Twitter (I just can’t call it “X” yet (or ever)) has some pretty awesome content for real estate investors. A great account to follow for you crazy student rental investors is StudentRentalPro. The following tips are from his post and also some of our own.
– Do NOT build a fire pit. They will cobble one together anyway but don’t lead the horse to water
– Do NOT rent a property with a pool to students
– Railings
– Do inspections. Quarterly
– Use a very long inclusive lease. They aren’t going to read it. Make a one-page summary. Then, they might read it
– Biggest impact for ~$2500: 12′ x 12′ backyard concrete pad, two picnic tables (painted school colors), and 200′ of string lighting hanging from the trees
– Turn any wasted space into a bedroom, but if it is too small, turn it into a study, a breakfast nook, or shelving (most likely won’t use it, but it looks cute and make the house easier to lease)
– Late afternoon Saturdays + Sundays are the underrated best showing times
– Ceiling fans are a must in every bedroom
– If the house is an A+ location, but in rough condition, list as many rough pics as possible. Lots of online proof. When 1000 kids show up and want to rent it anyway, you can forward the listing to their irate parents (and CC the kids) on move-in day
– Forget white, go darker paint and save some $
– Proximity to campus isn’t enough. It has to be close AND near lots of other students. Location matters. A LOT
– I have never once regretted over-rehabbing a student rental. I have a ton of regret from not doing enough
– Guys are willing to pay $50-$100 more/BR for the best houses
– Girls care about bedroom size more than guys
– Guys care about living room size more than girls
– Grad students are more price sensitive than undergrads
– Assuming the same house in A+ location: a 3/1 would go for a $3,000/m a 3/3 would go for a $3,400/m
– The backyard is the most underrated amenity
– Spending a few thousand bucks on an interior designer will ensure your house will lease itself forever
– Including a washer/dryer is a much bigger deal than a dishwasher. Don’t do coin-operated. It just pisses everyone off and you don’t make very much off it
– Small closets aren’t a lease killer
– The expectations of the average student is demonstrably higher than it was even 4-5 years ago
– “Do you guys replace lightbulbs?” is now “Light bulb is out. Come change it.” (The correct answer to this is, “call Mommy”)
– The word “mold” is thrown around 20x more than it should be
– Kids who rent houses think they are cooler than kids who rent apartments
Enjoy Chat GPT’s vision of your student rental property in Pittsburgh. Call us now to manage it!
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