Invest in an animal house? Are they kidding?
When it's the Wall Street Journal giving the advice, I tend to listen, but I have to say you really need to look underneath the rug on this one.
In a brief investment tip, the WSJ quotes- "College markets have long been one of the real estate industry best-kept secrets,” says Jim Gillespie, chief executive of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. “Real estate professionals have been investing in college towns for years, often purchasing homes for their children who are attending school.”
That's true….but
You need to understand your market here.
My sister-in-law, a realtor by the way, recently visited my nephew who is an engineering student at Auburn.
"They have two couches in the living room so they can both stretch out and watch two ballgames at the same time from their two T.V's," she told us. "I asked him if he ever cooks, and he said he did put a Lean Cuisine in the microwave a few weeks ago."
Folks, college students don't live like the rest of us. They don't have to. Make sure you understand fully what you are getting yourself into if you become a landlord to about four or five or maybe more of these guys in a 'frat house' property.
Here's our solution which has worked well for us for almost 25 years now.
Rent to graduate students.
They are more mature, usually have families and will take good care of your properties. You won't have to worry about partying because they actually study a lot.
Here's the Wall Street Journal article that you can take with a grain of salt
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