Business Opportunities Weblog

March 17, 2008 by Nicholas | 3 Comments

Yahoo News:

A year ago, Jeff Shea began buying up rental properties around the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, from which he had only recently graduated with a business major. Shea, 23, who lives in Chicago, owns three rental homes near campus, including a four-bedroom house he bought for $138,000 and rents to four students for $1,800 a month.

“It’s the best time ever to buy houses,” Shea said. “The rent is inflated because so many people go to school here.”

Shea said he’d be happy if Champaign-Urbana prices took a dive so that he could buy even more. But college towns have remained relatively stable in this slumping real estate cycle. Students, university employees, and faculty keep apartments filled and form a steady stream of home buyers. And retirees and professionals flock to college towns because they’re attracted to the lifestyle and cultural activities.

But like any real estate investment, buying in a college town comes with risks, particularly for investors. Think Animal House. Students are known to drink, punch holes through windows, spill beer on carpets, or just not be very responsible. Of course, it’s possible to protect your investment by requiring tenants to provide security deposits and parental guarantees.

And though the pool of tenants in a university town is large, it’s harder to find renters after the semester begins; the risk is that an apartment could go empty for a few months — though there’s always summer school.

Photo via houserental.0

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Tags: Students