Renting your apartments to college students is one of the best ways to earn money as a landlord. This is especially helpful if your property is near to the area of the college campus; so, in case you are looking for tenants and possible candidates, there are some things you need to keep in mind before looking for renters as well as to know what problems you might face later.
Common Qualities of the Student Renters
College students are mostly individuals who are single and have recently enrolled in university. Most of them are undergraduates and new to college life, however they can be post-graduate students as well. So, if we are considering the common population of undergraduates, we can say that the average age of the renters is from around 18 to 19. These undergraduate students along with the master’s students all are enrolled in a full-time job for their college degree and might be working part-time as well to earn a little extra money to compensate their expenses.
Things to Know When Renting to Students
Usually, students are known for being too noisy and wild at night; for which you should include a statement for quiet night hours in the lease agreement for your property. This makes them aware that the fun and party is only limited to time, and they can learn to be respectful of their neighborhood as well. Apart from this, you might also face damage to your property by the students. It is important to keep check before renting it out and to set a security deposit to arrange cost of any damage that occurs to the property. You can set the amount of security deposit in rent contract.
Benefits of Renting Your Apartment to Students
There are so many benefits to renting your apartment to college students. Some of these are as follows:
- High in Demand: The apartments and houses that area near to the college campus and are available for rent are very high in demand. This is because students want to spend less money on living as they have to manage expensive college fee along. Some universities and colleges do not even offer any residence at all which forces students to find their own places. Since the demand of apartments and houses for rent increase, so does the rent.
- Get Higher Rents: When you are looking for renting your apartment to students, you can always get higher rents. This is because students do not usually live alone because of the expenses, so sharing it with their roommates and splitting the rent makes it easier for everyone to manage thus providing you the opportunity to add a few hundred dollars extra as compared to renting to one family.
- Payment from Third-Party: Not all students need to pay for rent themselves. For some students, the responsibility of paying rent is taken by their parents, and the other percentage of students living on third-party payment involves financial aid money, scholarship etc. In any of such situations you are always guaranteed to get your payment on time which makes it convenient for you as well. Sometimes, the parents who pay for rent also pay for the semester’s rent for the apartment or house in advance.
- No Special Demands of Students: Unlike families and couples, the college students are not looking for high-end apartments with luxury finishing. Rather, they are looking just for a safe and reasonable place to live. For this reason, they might complain less as they are busy in their studies and their social lives. This pressure on their mind makes them less focused on noticing every speck around the place. So, they will not complain about the bathroom tile color or the kitchen being too small.
Disadvantages of Renting Apartment to Students
While you may be infatuated by the idea of renting your apartment to students just this instant, it is also important for you to know that there are some cons to this idea as well. You can know that every idea and work have its cons, but to know about them beforehand is important. Some of them are mentioned below.
- Inexperience of Managing Money and Maintaining Property: College students are usually young and inexperienced about living and most of the time, not even mature yet. They are living on their own for the first time, which can cost your apartment a lot. They might cause a lot of damage, be negligent about the damages in property, as well as they might not be willing to spend money on mending a damage but will spend on a night out with friends.
- Turnovers: This is common problem of college renters; frequent turnovers. The students involved in this usually sign the leases that are short termed but stay for about a year. Think of managing damages and finding new tenants actively.
- Vacancy for Summers: Most of the college students go away to their homes in the summers, so it can be difficult to fill in the vacancies for just that short time. For this purpose, you can create a binding contract for the student to sing a lease for one year.
Conclusion
By the above points even with some drawbacks and extra responsibilities, renting your apartment to college students is an excellent idea as it will not only make you earn more, but will also be a busy home all year as well. It is a smart investment especially for people who are interested in investing in properties and renting them, this way, they can earn more money and profit off their apartment.
