Review of Meg Handley‘s: ”Property in College Towns a Boon to Real Estate Investors, Parents.” (Handley 2012). Property in College Towns a Boon to Real Estate Investors, Parents. Retrieved from: http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/home-front/2012/08/22/property-in-college-towns-a-boon-to-real-estate-investors-parents

Imagine your child just graduated from high school and is now ready to go to college. You have been waiting for this day for almost 18 years. With the rising cost of tuition and housing, you almost wish you had a few more years to plan this day. Your most obvious housing choice is either renting an apartment for your child or paying for them to stay on campus. As you know, this can get quite expensive. Some parents are actually turning to a less obvious and  cost effective choice. That choice is buying a condo for their child to live in while attending college.

Depending on the area that you reside in, you can find great deals on properties. Due to this, parents are now becoming landlords. They are purchasing condos with more than one bedroom so that they can rent the spare room to anther college student. The reason for this is to help with the mortgage payment. If  parents get a good enough deal on the property, they might even be able to pay off the mortgage with the rent they are charging for the extra rooms. Even better, they might even make a profit.

If you have that kind of disposable income to be able to make an investment that will make a return, then go for it. If you choose to pay for your child living on campus or renting an expensive condo, your money is going down the toilet. At least with an investment property, parents will be able to borrow from the equity they build on their newly acquired property if they need to.

Last, parents are not the only ones who should take advantage of this opportunity. The article mentions that in college towns, housing is sometimes scarce. Specifically in Pittsburgh, “There has always been a shortage of housing for students” Darla Jobkar of Northwood Realty Services told Realtor.com. Investors can make a killing off of this opportunity. Investors should take a look at the chart provided in the article. The chart will aid in deciding which cities you should invest in  for leasing to college students. According to the chart, Boston, Massachusetts rates the highest for potential monthly profit.

When kids go to college, they usually get as far away  from their parents as possible. Since the new property the parent has purchased is probably not in the same city or state, a property management company should be hired. Property Management is really hot right now in real estate. If you are a property management company or a real estate company, marketing to these parents and investors is a great idea.

With an Agent BizzUp website, you can add Agent BizzUp’s Search Engine Marketing Services (SEM) to attract college kid’s parents and investors.  Adding SEM will help your website gain new leads with budgets starting as low as $50/month.

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To read the entire featured article please visit: http://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/home-front/2012/08/22/property-in-college-towns-a-boon-to-real-estate-investors-parents