other tenants in your building. Blasting music at full volume, or rowdy partying in the middle of the night could lead to complaints from the neighbors. Add a noise curfew clause to the lease to help prevent this.
- You will have to deal with yearly turnovers and summer vacancies. College towns rarely get permanent residents. Students enroll for four years and then they move on. Property managers will also have to deal with school breaks, which means having to find renters over the summer.
- Proximity to campus. The main consideration is often to rent at a location that’s close to the school they are enrolled in. The nearer the property is to the school, the more desirable it becomes.
- Proximity to amenities. A student’s wishlist often includes accessibility to malls, parks and, of course, dining locations. An apartment that’s close to public transportation stops or terminals is another huge plus for students who may not have their own cars.
- Affordability. Nothing brings in more rental inquiries better than an affordable rate. Students don’t mind a simple, straightforward but affordable apartment to more expensive fully-furnished fancy digs with all the bells and whistles.
- Safety. College students and their parents alike will always prefer an apartment that’s located in a safe area. That a neighborhood with low crime rates, well-lit streets and the like.
