If you’re thinking about purchasing an investment property and trying your hand as a Landlady, you might want to consider doing so in a college town. At this moment, you might be shaking your head and p’shawing the idea of keg parties and rambunctiousness on your property, but that’s not necessarily what’s going to happen. Instead of focusing on your biggest fear, let’s talk about the possibilities.
For instance, you might be inspired to know that in 2010, when we were mid-recession, Trulia published an article titled, “College Towns: Recession Proof Real Estate?” The article looked at five towns (Ann Arbor, MI; Syracuse, NY; Champaign, IL; Lawrence, KS; and State College, PA), where the university counts for a large percentage of the local economics. The foreclosure rates in those towns were 50% to 83% lower than the overall foreclosure rates in each respective state. When presented with the question of just how recession-proof college town real estate markets can be, the article’s writer, a San Francisco broker named Tara-Nicholle Nelson, concluded, “Very.”
6 Reasons Why College Towns Attract Real Estate Investors
- As long students keep enrolling in the school, the area demand will likely remain high.
- Most college students aren’t super concerned with luxury amenities. As long as you keep the place up to decent standards, they probably won’t nitpick.
- Professors and university staff need homes, too. So, you could get lucky and land long-term renters.
- Even if you don’t land long-term renters, it’s likely you’ll never go more than a summer month or two with a vacant property.
- Your rent checks might come from the parents of your tenants, which increases the likelihood of consistent and timely payments.
- University towns often have an abundance of the kind of amenities that appeal to people across the board – even those who have nothing to do with the school – and that will keep property values stable.
Hmm. High demand, a consistent pool of potential renters, timely payments, and stable value? The risk of a little old keg party here and there might not be so bad after all, right?
This entry was originally published on September 23, 2015.
This guest post was contributed by Girls Guide to Real Estate.This piece was edited for content and clarity.
